View source for Operation Freshman

{{Short description|Codename of a British operation during WWII}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{operational plan
| name        = Operation Freshman
| partof      = the [[Second World War]]
| image       = Rjukan_-_no-nb_digifoto_20160511_00012_NB_MIT_FNR_04361 (cropped).jpg
| caption     = The [[Vemork|Vemork hydroelectric plant]], circa 1947.
| scope       =
| type        = [[Sabotage]]
| location    = [[Telemark]], [[Norway]]
| coordinates = {{Coord|59|52|16|N|8|29|29|E|type:landmark|display=title}}
| map_type =
| latitude    =
| longitude   =
| map_size    =
| map_caption =
| map_label   =
| planned     =
| planned_by  = [[Combined Operations Headquarters]]<br />[[Special Operations Executive|SOE]]
| objective   = Destroy German [[heavy water]] production at Vemork
| target      =
| date        = 19 November 1942
| time        =
| time-begin  =
| time-end    =
| timezone    =
| executed_by = 34 glider borne commandos
| outcome     = Failure
| casualties  = 41 killed, 2 [[Airspeed Horsa|Horsa gliders]] and 1 [[Handley Page Halifax|Halifax bomber]] lost
| fatalities  =
| injuries    =
}}
{{Campaignbox British airborne forces operations}}
{{Campaignbox Raids and Commando Actions in Norway during World War II}}

'''Operation Freshman''' was the codename given to a British [[airborne forces|airborne]] operation conducted in November 1942 during [[World War II]]. It was the first British airborne operation using [[Airspeed Horsa]] [[military glider|gliders]], and its target was the [[Vemork]] ''[[Norsk Hydro]]'' hydrogen electrolysis plant in [[Telemark]], Norway which produced [[heavy water]] as a by-product.

By 1942, the [[German nuclear weapon project|German nuclear weapons programme]] had come close to being able to develop a [[nuclear reactor]], but for the reactor to function it would require a great deal of heavy water. The source of the heavy water was the Norsk Hydro plant, which had been occupied since 1940.
 
When the British government learned of the German nuclear developments, it was decided that a raid would be launched to destroy the plant and deny the Germans the heavy water required to develop a nuclear weapon. Several plans were discussed and discarded as impractical; it was decided that a small airborne force composed of [[sapper]]s from the [[Royal Engineers|Royal Engineer]] units attached to [[1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom)|1st Airborne Division]] would land by glider, a short distance from the plant, demolish it with explosives and then escape over the Norwegian border into Sweden. After an extensive training period, the airborne force took off in two aircraft–glider combinations on the night of 19 November 1942. Both the gliders and tugs were operated by aircrews attached to HQ&nbsp;[[No. 38 Wing RAF]].

The tugs and gliders managed to reach the Norwegian coast, but neither was able to reach their objective. The first pair suffered from navigational difficulties and severe weather, which resulted in the tow rope snapping and the first glider crash-landing, with its [[Handley Page Halifax|Halifax]] tug aircraft returning to base. Three airborne troops were killed and the survivors were captured shortly after the crash. The second pair fared even worse, with both the aircraft and glider crashing into a mountain after the aircraft flew low in search of the first glider. Both members of the glider crew were killed instantly, while one soldier passenger died soon afterwards from his injuries. Those who survived the crashes were captured by German forces and killed as a result of [[Wehrmacht]]'s [[Commando Order]], which stated that any Allied personnel captured while involved in [[Commandos (United Kingdom)|commando operations]] were to be killed immediately. At the end of the war, the Wehrmacht personnel involved were tried, sentenced to death and executed for their part in the murders.

==Background==
The German government began development of an [[German nuclear energy project|atomic weapons programme]] after two scientists, [[Lise Meitner]] and her nephew [[Otto Frisch]], declared in the February 11 1939 issue of the [[scientific journal]] ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'' that [[nuclear fission|atomic fission]] was possible and could release immense amounts of energy.<ref>Canada's Nuclear Story, pp.11</ref>  By September 1941, the German scientists assigned to the programme had determined how a [[nuclear reactor]] could be developed. This required significant quantities of [[heavy water]] to act as a [[neutron moderator]] to encase the [[uranium]] which would be used to provide the material for a [[nuclear weapon]].<ref name=DeGroot26>DeGroot, p. 26</ref> Heavy water was extremely scarce and difficult to produce, and Germany only possessed a small amount which had been produced in laboratories. Norway possessed a large stockpile which was produced by the [[Vemork]] ''[[Norsk Hydro]]'' [[chemical plant]] near the village of [[Rjukan]], but the Norwegian government would not sell more than three gallons of heavy water a month, becoming suspicious of the sudden increase in demand for the water by the German government. When Norway was invaded and occupied by Germany in April 1940 this obstruction ended; the Vemork plant was captured and began producing heavy water for the German atomic weapons programme.<ref name=DeGroot26/><ref name=Lynch34>Lynch, p. 34</ref> Production of heavy water was slowed initially due to the effects of the fighting in Norway and a drought in the area, which led to a lack of water to provide [[hydroelectric power]] for the plant. Once the weather improved and snow began to melt, providing enough water to create sufficient hydroelectric power, production continued.<ref>Dahl, p. 147</ref>

By mid-1942 it had come to the attention of the British government that the plant had begun to produce large quantities of heavy water and was stockpiling it for later use. The decision was therefore taken that the plant and the stockpiles of heavy water would have to be destroyed in order to impede the German programme.<ref name=Dahl193>Dahl, p. 193</ref> Several methods for destroying the plant were considered. The first was a mass raid by [[Royal Air Force]] (RAF) bombers, but this was rejected due to the difficulty in locating the plant during [[Strategic bombing during World War II#The British later in the war|night bombing]], the principal bombing tactic used by the RAF at the time, and the heavy casualties that would be inflicted on the local Norwegian population during a night raid. An attack by Norwegian saboteurs was also ruled out, as was landing troops by [[PBY Catalina]] flying boat on [[Møsvatn|Lake Møsvatn]], {{convert|15|mi|km}} from the target, the latter due to the steepness of the surrounding mountain slopes<ref name=Otway70/> and the inability of flying boats to land on the ice.<ref name=Mears73>Mears, p. 73</ref> It was decided that a raid by [[Military glider|glider]]-borne airborne troops would have the greatest chance of success.  The area around the plant would be difficult to land on, but a possible landing site for gliders was located near the Møsvatn dam,<ref name=Mears73/> although it would require considerable skill on the part of the glider pilots in order to land safely.<ref name=Otway70/>

==Preparations==

===Operation Grouse===
In March 1942 the British [[Special Operations Executive]] (SOE) had recruited [[Einar Skinnarland]], a Norwegian engineer who worked at the Møsvatn dam.  Skinnarland had successfully sailed to Britain and was parachuted back to Telemark after ten days of intensive training.<ref>Mears, pp. 23–24</ref> Having several contacts within Vemork he was able to roughly identify the disposition of German troops and other defences.<ref name=Mears42>Mears, p. 42</ref> Additionally SOE decided to send an advance party of Norwegian agents into Telemark, and began intensively training a four-man team over the summer.  The party, code-named Operation Grouse, was led by [[Jens-Anton Poulsson]] and also included [[Knut Haugland]], [[Claus Helberg]] and [[Arne Kjelstrup]].<ref>Mears, p. 47</ref> The Norwegians, all people local to the area with exceptional outdoors skills,<ref>Mears, pp. 27–30</ref> underwent extra outdoor training in Scotland as well as learning the skills necessary to operate in occupied territory; including [[sabotage]], [[radio transmission|radio transmitting]] and [[Guerrilla warfare|"irregular warfare"]].<ref>Mears, p. 36</ref>

The Grouse team were ready to be inserted by October.  Several flights were made but aborted due to bad weather, before the team finally dropped on 18 October.<ref>Mears, p. 46</ref> The team landed at [[Fjarefit]]<ref>https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA602996.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=August 2025}}</ref> on the [[Hardangervidda]] (a large wilderness avoided by the German forces)<ref>Mears, p. 48</ref> and spent the next 15 days trekking towards Møsvatn, where they made contact with Skinnarland's brother, Torstein.<ref>Mears, p. 61</ref> Once they had established contact with London the party began making preparations for the arrival of the British commandos.  A suitable glider landing site was chosen {{convert|3|mi|km}} south west of Møsvatn dam<ref>Mears, p. 63</ref> and the team reconnoitred the area to help Combined Operations decide the best way to attack the plant.<ref name=Mears70>Mears, p. 70</ref>

====German defences====
The geography of the area around the village and the plant meant that attacking the plant and destroying the existing stocks of heavy water would be extremely difficult. Both were situated in a deep valley which possessed thickly–forested sides that rose almost vertically from a narrow river–bed, and which was overlooked by [[Gaustatoppen]], a mountain approximately {{convert|5400|ft|m}} high; the plant itself had been built on a broad rock shelf {{convert|1000|ft|m}} above the river bed.<ref name=Otway70>Otway, p. 70</ref>

Einar Skinnarland had observed the German defences over the summer and passed the information back to SOE.<ref name=Mears42/> Later reconnaissance by Torstein Skinnarland and the Grouse team was also transmitted to London in the weeks leading up to the operation.<ref name=Mears68>Mears, p. 68</ref> In early October [[Generaloberst]] [[Nikolaus von Falkenhorst]], the [[21st Army (Wehrmacht)|commander in chief of the German forces in Norway]], had visited the plant.<ref name=Mears69>Mears, p. 69</ref> While there he warned the local garrison that he believed the plant was a likely target for British commando raids, but crucially he did not have the resources to increase the manpower there.<ref name=Mears68/> Although Einar Skinnarland had observed a garrison of 100 men in the village of Rjukan, 20 at the dam and about 55 near the main plant during the summer,<ref name=Mears42/> by October this had been reduced to about 12 at the plant, 12 at the dam and approximately 40 in Rjukan.<ref name=Mears68/> Most of the men were elderly or infirm Austrians under the command of an elderly captain, although well trained German regulars periodically passed through Telemark.  Skinnarland also believed that Gestapo agents were in the area.<ref name=Mears68/>

The Germans had erected three iron [[hawser]]s across the valley to prevent low flying bombing raids<ref name=Mears42/> but on the ground most of their defences were positioned to prevent an assault from the ridge above the plant, the direction from which they believed an attack was most likely.<ref name=Mears69/> Minefields and booby traps predominantly protected this side of the plant, but there were also searchlights on the roof and a machine gun nest near the entrance.<ref name=Mears70/> A single bridge crossed the steep gorge in front of the plant, but was normally only protected by two guards.<ref name=Mears70/> There were 300,000 German troops in Norway at this time and reinforcements could quickly be called into the area, which would complicate the commandos' escape to the Swedish border.<ref name=Mears68/>

===Planning===
The Headquarters staff of [[Combined Operations (United Kingdom)|Combined Operations]] at the [[War Office]] was tasked with devising a plan for the glider-borne assault on the plant, as it had been with previous airborne and [[Commandos (United Kingdom)|commando]] operations, such as [[Operation Biting]].<ref name=Otway70/> This was the first British airborne operation ever to use gliders; all previous operations had been conducted solely with parachutists.<ref name=Otway73>Otway, p. 73</ref> The staff decided that although gliders would be the most suitable for the operation due to the heavy loads to be carried by the airborne troops, and the possibility that they could be widely dispersed if they were dropped by parachute, the airborne troops would still be trained for a possible parachute insertion if the landing zone for the gliders was found to be unsuitable.<ref name=Otway70/> Because of the complicated and technical nature of the operation, which would see the plant rigged with explosives and then detonated, it was believed that a minimum of twelve to sixteen men was required, and that they would all have to be skilled engineers. The important nature of the operation also led to the force being doubled in order to duplicate it, to ensure that even if half of the force were killed, the survivors would have the necessary skills to complete the operation.<ref name=Lynch35>Lynch, p. 35</ref> The selected troops were volunteer parachutists chosen from the [[sapper]]s of [[9 Parachute Squadron RE|9th Field Company (Airborne)]] [[Royal Engineers]] and 261st Field Park Company (Airborne) Royal Engineers attached to [[1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom)|1st Airborne Division]], because the only parachute-trained Royal Engineers unit in existence at the time, 1st Parachute Squadron Royal Engineers, was already deployed in North Africa with [[1st Parachute Brigade (United Kingdom)|1st Parachute Brigade]].<ref name=Otway71>Otway, p. 71</ref> Both of the duplicated units that were to participate in the operation were to be commanded by officers from the Royal Engineers; the first by Lieutenant A.C. Allen and the second by Second-Lieutenant M.D. Green, who was later replaced by Lieutenant D.A. Methven when he was injured during a training accident three days before the operation was to begin.<ref name=Otway71/>
[[Image:Vemork 2008-02-08.JPG|thumb|alt=Snow covered winter wooded landscape, with factory on opposite slope of hills|upright|The Vemork hydroelectric plant in snow in 2008]]
The Royal Air Force unit selected to transport the sappers was 38 Wing, which was commanded by Group Captain T.B. Cooper; it was provided with a special allotment of three [[Handley Page Halifax]] [[heavy bomber]]s for the operation, which were the only British aircraft in existence at the time which were capable of towing [[Airspeed Horsa|Horsa gliders]] the distance required and then returning to their base.<ref name=Otway71/> The SOE agents selected a landing zone for the sappers, which was approximately {{convert|5|km|mi}} from the Norsk Hydro plant and could not be observed by German patrols.<ref>Wiggan, p. 50</ref> The plan for the operation called for the sappers to land in the two gliders at the landing zone, guided in by the SOE agents equipped with [[Eureka beacon|Eureka radio beacons]]. Once they had successfully landed, the sappers would be escorted to the plant by the SOE agents, demolish the plant and its stocks of heavy water, and then cross the Norwegian border into [[Sweden during World War II|neutral Sweden]].<ref name=Lynch34/><ref name=Otway71/>

Combined Operations initially suggested the men should fight their way to the Swedish border, but [[MI9]] believed their chances of survival were better if they attempted to disguise themselves as Norwegians and travel in pairs.<ref>Mears, p. 76</ref> In order to facilitate their escape the men were provided with civilian clothes (to be worn after the operation),<ref name=Mears77>Mears, p. 77</ref> simple Norwegian phrases (in the hope no German they encountered would speak Norwegian)<ref>Mears, p. 78</ref> and escape sets containing money and maps.<ref name=Mears77/> They were also ordered to shave any moustaches and grow their hair long in order to blend in with Norwegian men.<ref name=Mears77/>

===Training===
Training began in early October in Wales and was designed to be extremely arduous, not only to ensure that those who took part were at the peak of their physical and mental fitness, but also to eliminate any men unable to cope with the long marches and difficult terrain that would be encountered during the operation.<ref name=Har221>Harclerode, p. 221</ref> When this portion of the training had been completed, the sappers were then transferred to the area around [[Fort William, Scotland|Fort William]] in Scotland, where they were familiarised with a hydroelectric plant similar in design to the one in Norway, and received training on the most efficient way to plant explosives in the Norsk Hydro plant to cause maximum damage.<ref name=Har221/>

Training also took place at [[Port Sunlight]], where they were shown how to destroy large condensers of the kind found in the plant.<ref name=Har221/> The sappers were given detailed briefings on the plant and the surrounding area, and were trained on large models and mock-ups of the buildings that the plant was composed of, all based on information provided by the SOE agents who had arrived earlier in the month.<ref name=Har221/> Because the operation was considered to be extremely important, and its results vital to the Allied war effort, security efforts were extremely thorough. A cover story was provided for the sappers as they conducted their training; a rumour was spread that they were training to compete against a company of American engineers in a fictional 'Washington Cup' athletic event, which involved a long route march to be completed either by glider or parachute, followed by a complex demolition task and finally a demanding endurance test.<ref name=Otway71/><ref>Mears, p. 75</ref> The departure airfield was also sealed off to civilians and non-essential military personnel, and all mail and telephone calls were censored.<ref name=Otway71/>

==Operation==
After their training had been completed, on 17 November the sappers were transported to RAF Skitten, Killimster in Scotland, with the operation scheduled to commence two days later.<ref name=Otway72>Otway, p. 72</ref> On the evening of 19 November, Group Captain Cooper, with the aid of a Norwegian meteorologist and regular reports from the SOE agents stationed near the landing zone, decided that although the weather was not perfect, it would be best to launch the operation that night; Cooper believed that if it were delayed, the weather might deteriorate on subsequent days and prevent the operation from being conducted entirely.<ref name=Otway71/><ref name=Dahl342>Dahl, p. 342</ref> The first aircraft–glider combination took off from the airfield at 17:50, with the second following at 18:10; after circling the airfield several times the two combinations headed out across the [[North Sea]] towards their objective.<ref name=Otway72/>

===The first combination===
The first combination flew through poor weather conditions and managed to reach Norway and fly towards its objective. During the flight over Norway the [[Eureka beacon|Rebecca receiver]], which was supposed to pick up the [[transponder]] signal from the Eureka beacons being used by the Norwegian SOE agents, developed a mechanical problem and was unable to pick up the signal. This left the aircrew with only map-reading available to locate the landing zone, but the poor weather made this almost impossible.<ref name=Lynch35/>

On a second attempt to find the correct area, the combination flew into thick clouds approximately {{convert|40|mi|km}} northwest of [[Rjukan]], and ice began to form on both aircraft and glider, as well as the towing rope connecting the two. At this point the combination began to lose altitude, and the towing rope snapped, setting the glider free; low on fuel, the aircraft was forced to turn back after signaling to Skitten at 23:55 that it had released the glider, and only just succeeded in landing back in Britain.<ref name=Otway72/> Shortly after releasing the glider, the aircraft broadcast a second message, "Glider in sea", indicating the air crew's belief that the glider had crashed.  The [[Royal Navy]] was asked to begin a search-and-rescue mission, but had no ships in the area; an aerial search of the area was instead conducted, but did not find the glider.<ref>Wiggan, p. 54</ref>

The glider crash-landed in an area called [[Fyljesdal]], overlooking [[Lysefjord]].<ref name=Mears85>Mears, p. 85</ref> Of the seventeen men on board, three were killed outright.<ref name=Otway72/><ref name=Mears85/>

Thorvald Fylgjedalen, a local farmer, found some of the injured soldiers from the glider, but knew no English, and was unable to communicate with them.  Nonetheless, Fylgjedalen and his neighbour Jonas Haaheller decided that they would assist the wounded soldiers, and did not contact the German authorities.<ref>Wiggan, pp. 62–63</ref> After contacting more of the local residents, the soldiers asked for their assistance in escaping to Sweden, but Haaheller and others convinced them that this would be impossible, as it would involve travelling across the entirety of Norway.  Thus, the Norwegians sheltered and gave medical attention to the injured soldiers, but did not allow any of them to leave.<ref>Wiggan, pp. 64–66</ref> The Norwegians also burned all of the maps and documents from the glider crash before the Germans could arrive, and managed to keep the entire operation secret for almost twenty-four hours.<ref>Wiggan, pp. 66–67</ref>

German soldiers, including troops from both the [[Waffen SS]] and the [[German Army (Wehrmacht)|Army]], arrived the next afternoon on two boats from a nearby camp.  They took the British soldiers prisoner, and departed with them on the boats.  Despite the grave injuries suffered by some of the soldiers, they were still forced to walk under their own power and ride in the unsheltered boats in the cold.<ref>Wiggan, p. 68</ref> The dead soldiers were buried in a shallow grave.<ref name=Mears86>Mears, p. 86</ref>

===The second combination===
{{Location map many | Norway
|label= Vemork
|position= right
|lat= 59.871667
|long= 8.494444
|background=
|mark2=Blue_pog.svg
|label2=1
|position2=left
|lat2=59.06033
|long2=6.619263
|mark3=Blue_pog.svg
|label3= 2
|position3= left
|lat3=  58.534167
|long3= 6.131389
|background3=
|caption    = The glider crash sites in Norway.  The glider from the first combination came down at Fyljesdal, the tug and glider of the second combination crashed near Helleland.
|float      = right
|width      = 230
}}
The second combination managed to reach the coast of Norway, but fared even worse than the first combination; because of a turn in the weather,<ref name=Wiggan59>Wiggan, p. 59</ref> the tow aircraft (second Halifax) piloted by Flight Lieutenant Roland Parkinson, RCAF,<ref name=Wiggan53>Wiggan, p. 53</ref> released the glider and then crashed into a mountain at Hestadfjell in high winds, rain and hail.<ref name=Mears90>Mears, p. 90</ref> All of the aircrew were killed instantly.<ref name=Lynch35/> Workmen in the area heard the plane pass overhead shortly before crashing and alerted the German authorities, who arrived quickly.  Finding no survivors, the Germans threw the bodies of the aircrew into a nearby bog and left the area.<ref>Wiggan, p. 62</ref><ref>[https://tihlde.org/~ktsorens/flyvrak/helleland.html Halifax W7801]</ref>

Released just before the tow aircraft crashed, the second glider spiralled out of control and crash-landed in the mountains between [[Helleland]] and [[Bjerkreim]].<ref name="Wiggan59"/><ref name=Mears89>Mears, p. 89</ref> The two RAAF pilot and copilot of the glider, Norman Davies and Herbert Fraser, were killed instantly and the rest were injured to varying degrees, one of whom, 25 year old Driver Ernest Pendlebury, died soon after.<ref>Wiggan, p. 64</ref> The survivors were unwilling to leave the seriously wounded so two of the British soldiers left the crash site to search for help.  After searching for some time, they arrived in the hamlet of [[Helleland]] about {{convert|2|mi}} from where they had crashed, and made contact with one of the local residents, Trond Hovland.  The soldiers told Hovland about their injured comrades, and asked if he could help them find a doctor.  Hovland agreed to help, but informed them that the nearest doctor lived {{convert|9.3|mi|km}} away, in the town of [[Egersund]].  In order to contact him, Hovland would have to use the telephone system, controlled by the German authorities, which would alert them to the presence of the soldiers.  Believing that there was no alternative, the soldiers agreed to contact the Germans, expecting that they would be taken as [[prisoners of war]].<ref>Wiggan, pp. 59–60</ref> A party from the [[Norwegian Labour Service]] arrived at the crash site shortly afterwards and helped tend to the injured soldiers<ref name=Mears89/> who burned all of their sensitive documents and materials.  A German party arrived about twenty minutes later. Unwilling to abandon the wounded and doubting their chances of escaping to Sweden, Lieutenant Allen chose to surrender, believing that they would be treated as POWs. Underneath their uniforms, the soldiers wore civilian clothing and had been told to grow their hair and beards. With this, and the fact that sabotage equipment was found, Colonel Probst, the head of the Wehrmacht in the Stavanger district, had all survivors executed as partisans at the German camp at Slettebø near Egersund.<ref name=Mears89/><ref>Wiggan, pp. 60–61</ref>

==Aftermath==
The Allies were unaware of the fate of the operation until they intercepted a German communiqué stating that two gliders and one aircraft had been forced down, and the crews engaged and annihilated.<ref>Mears, p. 84</ref> On 11 December they received a message from an SOE agent explaining that the second glider's occupants had all been shot.<ref name=Mears87>Mears, p. 87</ref> Many of the details about the fate of the two glider combinations were only discovered after the war had ended.<ref name=Otway73/><ref name=Lynch35/>

None of the soldiers or aircrew who survived the crashes remained alive for very long. Of the soldiers from the first glider, three of the four injured men were tortured by the [[Gestapo]] and later killed by Stabsarzt [Dr] Werner Fritz Seeling who injected air into their bloodstreams.<ref>[https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=41538&sid=396dad0508dfba058e76d0a1dc157342&start=15 War Crimes Trial]</ref><ref name=Mears86/> The fourth injured man was shot in the back of the head the next day.  All four bodies were dumped at sea.<ref name=Mears87/><ref>[https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=41538&sid=396dad0508dfba058e76d0a1dc157342&start=15 The 4 Pows were Corp James D. Cairncross; L/Corp Trevor Louis Masters; Driver Peter P. Farrell; Sapper Eric J. Smith]</ref> The five uninjured men were held at [[Grini concentration camp]] until 18 January 1943, when they were taken to nearby woods, blindfolded and executed by the Gestapo.<ref name=Lynch35/><ref name=Otway72/><ref name=Mears86/><ref>[https://tihlde.org/~ktsorens/flyvrak/fylgjesdalen.html Horsa]</ref> The German [[Wehrmacht]] and the Gestapo argued over the fate of the prisoners from the second glider.<ref>Mears, p. 88</ref> The Wehrmacht believed they should be treated in accordance with the [[Geneva Convention]], but in the end the survivors were interrogated and executed within a few hours of their capture at the German barracks at Bekkebø.  They were taken into nearby woods and shot one by one, each being forced to listen to the man before him being executed.<ref name=Mears90/> Their bodies were stripped and thrown into an unmarked grave.<ref name=Lynch35/> All of the executions were conducted in accordance with the [[Commando Order]] issued by the [[OKW|Wehrmacht High Command]] in October 1942, which stated that all Allied commando troops were to be killed immediately upon capture.<ref name=Otway73/><ref name=Lynch35/> The local Norwegian population were unable to prevent the prisoners being executed, but tended the graves of the dead until the end of the war.<ref name=Mears90/>

Although the Allied soldiers believed that they had burnt all of their maps, one from the second glider was missed.<ref name=Mears89/> When the Germans found it they were able to identify the Vemork plant as the target and increased their defence accordingly.<ref>Mears, p. 94</ref> German reprisals started instantly and 200 armed Gestapo agents swept into Rjukan where they arrested 21 Norwegians for questioning,<ref name=Mears92>Mears, p. 92</ref> but the members of ''Operation Grouse'' slipped away into the wilderness of [[Hardangervidda]].<ref name=Mears91/> They later contributed to the successful [[Norwegian heavy water sabotage#Operation Gunnerside|Operation Gunnerside]] in February 1943, when a small team of Norwegian SOE agents were parachuted into the area and destroyed much of the heavy water equipment in Vemork plant.<ref>Dahl, p. 204</ref> The plant eventually resumed operation, but further bombing raids ensured it produced little heavy water for the German atomic weapons programme.<ref>Dahl, p. 236</ref>

Although the operation had been a failure, it demonstrated the range, flexibility and possibilities of airborne forces and glider operations, and also highlighted equipment failures that were rectified for later operations.<ref name=Otway73/> This included developing a new version of the Rebecca-Eureka homing device system, the Mk II, which was ready by 1943 and proved to be very successful when used in later airborne operations; during [[Operation Market Garden]] and [[Operation Varsity]], aircraft that used the system reported a 95% success rate.<ref>Otway, p. 406</ref>

[[Image:VemorkHydroelectricPlant.jpg|alt=Building in wooded hills|thumb|The [[Vemork]] Hydroelectric Plant as it looks today. Heavy water production took place in the now-demolished Hydrogen Production Plant, formerly situated to the left (i.e. in front) of the building in the picture.]]
When 1st Airborne Division [[Operation Doomsday|arrived in Norway]] in May 1945, they were informed of the fate of the prisoners, and cooperated with the Norwegian government to have the men buried with full military honours.  The five from the first glider were re-interred at the [[Commonwealth War Graves Commission|Commonwealth War Graves]] plot at [[Vestre Gravlund]] near Oslo.<ref name=Mears86/> The second glider's occupants were reburied at [[Eiganes]] churchyard in Stavanger<ref name=Mears90/> and the Halifax aircrew were reburied at Helleland.<ref name=Mears91>Mears, p. 91</ref>

The head of the Gestapo in Oslo, who had signed the order for the prisoners' executions, killed himself several days prior to 1st Airborne Division's arrival in May 1945, but several Wehrmacht personnel implicated in the decision to execute the prisoners were put on trial and found guilty: Dr Seeling was shot 10 January 1946 at Akershus Prison, Oslo; Hauptscharführer Erich Hoffman was hanged 15 May 1946 in Hameln, Germany; whilst Unterscharführer Fritz Feuerlein who had shot a prisoner in the back of the head was sentenced to life imprisonment but was extradited to the [[Soviet Union]] for alleged abuse conducted against Soviet prisoners.<ref name=Lynch35/><ref name=Dahl342/>{{Verify source|date=March 2024}} The commander of the German forces in Norway&nbsp;– [[Generaloberst]] [[Nikolaus von Falkenhorst]]&nbsp;– was also found guilty of two of the Freshman deaths during his war crimes trial.<ref name=Mears90/> [[Sven Hedin]] intervened on his behalf on 4 December 1946, with the argument that von Falkenhorst had likewise striven to pardon the ten Norwegians condemned to death.<ref>''Sven Hedin's German Diary 1935–1942'', Dublin 1951, ss. 204–217</ref> The sentence was later commuted to twenty years' imprisonment. Falkenhorst was released from [[Werl Prison]] on 23 July 1953, due to bad health and died in 1968.{{cn|date=March 2024}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Cite book
  | last = Berglyd
  | first = Jostein
  | title = Operation Freshman: The Hunt for Hitlers Heavy Water
  | publisher = Leandoer & Ekholm
  | location = Solna
  | year = 2007
  | isbn = 978-9197589598}}
* {{Cite book
  | last = Dahl
  | first = Per F.
  | title = Heavy Water and the Wartime Race for Nuclear Energy
  | publisher = CRC Press
  | location = London
  | year = 1999
  | isbn = 1844157369}}
* {{Cite book| last=DeGroot| first=Gerard| title=The Bomb: A History of Hell on Earth| publisher = Penguin Books| location = London|year= 2004 | isbn = 0712677488}}
* {{Cite book| last=Harclerode| first=Peter| title=Wings Of War – Airborne Warfare 1918–1945| publisher=Pimlico| location = London|year= 2005 | isbn=0304367303}}
* {{Cite book
  | last = Lynch
  | first = Tim
  | title = Silent Skies: Gliders At War 1939–1945
  | publisher = Pen & Sword Military
  | location = Barnsley
  | year = 2008
  | isbn = 978-0750306331}}
* {{Cite book|last =Mears|first=Ray|author-link=Ray Mears|title=The Real Heroes of Telemark|publisher=BBC|year=2004|isbn=0340830166}}
* {{Cite book| last=Otway| first=Lieutenant-Colonel T.B.H.| title=The Second World War 1939–1945 Army–Airborne Forces| publisher=Imperial War Museum| location = London| year= 1990| isbn=0901627577}}
* {{Cite book|last = Wiggan | first = Richard | title = Operation Freshman | publisher = William Kimber | location = London| year = 1986 | isbn = 071830571X}}
{{Refend}}

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

{{Good article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Freshman, Operation of 1942}}
[[Category:Conflicts in 1942]]
[[Category:Airborne operations of World War II]]
[[Category:Military history of Norway during World War II]]
[[Category:Military operations of World War II involving Germany]]
[[Category:Norwegian resistance movement]]
[[Category:Nuclear program of Nazi Germany]]
[[Category:World War II sabotage]]
[[Category:World War II aerial operations and battles of the Western European Theatre]]
[[Category:World War II British Commando raids]]
[[Category:Glider Pilot Regiment operations]]
[[Category:November 1942 in Europe]]