Thomas Christian Sneum (21 May 1917 Fanø - 3 February 2007 Roskilde) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

flight officer who was among the first British agents in Denmark during World War II. His most spectacular achievement was when, in 1941, he photographed two

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Freya radar Freya was an early warning radar deployed by Germany during World War II; it was named after the Norse goddess Freyja. During the war, over a thousand stations were built. A naval version operating on a slightly different wavelength was also d ...

stations on

Fanø Fanø () is a Danish island in the North Sea off the coast of southwestern Denmark, and is the very northernmost of the Danish Wadden Sea Islands. Fanø municipality is the municipality (Danish, '' kommune'') that covers the island and its seat ...

. In the night of 21–22 June 1941 he and pilot Kjeld Pedersen made a spectacular escape from Denmark to Great Britain in a D.H. Hornet Moth. This would later inspire

Ken Follett Kenneth Martin Follett, (born 5 June 1949) is a British author of thrillers and historical novels who has sold more than 160 million copies of his works. Many of his books have achieved high ranking on best seller lists. For example, in the ...

to write his novel ''

Hornet Flight ''Hornet Flight'' is a Second World War-based spy thriller written by British author Ken Follett. It was published in 2002 by Macmillan in the UK and Dutton in the US. Plot introduction By late June 1941, the United Kingdom alone stood agains ...

''. Sneum stated he had planned to assassinate

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...

in February 1941 with a

longbow A longbow (known as warbow in its time, in contrast to a hunting bow) is a type of tall bow that makes a fairly long draw possible. A longbow is not significantly recurved. Its limbs are relatively narrow and are circular or D-shaped in cross ...

from a room in

Hotel d'Angleterre The Hotel d'Angleterre is one of the first deluxe hotels in the world. Situated in the heart of Copenhagen, Denmark, it is located on Kongens Nytorv opposite Charlottenborg, the Royal Opera and Nyhavn. While its history dates back to 1755, it h ...

, but the plan was, however, cancelled when Himmler failed to appear publicly.

References

1917 births People from Fanø Municipality Danish aviators Danish people of World War II 2007 deaths World War II spies for the United Kingdom {{World-War-II-bio-stub

Further reading

References