Sabotage in Norway on 14 August 1944

[Laurent Rizzotti]

I found this today (while searching something else, as usual):
"On 14 August 1944, Nielsen initiated the sabotage against the Luftwaffe's depot at Bjølsen, where the Luftwaffe had confiscated part of a bus garage belonging to Oslo Sporveier. The depot had been moved there from Kjeller in fear of air strikes. Nielsen extracted information about the location from a contact in Oslo Sporveier, and also came along due to Gregers Gram's stay in Sweden at the time. The saboteurs sneaked into Oslo Sporveier's part of the garage, and stole keys from a night watch without drama. Nielsen kept guard in the night watch office; the other participants were Max Manus, Gunnar Sønsteby, Andreas Aubert, Henrik Hop, William Houlder and Erik Hansen Bakke. 120 kilograms (260 lb) of plastic explosives, carried to the garage in four suitcases, and a sack with 30 kilograms (66 lb) of dynamite were detonated. There was a fire lasting three days in which the Luftwaffe lost 25 Messerschmitt Bf 109's, 150 aircraft engines and their largest store of spare parts for fighters in Norway."

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Nielsen (yes, Wikipedia...)

I know that in 1944, the Luftwaffe was lacking men more than aircraft, but still 25 Bf 109s lost in one explosion will he a hard blow to a force of the size of the Luftwaffe in Norway in 1944. And my experience with French resistance claims is that such claims could be highly overrated.

So my question is: has someone a trace of this sabotage in a German document or an ULTRA intercept ?

Thanks in advance

[TormodChristiansen]

A German report about the sabotage was intercepted by the Norwegian underground services. Here is a transcribed version. (attached PDF) Only damage in percent and Wnr. are given in the report.

As a sidenote its seems fairly difficult to get hands on correct Wnr. and correct units to Planes damaged in Norway when comparing to other fronts. (regarding my own everlasting quest for the damaged Me109G2 in 1944 http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showthread.php?t=45329)

[Laurent Rizzotti]

Thanks a lot for you reply. So actually even more than 25 Bf 109s were involved, but not all were destroyed. Of the 33 machines, 30 were damaged, 5 over repair (60% or more). These 5 have "schrott" written next to their WNr, and a possible translation of this German term is that they were dumped. The strange thing is that the same term is listed next to three damaged aircraft that could have been repaired (20-35%), while it is not for aircraft damaged up to 50%.

I also notice that all five of the damaged beyond repair aircraft have WNr in the 41xxxx range, and were newer than most of the aircraft involved.

Of your list, this are the WNr that I found in my Norway loss list before 13-14 August 1944 (by the way I see that your document uses the date of 13rd, while my Norwegian source says the 14th. Does the sabotage take place during the night of 13-14.)
13787: a Bf 109 G-2, damaged at 10% with III./JG 5 on 9 July 1943
14020: a Bf 109 G-2, damaged at 15% with I./JG 5 on 1 April 1943
14623: a Bf 109 G-2, damaged at 20% with IV./JG 5 on 17 April 1943
14698: a Bf 109 G-2, damaged at 35% with Stab./JG 5 on 9 June 1943
14922: a Bf 109 G-4, damaged at 30% with 1.(F)/120 on 15 October 1943
10534: a Bf 109 G-2, damaged at 30% with Überführ.Kdo./LZ Gr.1 on 30 April 1943
19405: a Bf 109 G-4, damaged at 20% with 1.(F)/120 on 18 November 1943
20228: a Bf 109 G-2, damaged at 15% with IV./JG 5 on 27 October 1943
20259: a Bf 109 G-6, damaged at 10% with IV./JG 5 on 4 October 1943
10333: a Bf 109 G-2, damaged at 10% with I./JG 5 on 17 June 1943
20332: a Bf 109 G-6, damaged at 20% with V./JG 5 on 1 October 1943
19399: a Bf 109 G-4, damaged at 20% with 1.(F)/124 on 29 April 1943

And these are the losses I found after:
410780: a Bf 109 G-6, 100% loss on 12 March 1945 with 13./JG 5
410768: a Bf 109 G-6, 100% loss on 16 May 1944 with III./JG
15811: a Bf 109 G-6, 100% loss on 26 March 1945 with III./JG

[TormodChristiansen]

You're welcome, thanks for the summaries of the various planes.

Any chance for checking your own lists for G-2's from either JG 5 or from some obscure units as a Ziel-Staffel receiving 5 to 20% damage in a "Bruchlandung" between September 15th and November 30th 1944 in southern Norway?

Or for similar cases matching the Wnr. mentioned in my post on January 24th? (http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showth...t=45329&page=2)

[Laurent Rizzotti]

My sources are the loss lists that were available on the Net some years ago, with some corrections during the years. But they are lacking most of the losses for 1944 (or rather have them as you have, extracted from the database of SUmmary Luftwaffe losses with no detail except destroyed/damaged, the date and the unit).