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{{Short description|1941 raid by British and Norwegian forces in the Lofoten Islands}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{EngvarB|date=December 2018}}
{{Infobox military conflict
 |conflict    = Operation Claymore
 |partof      = the [[North West Europe Campaign]]
 |image       = File:Raid on the Lofoten Islands, 4 March 1941 N396.jpg
 |caption     = Commandos watching fish oil tanks burning.
| image_upright = 1.0
 |date        = {{start date|1941|03|04|df=y}}
 |place       = [[Lofoten Islands]], Norway
 |coordinates  = {{Coord|68|09|09|N|14|12|00|E|display=inline,title}}
 |result      = British-Norwegian victory
 |combatant1  = {{flagcountry|UK}}<br>{{flag|Norway}}
 |combatant2  = {{flagcountry|Nazi Germany}}
* {{flagi|Flag of Nasjonal Samling.svg}} [[Quisling regime]]
 |commander1  = {{flagd|UK|}} [[Louis K. Hamilton]]<br>{{flagd|UK}} [[Clifford Caslon]]<br>{{flagd|UK}} [[Joseph C. Haydon]]<br>{{flagd|NOR}} [[Martin Linge]]<br>{{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Simon Fraser, 15th Lord Lovat|Lord Lovat]]
 |commander2  = ''Unknown''
 |strength1   = {{ubl|500 British|52 Norwegians|7 ships}}
 |strength2   = 1 [[naval trawler|armed trawler]]
 |casualties1 = 1 wounded
 |casualties2 = {{ubl|228 captured|10 ships sunk}}
 |campaignbox ={{Campaignbox Arctic Naval Operations of WWII}}
{{Scandinavia in World War II}}
}}

'''Operation Claymore''' was a British/Norwegian commando raid on the [[Lofoten Islands]] of [[northern Norway]] during the [[Second World War]]. The Lofoten Islands were an important centre for the production of fish oil and [[glycerine]], used in the German war economy. The landings were carried out on 4 March 1941, by 500 men of [[No. 3 Commando]],  [[No. 4 Commando]], and a [[Royal Engineers]] section, and 52 men from [[Norwegian Independent Company 1]]. Supported by the 6th Destroyer Flotilla and two troop transports of the [[Royal Navy]], the force landed almost unopposed. The original plan was to avoid contact with German forces and inflict the maximum of damage to German-controlled industry. They achieved their objective of destroying fish oil factories and some {{convert|3600|t|LT|abbr=on}} of oil and glycerine. The force returned with some 228 German prisoners, 314 Norwegian recruits, and a number of [[Quisling regime]] collaborators.

Through naval gunfire and demolition parties, 18,000 tons of shipping were sunk. Perhaps the most significant outcome of the raid was the capture of a set of rotor wheels for an [[Enigma machine]] and its code books from the German [[Naval trawler|armed trawler]] ''Krebs''. German naval codes could thereafter be deciphered at [[Bletchley Park]], providing the intelligence needed to allow [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] convoys to avoid [[U-boat]] concentrations.{{sfn|West|2015|p=10}} In the aftermath, the evaluation of the operation differed, with the British, especially [[Winston Churchill]] and the [[Special Operations Executive]], deeming it a success. In the eyes of the British, the main value of such actions was to tie up large German forces in occupation duties in Norway. [[Martin Linge]] and the other Norwegians involved were more doubtful of the value of such raids on the Norwegian coast, but were not told of the value of the seized cryptographic information. Ongoing analysis of period documents suggests that commando raids of this type were a 'cover' for so-called "pinch raids" designed to capture German cryptographic equipment without the enemy realizing that was the true purpose of the raids.

== Background ==
After the [[British Expeditionary Force (World War II)|British Expeditionary Force]] (BEF) had been expelled from Europe at the [[Dunkirk evacuation]] in 1940, British Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]] called for a force to be assembled and equipped to inflict casualties on the Germans and bolster British morale. Churchill told the joint chiefs of staff to propose measures for an offensive against German-occupied Europe and stated that "...&nbsp;they must be prepared with specially trained troops of the hunter class who can develop a reign of terror down the enemy coast".<ref name=has47>Haskew, pp. 47–48</ref> Lieutenant-Colonel [[Dudley Clarke]] had already submitted such a proposal to General Sir [[John Dill]], the [[Chief of the Imperial General Staff]]. Dill, aware of Churchill's intentions, approved Clarke's proposal.<ref name=has47/> Three weeks later, the first commando raid—[[Operation Collar (commando raid)|Operation Collar]]—took place. The raiders failed to gather any intelligence or damage any German equipment; their only success was in killing two German sentries.<ref name=has47/>

The commandos came under the operational control of the [[Combined Operations Headquarters]]. The man initially selected as the commander was Admiral [[Roger Keyes]], a veteran of the [[Gallipoli Campaign]] and the [[Zeebrugge Raid]] in the [[First World War]].<ref>Chappell, p. 6.</ref> In 1940, the call went out for volunteers from among the serving Army soldiers within certain formations still in Britain and men of the disbanding divisional [[Independent Companies]], originally raised from [[Territorial Army (United Kingdom)|Territorial Army]] divisions, which had seen service in Norway.{{efn|The 10 independent companies were raised from volunteers in second line Territorial Army divisions in April 1940. They were intended for [[guerrilla]] operations in Norway, following the German invasion. Each of the 10 companies initially consisted of 21 officers and 268 [[Other ranks (UK)|other ranks]].<ref>Moreman, p. 13</ref>}} In November 1940, the new army units were organised into a [[special Service Brigade|special service brigade]] under [[Brigadier]] J.C. Haydon, with four special service battalions.<ref>Joslen, p. 454</ref> By the autumn of 1940, more than 2,000 men had volunteered for commando training and the special service brigade now consisted of 12 units which were called commandos.<ref name=haw48>Haskew, p. 48.</ref>

After an inauspicious start, the first large-scale commando raid was to be on the Lofoten Islands just off the Norwegian coast, inside the [[Arctic Circle]], about {{convert|900|mi|km|abbr=on|spell=in}} from Britain. Once at the islands, the raiders would be landed at four small ports to destroy fish oil-producing factories. All the oil produced was being shipped to Germany, which extracted the glycerine, a vital ingredient in the manufacture of high explosives.<ref name=ch12>Chappel, p. 12</ref> The commandos would be transported to the islands aboard two new [[Landing Ship, Infantry|infantry landing ships]], escorted by four {{sclass2|Tribal|destroyer|0||1936}} and one [[L and M-class destroyer|L-class destroyer]] of the 6th Destroyer Flotilla.<ref name=ch12/>

==Mission==
[[File:HMS Somali (F33).jpg|thumb|alt=Royal Navy ship moored at sea|{{HMS|Somali|F33|6}}, leader of the 6th Destroyer flotilla]]
The commander of the raid was Rear Admiral [[Louis Keppel Hamilton]].<ref>{{cite web|access-date=5 July 2010 |work=Imperial War Museum Collection Search|publisher=[[Imperial War Museum]]|title=The Royal Navy during the Second World War: A6801 (photograph)|url=http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205185531}}</ref> The objectives of Operation Claymore were threefold. The Royal Navy were asked to safely escort the transports carrying the landing force to the islands and back. While there, they were to destroy or capture any German shipping or Norwegian shipping working for the Germans and provide [[naval gunfire]] support for the landing forces. The naval forces taking part were the escorts from the 6th Destroyer Flotilla: {{HMS|Somali|F33|6}}, {{HMS|Bedouin|F67|2}}, {{HMS|Tartar|F43|2}}, {{HMS|Eskimo|F75|2}} and {{HMS|Legion|G74|2}} under the command of Captain C. Caslon. Two newly converted landing ships, {{HMS|Queen Emma}} and {{HMS|Princess Beatrix}}, were to transport the landing force.<ref name=gaz1>{{London Gazette|issue=38331|date=22 June 1948|page=3687|supp=y }}</ref>

The landing force was provided by the special service brigade (Brigadier J. C. Haydon). The commandos taking part were 250 all ranks from [[No. 3 Commando]] (Major [[John Durnford-Slater]]), and 250 all ranks of [[No. 4 Commando]] (Lieutenant Colonel D. S. Lister). They were supported by a section of [[Royal Engineers]] of  No. 55 Field Company, (Second Lieutenant H. M. Turner) and four officers and 48 other ranks of the Norwegian Independent Company 1, (Captain [[Martin Linge]]).<ref name=gaz1/> The landing force was to destroy the oil-producing facilities in the ports of [[Stamsund]], [[Henningsvær]], [[Svolvær]] and [[Brettesnes]], engage the German garrison and attempt to take [[prisoners of war]] found in the area. They were also to detain any supporters of the Norwegian [[Quisling]] party and persuade the local population to leave the island and join the [[Free Norwegian Forces]].<ref name=gaz1/>

The force began its assembly at [[Scapa Flow]] in the [[Orkney Islands]] on 21 February 1941 and remained there for almost a week, before leaving for Norway just after midnight on 1 March 1941. The landing force was distributed amongst the ships, headquarters special service brigade were transported on ''Somali''. No. 4 Commando which had been assigned landings at Svolvær and Brettesnes were on board ''Queen Emma''. No. 3 Commando, which had been assigned landings at Stamsund and Henningsvær, were on board ''Princess Beatrix''. The Royal Engineers and Norwegian forces were divided between both the landing ships.<ref name=gaz1/>

The time they had spent at Scapa Flow was used getting acquainted with the transport ships and the [[Landing Craft Assault]] they would be using to reach the shore. The problems the navy perceived providing gunfire support were also discussed, as the destroyers would not be able to approach closer than {{convert|1|mi|km|abbr=on}} to shore owing to the shallows. Because of this, the commandos were trained to rely on their own weapons to provide covering fire and support each other from their landing craft. Plans were also made for them to look after themselves in case the destroyers were called away to deal with a naval threat, which included every man being ordered to take enough rations to last for 48 hours ashore.<ref name=gaz2/>

==Landings==
[[File:The Arrival at Lofoten - 4th March 1941 Art.IWMARTLD993.jpg|left|thumb|Arrival at Lofoten on 4 March 1941]]
The naval task force known by the codename ''Rebel'' left Scapa Flow and headed towards the [[Faroes]]. They berthed in the [[Skálafjørður]] at 19:00 hours 1 March 1941 to take on fuel. Refuelling took five hours and the naval task force headed north towards the [[Arctic]] to avoid detection by German air and sea patrols. They then turned east and headed towards Norway. They arrived at the Lofoten Islands just before 04:00 hours on 4 March 1941. Upon entering the [[Vestfjorden (Norway)|Vestfjorden]] found the harbour's navigational lights illuminated, which they took as a sign they had achieved surprise.<ref name=gaz2/>

The original plan was for simultaneous landings at 06:30 hours, but upon arrival this was postponed by 15 minutes to avoid landing in darkness. All commandos were ashore by 06:50 hours.<ref name=gaz2>{{London Gazette|issue=38331|date=22 June 1948|page=3688|supp=y }}</ref> The attack was largely unopposed apart from four rounds fired by the German [[Naval trawler|armed trawler]] ''Krebs'' at HMS ''Somali'' before she was sunk.<ref name=gaz2/> Damage and civilian casualties occurred as {{HMS|Bedouin|F67|2}} sank the Norwegian passenger ship ''D/S Mira'', which entered the scene of the action. The landing forces sank the merchant ships ''Hamburg'', ''Pasajes'', ''Felix'', ''Eilenau'', ''Rissen'', ''Andø'', ''Grotto'', and {{SS|Bernhard Schulte||2}}, which amounted to 18,000 tons.<ref name=ch12/><ref name=gaz3>{{London Gazette|issue=38331|date=22 June 1948|page=3689|supp=y }}</ref>

The force that landed at Stamsund destroyed the Lofotens Cod Boiling Plant. Two factories were destroyed at Henningsvær and 13 at Svolvær. In total, about {{convert|800,000|impgal|m3}}<!-- conversion needs checking. Previous value quoted tonnes --> of fish oil and [[kerosene|paraffin]] were set on fire.<ref name=gaz3/> The soldiers captured 228 prisoners - including seven from the ''[[Kriegsmarine]]'', three from the [[German Army (Wehrmacht)|''Heer'']], 15 from the ''[[Luftwaffe]]'', two from the ''[[Schutzstaffel]]'', 147 from the Merchant Navy and 14 civilians.<ref name=gaz3/>

[[File:HMS Legion Lofoten raids.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=ship at sea with a column of black smoke rising from the mountainous land in the background|Burning oil tanks seen from {{HMS|Legion|G74|6}}]]
Perhaps the most significant result of the raid was the capture of a set of rotor wheels for an [[Enigma machine|Enigma cypher machine]], and its code books. These were rescued from the sinking ''Krebs'', although her commander, Lieutenant Hans Kupfinger, threw his machine (one of three known to be on the island) overboard minutes before he was killed. Captured documents showed the ''Kriegsmarine'' Home Waters key for February and also helped solve the April traffic which was sent between 1 March and 10 May.{{sfn|West|2015|p=10}}

Their capture enabled [[Bletchley Park]] to read all German naval codes for some time and provided the intelligence needed to allow Allied convoys to avoid U-boat concentrations.<ref>Chappell, p. 13</ref> By 13:00 hours, both the infantry landing ships ''Princess Beatrix'' and ''Queen Emma'' had embarked all their troops and were ready to sail.<ref name=gaz2/> With them came 300 volunteers for the Free Norwegian Forces in Britain.<ref name=ch12/>

== Aftermath ==
After the raid, the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill issued a memo "to all concerned{{nbsp}}... my congratulations on the very satisfactory operation". Claymore was the first of 12 commando raids directed against Norway during the Second World War.<ref>Messenger, p. 15</ref> The Germans eventually increased the number of troops in Norway and by 1944, the German garrison was 370,000 men strong (a standard British infantry division in 1944 had 18,347 men).<ref>Chappell, p. 14</ref><ref>Brayley & Chappell, p. 17</ref> No. 3 and No. 4 Commandos became part of the [[1st Special Service Brigade]] and took part in the [[Normandy landings]] in June 1944.<ref>{{cite book |last=Moreman |first=Timothy Robert |title=British Commandos 1940–46 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |location=London |year=2006 |isbn=1-84176-986-X}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Operation Archery]]
* [[Operation Anklet]]
* [[Crown Film Unit]] account of the raid at the [[Imperial War Museum]] [https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1060006237]

== References ==

=== Notes ===
{{notelist}}

=== Citations ===
{{reflist|30em}}

=== Bibliography ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Brayley |first=Martin |last2=Chappell |first2=Mike |title=British Army 1939–45: North-West Europe |volume=I |publisher=Osprey |year=2001 |isbn=978-1-84176-052-0}}
* {{cite book |last=Chappell |first=Mike |title=Army Commandos 1940–1945 |year=1996 |publisher=Osprey |isbn=978-1-85532-579-1}}
* {{cite book |last=Haskew |first=Michael E. |title=Encyclopaedia of Elite Forces in the Second World War |publisher=Pen and Sword |location=Barnsley |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-84415-577-4}}
* {{cite book |first=H. F. |last=Joslen |title=Orders of Battle, Second World War, 1939–1945 |year=1990 |publisher=Naval & Military Press |location=Uckfield |isbn=978-1-84342-474-1}}
* {{cite book |last=Messenger |first=Charles |title=The Last Prussian: a Biography of Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, 1875–1953 |year=1991 |publisher=Brassey's |location=London |isbn=978-0-08-036707-1}}
* {{cite book |last=Moreman |first=Timothy Robert |title=British Commandos 1940–46 |publisher=Osprey |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-84176-986-8}}
* {{cite book
|series=[[History of the Second World War]], United Kingdom Military Series |title=The War at Sea 1939–1945: The Defensive |volume=I |last=Roskill |first=S. W. |author-link=Stephen Roskill |editor-last=Butler |editor-first=J. R. M. |editor-link=James Ramsay Montagu Butler |year=1957 |orig-year=1954 |publisher=[[HMSO]] |location=London |edition=4th |url=http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/UK/UK-RN-I/index.html |access-date=7 May 2018 |oclc=881709135}}
* {{cite book |last=West |first=Nigel |author-link=Nigel West |title=Double Cross in Cairo: The True Story of the Spy who Turned the Tide of War in the Middle East |publisher=Biteback |year=2015 |location=London |isbn=978-1-84954-796-3 }}
* {{cite book |first=Hugh |last=Sebag-Montefiore |author-link=Hugh Sebag-Montefiore |title=Enigma: The Battle for the Code |year=2001 |orig-year=2000 |publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson |location=London |edition=4th, pbk. Phoenix |isbn=978-0-75381-130-6}}
{{refend}}

== External sources ==
* [http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/UK/LondonGazette/38331.pdf Tovey, Admiral Sir John C. Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet, Despatch on raid on military and economic objectives in the Lofoten Islands (Norway) 1941 Mar.]

{{British Commando raids of the Second World War}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Claymore, Operation}}
[[Category:1941 in Norway]]
[[Category:Amphibious operations involving the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Amphibious operations of World War II]]
[[Category:Arctic naval operations of World War II]]
[[Category:Battles and conflicts without fatalities]]
[[Category:Battles and operations of World War II]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1941]]
[[Category:March 1941 in Europe]]
[[Category:Norwegian resistance movement]]
[[Category:World War II British Commando raids]]