Nils Uhlin Hansen (6 May 1919 – 11 January 1945) was a Norwegian

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a ...

er and resistance member during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. He had a successful athletics career before the war; setting a Nordic long jump record which was not surpassed for 20 years (14 years after his death). He was killed less than four months before the end of the war, as he was surprised by

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

forces following a sabotage mission.

Pre-war life

He was born in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

, the son of Haakon Hansen and Swedish citizen Agnes Collin. Representing sports club

SK Freidig Sportsklubben Freidig is a Norwegian sports club from Trondheim. Background Founded in 1903, the club has sections for association football, team handball, orienteering and Nordic skiing. In football, it won the League of Norway 1947–48, an ...

, he had a successful career in the

; only nineteen years old he won the Norwegian championships. Jumping 7.39 metres, he was 25 centimetres ahead of runner-up Kaare Strøm. In 1939, Hansen won a silver medal behind Kaare Strøm. On 11 September 1939, Hansen established a new Norwegian record. Jumping 7.54 metres at

Bislett stadion Bislett Stadium ( no, Bislett stadion) is a sports stadium in Oslo, Norway. Bislett is Norway's most well known sports arena internationally, with 15 speed skating world records and more than 50 track and field world records having been set here ...

, he broke the two-year-old record of Otto Berg with two centimetres. This was also a Nordic record. His sporting career was cut short by

. As Norway was invaded by Germany in 1940, regular sports events and championships were discontinued. The 1940 Summer Olympics in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, Japan were also cancelled.

Resistance work

Hansen joined the

Norwegian resistance movement The Norwegian resistance (Norwegian: ''Motstandsbevegelsen'') to the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany began after Operation Weserübung in 1940 and ended in 1945. It took several forms: *Asserting the legitimacy of the exiled governmen ...

in 1940. He had to flee the country, arriving in Sweden on 8 November 1941. He then escaped to England in 1942, where he became enrolled in the

Norwegian Independent Company 1 Norwegian Independent Company 1 (NOR.I.C.1, pronounced ''Norisén'' (approx. "noor-ee-sehn") in Norwegian) was a British Special Operations Executive (SOE) group formed in March 1941 originally for the purpose of performing commando raids during ...

( no, Kompani Linge), a part of the British

Special Operations Executive The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its pu ...

. He conducted several sabotage missions in Norway, including one against the rail road

Røros Line The Røros Line ( no, Rørosbanen) is a railway line which runs through the districts of Hedmarken, Østerdalen and Gauldalen in Innlandet and Trøndelag, Norway. The line branches off from the Dovre Line at Hamar Station and runs a more easterl ...

in January 1945. Saboteurs were active in

Central Norway Central Norway ( nb, Midt-Norge, nn, Midt-Noreg) is an informal region of Norway that is not clearly defined. The term ''Central Norway'' may in its most limited usage refer only to Trøndelag county, but may also be understood to include all or ...

in late 1944 and early 1945, with sabotages against the

Nordland Line The Nordland Line ( no, Nordlandsbanen, ) is a railway line between Trondheim and Bodø, Norway. It is the longest in Norway and lacks electrification. The route runs through the counties of Trøndelag (formerly Sør-Trøndelag and Nord-Trøndel ...

, the

Dovre Line The Dovre Line ( no, Dovrebanen) is a Norwegian railway line with three slightly different lines which all lead to the historic city of Trondheim. Definition *Dovre Line is the current name of the 548 km main line of the Norwegian railway s ...

and the

Rauma Line The Rauma Line ( no, Raumabanen) is a long railway between the town of Åndalsnes (in Rauma Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county), and the village of Dombås (in Dovre Municipality in Oppland county), in Norway. Running down the Romsdalen v ...

in addition to the Røros Line. This was of high strategic importance, as German forces were retreating from Northern Norway, using the rail roads for troop transport. Although the war was going against Germany at the time, there were rumours that they would not leave Norway without an Allied invasion, thus, pockets of Norwegian resistance forces were prepared for warfare.Lyng, 1979: p. 116 On 10 January 1945, German forces reacted, and began searching for militants under the codename ''Aktion Hengst''. They had only vague knowledge on the whereabouts of Norwegian militants, but on 11 January they found a lone skier in

Singsås Singsås is a village in Midtre Gauldal municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The village is located in the Gauldalen valley, along the river Gaula (Trøndelag), Gaula, about south of the city of Trondheim. The Norwegian County Road 30 an ...

.Lyng, 1979: p. 119 They questioned him, and then released him, only to follow his tracks. The tracks led the German task force to a cabin at Forsetvollan in

Budal Budal is a former municipality in the old Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1879 until its dissolution in 1964. It encompassed the ''Bua'' and ''Ena'' river valleys in the south-central part of the what is now Midtr ...

. Nils Uhlin Hansen was staying in the cabin at the time, and when shooting ensued, Hansen was killed. Two days after his death Norwegian saboteurs carried out Operation Woodlark, killing 70–80 troops by destroying the bridge over the Jørstadelva, west of Jørstad.

Awards and legacy

Uhlin Hansen was awarded the Norwegian War Medal, the

Defence Medal 1940–1945 The Defence Medal 1940–1945 () is the award rewarded to those military and civilian personnel who participated in the fight against the German invasion and occupation of Norway between 1940 and 1945. The Defence Medal 1940–1945 can be awarde ...

and then the Norwegian War Medal with Star. A road in Trondheim has been named for him. His national long jump record stood until 1959, when it was broken by Roar Berthelsen with eleven centimetres.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hansen, Nils Uhlin 1919 births 1945 deaths Norwegian male long jumpers Norwegian military personnel killed in World War II Norwegian resistance members Norwegian people of Swedish descent People from Trondheim Norwegian Special Operations Executive personnel Deaths by firearm in Norway Resistance members killed by Nazi Germany