Operation Fritham
Encyclopedia
Operation Fritham was a Norwegian
operation
with the goal of securing the rich coal mines on Spitsbergen
and denying its use to Nazi Germany
.
sailed from Greenock
heading for Svalbard
. They sailed aboard the ships SS Selis and SS Isbjørn. On 14 May, the two transport ships the men used were sunk by Luftwaffe
Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor
long-range patrol bombers. Twelve men were killed and 15 wounded.
The operation's commander was Einar Sverdrup
who died on the mission. Sverdrup had been the CEO of the Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani
, a Norwegian coal mining company based in Svalbard
.
. The survivors were on their own until May, when they were spotted by an Allied plane, following which they were supplied by air-drop. On 2 July the force were re-supplied by sea, an operation code-named Gearbox. They survived isolated on Spitsbergen until reinforcements arrived. Air raid
s continued against the Fritham force during this period and therefore Operation Gearbox equipped them with anti aircraft guns.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
operation
Military operation
Military operation is the coordinated military actions of a state in response to a developing situation. These actions are designed as a military plan to resolve the situation in the state's favor. Operations may be of combat or non-combat types, and are referred to by a code name for the purpose...
with the goal of securing the rich coal mines on Spitsbergen
Spitsbergen
Spitsbergen is the largest and only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in Norway. Constituting the western-most bulk of the archipelago, it borders the Arctic Ocean, the Norwegian Sea and the Greenland Sea...
and denying its use to Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
.
The mission
On 30 April 1942, 82 men from the Scottish BrigadeNorwegian Army
Norway achieved full independence in 1905, and in the first century of its short life has contributed to two major conflicts, the Cold War and the War on Terror. The Norwegian Army currently operates in the north of Norway and in Afghanistan as well as in Eastern Europe. The Army is the oldest of...
sailed from Greenock
Greenock
Greenock is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in United Kingdom, and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland...
heading for Svalbard
Svalbard
Svalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic, constituting the northernmost part of Norway. It is located north of mainland Europe, midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. The group of islands range from 74° to 81° north latitude , and from 10° to 35° east longitude. Spitsbergen is the...
. They sailed aboard the ships SS Selis and SS Isbjørn. On 14 May, the two transport ships the men used were sunk by Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor
Focke-Wulf Fw 200
The Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor, also known as Kurier to the Allies was a German all-metal four-engine monoplane originally developed by Focke-Wulf as a long-range airliner...
long-range patrol bombers. Twelve men were killed and 15 wounded.
The operation's commander was Einar Sverdrup
Einar Sverdrup
Einar Sverdrup was a Norwegian mining engineer and businessman. He was the CEO of the Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani, operating at Svalbard...
who died on the mission. Sverdrup had been the CEO of the Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani
Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani
Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani , or simply Store Norske, is a Norwegian coal mining company based on the Svalbard archipelago. It was formed in 1916, after a Norwegian purchase of the American Arctic Coal Company ....
, a Norwegian coal mining company based in Svalbard
Svalbard
Svalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic, constituting the northernmost part of Norway. It is located north of mainland Europe, midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. The group of islands range from 74° to 81° north latitude , and from 10° to 35° east longitude. Spitsbergen is the...
.
Aftermath of the air attack
The surviving soldiers managed to get to BarentsburgBarentsburg
Barentsburg is the second largest settlement on Svalbard, with about 500 inhabitants , almost entirely Russians and Ukrainians. The Russian-owned Arktikugol has been mining coal here since 1932.-Status:...
. The survivors were on their own until May, when they were spotted by an Allied plane, following which they were supplied by air-drop. On 2 July the force were re-supplied by sea, an operation code-named Gearbox. They survived isolated on Spitsbergen until reinforcements arrived. Air raid
Strategic bombing
Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in a total war with the goal of defeating an enemy nation-state by destroying its economic ability and public will to wage war rather than destroying its land or naval forces...
s continued against the Fritham force during this period and therefore Operation Gearbox equipped them with anti aircraft guns.