The Shetland Bus

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They parachuted from an RAF plane, skied snowy hills, crossed icy rivers, detonated explosives to erase the entire inventory, and journeyed 400 kilometers to Sweden — completely undetected. During the German occupation of Norway, from 1940 to 1945, every Norwegian knew that small boats were constantly sailing from the Shetland Isles to Norway to land weapons and supplies and to rescue refugees. The Norwegians who stayed in Norway and struggled there against the invaders were fortified by this knowledge, and gave the small boats the familiar name which is the title of this book: 'to take the Shetland bus' became a synonym in Norway for escape when danger was overwhelming. This record of the adventures of the Norwegian sailors who manned the boats is offered as a tribute from an English colleague to Norwegian seamanship, and as a humble memorial to those who lost their lives." - D.H. When our friends in the base disappeared in this way we could not forbear to speculate on the possible causes of their deaths, though we knew such speculation was useless. From the loss of Blia the image of a dreadful scene of suffering and fear, of revolt against an inescapable fate, or of resignation as the end could be seen to be approaching, will always remain with us and haunt us, and remind us that though wars can still bring adventures which can stir the heart, their true nature is of innumerable personal tragedies, of grief, waste and sacrifice, wholly evil and not redeemed by glory (77)." The first official journey was carried out by the Norwegian fishing vessel the Aksel, which left Luna Ness on 30 August 1941 on route to Bremen in Norway. This book examines that first journey, as well later ones, and discusses the agents and operations which members of the Shetland Bus were involved in throughout the war. It also looks at the donation of 3 submarine chasers to the operation, made in October 1943, by the United States Navy.

The occupation of Western Europe and Scandinavia in the spring of 1940 crippled Britain's ability to gather intelligence information. After the Germans invaded Norway, many Norwegians knew that small boats were constantly sailing from the Shetland Islands to land weapons, supplies, and agents and to rescue refugees. The German occupation of Norway had other numerous pronounced effects on the country. Prior to the occupation, Norway had a strong economy with numerous trading partners throughout Europe. Almost immediately after German troops set foot on Norwegian soil, all of that stopped. She lost all of her major trading partners. Her only trading partner after April 1940 was Nazi Germany. But it was not a profitable partnership for Norway, as all Germany did was take by way of confiscation. The value in using Norwegian sailors was that they countered avoidable risks; local knowledge to distinguish manmade flaws in the landscape — a sentry, perhaps, or a new fixture designed to overwatch the coast — was a priceless asset.

A Motley Crew

Those boats are the ten "Shetland Bus" boats that were lost from the base in Scalloway. For different reasons, there were some boats that started out from a base in Peterhead, and some of them were also lost. Owned by Ansgar Sønderland and Johan O. Rørvik, Vigra. 52 feet long and with a 60hp (45kW) June-Munktell engine. But all was not death and destruction for the Shetland Bus. Flemington House has a distinction that, if not unique, certainly ranks as a rarity in the history of special operations. Capt. Arthur W. Sclater succeeded Mitchell in December 1942; Alice, his Norwegian-born wife, served as welfare officer for the crews. On March 26, 1945, in one of Flemington House’s bedrooms, she gave birth to their second son, Michael. A Royal Navy chaplain conducted the baptism using the ship’s bell of a submarine as a font.

Shetland Islands Council also provide a Voicebank for School Transport, available on 01595 745743. Public Holidays The Shetland “Bus” was a crucial connection for the resistance, as well as the arrival of Norwegian refugees to Shetland, formed by Norwegian fishing ships that would make trips between Norway and Shetland communities like Kergord and Lunna. Scalloway would go on to become the main base for the Bus from 1942 onwards. It now holds most of the memorials and tributes dedicated to the operation. The Vita arrived at Shetland on 9 May 1940 with four Norwegian Navy officers and two other refugees aboard. The Vita started as a "Bus" boat before the "Shetland Bus" was officially established. Her first voyage to Norway was on 22 December 1940, skippered by Hilmar Langøy. The next was on 27 March 1941, this time skippered by Ingvald Johansen, who became her skipper for the rest of her missions. Johansen's crew were; Åge Sandvik, H.W. Olsen, Jens Haldorsen and J. Hermansen. These engines were very unusual, and spare parts were not available in Britain, but that was easily solved. Norway's largest engine factory, Wichmann Diesel, at the time under German control, was located at Bømlo, near Bergen. The agents in the area received messages about which parts were needed, workers in the factory, many of them active members of the Resistance Movement, smuggled them out, and the parts were sent to Shetland with the next "Bus".A mission on the horizon in 1942 to target the German battleship Tirpitz was given to the only skipper bold enough to carry it out. The Tirpitz looked like a skyscraper on its side, outfitted with the biggest guns the German Navy had ever built. To say it was enormous would be an understatement. Strategically placed at the Trondheim fjord, British destroyers and aircraft carriers were occupied in its surveillance but were desperately needed elsewhere. On 9 May 1945, Vigra, commanded by Larsen, and Hitra, by Eidsheim, entered the harbour of Lyngøy near Bergen in free Norway. The group had made 198 trips to Norway in fishing boats and submarine chasers, Leif Larsen completing 52 of them. The "Shetland Bus" had transported 192 agents and 383 long tons (389t) of weapons and supplies to Norway and had brought out 73 agents and 373 refugees. Forty-four members of the group were killed. Pal Hope, defence attache for the UK, said: “Visiting (Shetland) now with the rough conditions, we can only imagine what it was like in the small vessels they were operating at the time. When the German guard along the Norwegian coast was tightened in 1943, the Shetland Bus switched to three smaller American submarine fighters. This increased the success rate of the missions. Riding the Shetland Bus

In The Shetland Bus, David Howarth, who was second in command of the Shetland base, recounts the hundreds of trips made by fishing boats in the dark of Arctic winter to resist the Nazi onslaught. They had bunks for six or eight men in the forecastle, and two in the small cabin aft,” Howarth wrote. “The hold amidships could carry eight or ten tons of small arms and explosives, and the wheelhouse, which was built on top of the engine casing, usually had a small chart-room opening off it, and a galley behind.” The Shetland Bus Memorial is located at Scalloway, and the local museum has a permanent exhibition relating to the activities of the Shetland Bus. [12] In 2018 Norwegian visitors were among those attending a service at the memorial to commemorate the 75th anniversary of an improvement in the safety of operations as a result of the introduction of new ships - the Hitria, Vigra and Hessa [13] In popular culture [ edit ] But all was not death and destruction for the Shetland Bus. Flemington House has a distinction that, if not unique, certainly ranks as a rarity in the history of special operations.

The charity recently opened a new museum which includes a section dedicated to Shetland Bus memorabilia. Our most recent acquisition is a four man rowing boat which was brought across on a restored Shetland Bus fishing boat from Norway. Much of what we know today about the operation is thanks to the 1951 book, The Shetland Bus. Subtitled A classic story of secret wartime missions across the North Sea, the book chronicles the period through the perspective of junior naval officer David Howarth who helped set up the base. The early plans for the Shetland Bus put the operation under British Command. The Brits lost resources through aircraft and naval vessels due to the losses at Dunkirk but had the logistics to pull off the cloak-and-dagger nature of the job. At sea, however, the Norwegians led the charge. Major L.H. Mitchell , a thin British army officer, arrived on the Shetland Islands in December 1940. He was sent by the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) and SOE. His first task required the setup of a headquarters at Flemington , a two-story farmhouse on a tree plantation developed into a rendezvous point for SOE officers to brief mission plans. Flemington’s garden provided a test range for operators to use their equipment and enhance wireless communications, so they would know how to confront a malfunction when the equipment was used in actual operations.

When Germany launched Operation Weserübung, the invasion of Norway on 9 April 1940, French and British troops and ships were sent to help the Norwegians. Several coastal towns were bombed and destroyed by the Germans, and during April and May, the British ships had to retreat from mid-Norway. On 29 April, HMS Glasgow left the devastated city of Molde with King Haakon VII, Crown Prince Olav, members of the Norwegian Government, and most of the gold from the Norwegian National Bank. In northern Norway, the fighting lasted for another month. A few weeks after the occupation began, the first boats of an "armada" of fishing vessels and other boats began to arrive in Shetland. Some boats made several journeys across the North Sea carrying refugees. [3] ZetTrans recognises that public bus services must be effective in providing for a number of different needs beyond those of the daily commute. With this in mind, ZetTrans is committed to ensuring that the public bus service seeks to meet the needs of all its users while remaining affordable and being better integrated with inter-island ferry and plane services. Timetable Information From August 1941 until the end of the war in May 1945, the Shetland Bus conducted more than 150 missions, transporting to Norway 192 agents and 383 tons of weapons and supplies, and rescuing 373 Norwegians.As a "Shetland Bus", the Heland made several tours to Norway, mostly skippered by August Nerø, but with other skippers too. There were many narrow escapes, but the vessel always returned safely to Shetland. In 1943, when the submarine chasers arrived, the Heland became a reserve vessel and made transport voyages to Scotland. The Shetland Bus plays a role in the plot of mystery novel, Red Bones by Ann Cleeves, and in the BBC television series based on Cleeves' novels, Shetland, episodes 1 and 2, "Red Bones". [15] See also [ edit ]