Vemork Heavy Water Plant Sabotage and the Battle for Norway

The Vemork Heavy Water Plant Sabotage and the Battle for Norway was a pivotal moment in history. The plant, located in Telemark, Norway, was a key target for the Allies due to its production of heavy water, a crucial component in the production of atomic bombs.

In 1942, the Allies launched a series of sabotage missions against the plant, with the aim of disrupting its production. The first mission, known as Operation Freshman, was a failure, resulting in the deaths of five British commandos.

The Allies persisted in their efforts, and in 1943, a team of Norwegian commandos, led by Joachim Ronneberg, executed a daring raid on the plant, destroying its production facilities. This mission, known as Operation Gunnerside, was a success, and the plant was unable to resume production.

The sabotage of the Vemork Heavy Water Plant was a significant blow to the German war effort, and it played a crucial role in the Allied victory.

A unique perspective: Water Bucket Wheel

The Vemork Heavy Water Plant was a key target for the Allies during World War II due to its production of heavy water, a rare and valuable substance used in nuclear reactors.

Located in the Telemark region of Norway, the plant was situated near the town of Rjukan.

The plant's production of heavy water was a significant concern for the Allies, as it could be used to create an atomic bomb.

The plant's production was around 11 tons per year, but it was still a significant amount that could potentially be used for military purposes.

The plant's location in Norway made it a strategic target for the Allies, who wanted to prevent Germany from acquiring the heavy water.

The plant's production was carried out by a team of scientists and engineers led by Professor Hans von Halban.

In 1934, Enrico Fermi and his colleagues studied the results of bombarding uranium with neutrons, which led to the concept of nuclear fission being first mentioned by Ida Noddack.

Lise Meitner and Otto Robert Frisch correctly interpreted Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann's radiochemical experimental results as evidence of nuclear fission in December 1938.

Nazi Germany investigated the production of an atomic bomb, and a range of options was identified, including the use of heavy water as a moderator.

Heavy water was explored as an option by the Germans, but ultimately, they chose to pursue plutonium-239 (Pu) as the primary material for their atomic bomb.

The German program was handicapped by the Nazi purging of German Jewish physicists and the conscription of others, and it ended in the autumn of 1942.

The Germans needed about 5 tons of heavy water to operate a nuclear reactor, but the manifest indicated that there was only 500 kg of heavy water being transported to Germany.

The Hydro was carrying too little heavy water to supply one reactor, let alone the 10 or more tons needed to make enough plutonium for a nuclear weapon.

The team of saboteurs, including Joachim Rønneberg and Knut Haukelid, were tasked with destroying the heavy water production at the Norsk Hydro plant in Vemork.

The team successfully destroyed the plant, but not before the Germans had already shipped some of the heavy water to Germany.

Here is a list of the teams involved in the sabotage:

The French government was aware of the importance of heavy water in the production of Pu and took steps to secure it from the Vemork plant in Norway.

In 1940, the Deuxième Bureau directed three French agents to remove the world's extant supply of heavy water from the Vemork plant. They successfully transported 185 kg of heavy water to France, with the help of Norsk Hydro general director Axel Aubert, who agreed to lend the heavy water to France for the duration of the war.

The French agents transported the heavy water secretly to Oslo, then to Perth, Scotland, and finally to France. The Abwehr, German military intelligence, was present in Norway and had been alerted to ongoing French activities, but they did not intercept the shipment.

The heavy water was hidden in a Banque de France vault and later in a prison, and then moved to Bordeaux, where it was loaded onto the British tramp steamer Broompark. The ship delivered its cargo, including the global stockpile of heavy water, to Falmouth, Cornwall on June 21.

A total of four risky military operations were undertaken to halt Norsk Hydro's heavy water production at Vemork, which was a crucial part of the Nazi atomic project during World War II.

The Battle was a pivotal moment in history, and it's fascinating to learn about it from different perspectives. The Germans, Allies, saboteurs, and the company that owned the factory all played a role in the battle for heavy water.

The Battle for Heavy Water was portrayed from four different perspectives in the Norwegian drama series. This unique approach gives us a deeper understanding of the complex events that unfolded.

On the night of February 28, 1943, a daring sabotage mission took place at Vemork, where the heavy water cells were detonated, preventing the Germans from developing a potential atomic bomb.

On the night of February 28, 1943, 11 saboteurs embarked on a mission to infiltrate the Heavy Water Cellar undetected.

Their goal was to detonate explosives and thwart the enemy's potentially catastrophic plan to create an atomic bomb.

The saboteurs were successful in destroying the heavy water cells at Vemork, preventing the Germans from developing a potential atomic bomb.

The operation was one of the world's most renowned military operations, and it's still remembered today.

Eight decades later, visitors can explore the Heavy Water Cellar, the site of the sabotage mission, in an interactive exhibition.

In the Heavy Water Cellar, you can follow the path of the saboteurs using AR technology and witness the process of producing heavy water through an animation.

The entire experience within the Heavy Water Cellar is included in the admission ticket to Vemork.

The site of the Heavy Water Cellar has been preserved and is now a museum, offering a unique glimpse into the past.

In 2017, archaeologists excavated the site, uncovering the remnants of the cellar that had stood still for 40 years.

The excavation was documented in a fascinating documentary, "The Hunt for the Heavy Water Cellar".

The sinking of the SF Hydro was a pivotal moment in the Battle. On February 20, 1944, the ferry carrying heavy water across Lake Tinn sank shortly after its departure around midnight. Eight-and-a-half kilograms of plastic explosives, fixed to the keel with two alarm-clock fuses, were the cause of the disaster.

The ferry was carrying 29 people, of whom 18 were killed, including 14 Norwegian crew and passengers and four German soldiers. A 2005 expedition retrieved a barrel, numbered "26", from the bottom of the lake, which confirmed that the shipment was indeed heavy water.

The German plan to remove the heavy water was known to Norwegian commando Knut Haukelid, who advised to muster support and destroy the shipment. He recruited two people to help with the sabotage, and they successfully planted a bomb on the ferry.

The concentration of heavy water in some barrels was too small to be of value to a German weapons program, which might explain the lack of tight security around the shipment.

The night of February 28, 1943, was a pivotal moment in the Vemork Heavy Water Plant's history, as 11 saboteurs infiltrated the Heavy Water Cellar undetected and detonated explosives, thwarting the Germans' potentially catastrophic plan.

The attack halted production for several months, although it didn't permanently damage the plant, and it was repaired by April.

Production resumed, but the Germans' security had improved significantly, making a repeat commando raid extremely difficult.

The USAAF began a series of raids on Vemork, with a massive daylight bombing raid of 143 B-17 heavy bombers in November, dropping 711 bombs and causing extensive damage.

At least 600 bombs missed the plant, but the raids continued, with 35 B-24 heavy bombers attacking the hydro-electric power station at Rjukan on November 16 and 18.

The Germans, convinced that air raids would result in further serious damage, decided to abandon the plant and move its remaining stocks and critical components to Germany in 1944.