How the secret “Shetland Bus” helped Norway during World War II

It sounds that the plot of a spy novel may be, but the Shetland Bus was a real undercover operation to help resistance to Norway occupied by Nazi during World War II.

In the depths of winter and under the guise of darkness, convoys of small fishing boats left the safety of the most rage islands in Scotland to deliver valuable loads and special agents for bays and fishing ports 200 miles along the shore of Norway.

During dangerous trips for returning, the refugees fleeing the occupation were hidden in the fishing boat hold as they were looking for a sanctuary in the British Isles.

To celebrate the 80th anniversary of winning Europe (VE), six of the historic ships that are part of the Shetland Bus convoys will sail from Bergen to Norway again to repeat the trip back to Shetland.

They plan to arrive in Lervik on Tuesday on time for the memory of VE Day.

Norway invaded Nazi Germany on April 8, 1940, a few months before France’s full occupation.

The Norwegian government and his royal family, including King Haacon VII, were forced to exile in London and thousands of Norwegian people, followed by fishing boats and other small ships, crossing the North Sea to seek asylum in the UK.

In July 1940, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill established an illegal organization called CEO of Special Operations (SOE), for the sole purpose of performing espionage and sabotage missions in German Europe.

The Shetland bus convoys were part of the Norwegian branch of the DP, supporting the Norway Resistance Movement.

Between 1940 and 1945, they made 200 transitions to the North Sea, transporting hundreds of resistance agents, tons of weapons and provisions and saving more than 300 Norwegian refugees fleeing the occupation.

The 200 miles crossings were held in the winter to make the most of the hours of darkness and to avoid noticing German patrols.

But that meant that the sea was often insidious.

The crews and passengers on board had to withstand not only the harsh conditions of the North Sea, but also the constant risk of detection by German aircraft or patrol boats.

On September 27, 1941, MK Arnefjord left the small island of Ernar, northwest of Bergen, carrying 20 refugees.

Although the weather started quietly, they soon came across a storm. Everyone was on board and some were discussing the back.

In the end, Arnefjord made it safe and delivered crews and passengers to Musa Island in Shetland.

But others were not so lucky. Of the six boats that went to the North Sea with Arnefjord this weekend, only four did it.

A total of 10 fishing boats were lost during the buses of Shetland, and 44 men lost their lives.

The current captain of MK Arnefjord, Morten Neset, will make a return to Shetland as part of VE Day’s memory.

He told the BBC Scotland News that boats should make crossings in the winter or late fall so that they are not discovered by the Germans.

“If they went on a clear summer day, they would be noticed immediately,” he said.

“The Shetland bus was really important to the total population of Norway, as it showed that someone was” standing for them “in their resistance to the occupation.”

Bill Moore, a bus friendship society in Shetland, said that although it was difficult to say what influence had on the war, it was an important part of the resistance movement that gave optimism and hope to the people in Norway.

People said they “accepted the Shetland bus” as an occupation avoidance code.

Setland residents hosted soldiers and refugees from Norway throughout the war, forming a close connection between the two places that endure to this day.

Thehe Liberation He will leave Bergen in Norway at 19:00 on Sunday and is scheduled to arrive in Lervik in the morning of Tuesday, May 6, where he will participate in a number of commemorations of the day.