Operation Cartoon was a British Commando raid on the island of

Stord Stord is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland. Stord is sometimes called "Norway in miniature" since it has such a variety of landscapes: coastline, fjords, forests, agricultural ...

near

Leirvik Leirvik is a town and the administrative centre of Stord municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The town lies along the southern coast of the large island of Stord, along the Hardangerfjorden. The town gained "town status" in 1997. The town ...

Vestland Vestland is a county in Norway established on 1 January 2020. The county is located in Western Norway and it is centred around the city of Bergen, Norway's second largest city. The administrative centre of the county is the city of Bergen, where t ...

, Norway on the night of 1943. The operation was carried out by 53 men of No. 12 Commando supported by ten men from the

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

10 (IA) Commando (Captain Harald Risnes).

RAF Coastal Command RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...

co-operated with the Commandos, with aircraft from 18 Group.

Operation

The raiders were transported to Stord by seven

Royal Norwegian Navy The Royal Norwegian Navy ( no, Sjøforsvaret, , Sea defence) is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for naval operations of Norway. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 in mobilized state, ...

motor torpedo boats of the 30th MTB Flotilla. Their objective was the destruction of the

Pyrite The mineral pyrite (), or iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula Fe S2 (iron (II) disulfide). Pyrite is the most abundant sulfide mineral. Pyrite's metallic luster and pale brass-yellow hue giv ...

mine on the island. On arrival, half the commandos were landed at

Sagvåg Sagvåg is a village in Stord municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the southwest coast of the island of Stord, about west of the town of Leirvik. The Stord Airport, Sørstokken lies about northwest of Sagvåg. ...

quay and engaged German defensive positions, while the remainder were landed on the other side of the bay. The commandos carrying of explosives reached the Pyrite mine which was away after twenty-five minutes. The explosive charges put the ''

Stordø Kisgruber Stordø Kisgruber was a Norwegian mining company which operated the pyrite mines in Litlabø at Stord in Hordaland, Norway. Mining for pyrite at Litlabø had first been established in 1865. Stordø Kisgruber A/S was established in 1907 and mainta ...

'' mine out of action for a year. As they departed, the torpedo boats attacked a German steamer which they left sinking. The commandos took three German prisoners, papers and equipment, for the loss of one commando killed, two commandos and eight sailors injured.''Operation Cartoon'' (Commando Operations in Norway)
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Aftermath

Admiral

John Tovey Admiral of the Fleet John Cronyn Tovey, 1st Baron Tovey, (7 March 1885 – 12 January 1971), sometimes known as Jack Tovey, was a Royal Navy officer. During the First World War he commanded the destroyer at the Battle of Jutland and then co ...

said afterwards that and later that month the Norwegians sailed in a whaler to ambush a convoy at Lister light and bring it to Britain. The plan failed and the Norwegians stayed in Norway and at the end of February, hijacked some small vessels and fishing boats to Scotland. The Norwegian MTBs sank two ships in the Norwegian Leads in the middle of March

Operation

Aftermath

Footnotes

References

Further reading