Norwegian Campaign 1940

[Sylvester Stadler]

In the book BOMBING VINDICATED, author J.M. Spaight, Late Principal Assistant Secretary, Air Ministry wrote:

"... it is still undeniable that the Germans bombed undefended towns in Norway before we ever dropped a bomb in Germany.

'Kristiansund, an open and absolutely defenceless town where there have never been any military establishments whatever, was bombed for three days; only one house remained. .. . 15,000 inhabitants were left without shelter. In the same way Molde was bombed, and Reknes, the great sanatorium for tuberculosis, was bombed and set on fire.' [1] 'Where Elverum had been but a few hours before, only the church and the Red Cross hospital were left standing. . . . Hardly a house but had been razed to within four feet of theground.' "[2]

1 Carl J. Hambro, I Saw it Happen in Norway, 1940, p. 96. Halvden Koht, Norway Neutral and Invaded,1941, p. 111, says that not a single house was left in Kristiansund.

2 Mrs. Florence Harriman, Mission to the North, 1941, pp. 190-1.

I have been unable to find any corroborating evidence for Spaight's claims in the histories of the Norwegian Campaign, including Christopher Shores et al book, FLEDGLING EAGLES and histories of KG 4, KG 26 and KG 100, although KG 30 was also involved in the campaign and I am unaware of a history of this unit.

Did the Luftwaffe flatten Kristiansund and other Norwegian towns and did they knowingly target civilians or were there Allied military units in or around these towns? Or are Spaight's statements typical of the war propaganda?