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Jet · #1 (**permalink**) June 25th, 2003, 07:04 PM

Lofoten Island Raids

At the same time, No.4 Special Service Battalion (Referred from here as 4 SS) was formed from Nos 3 and 8 Commandos. 4 SS Battalion was selected to take part in Operation Claymore against the Lofoten Islands, who in company with 3 SS, sailed with brigadier Haydon and his headquarters with 50

Norwegian sailors aboard HMS Queen Emma and Princess Beatrix and a naval escort from Scapa Flow on 21st February. They stopped at the Faeroe islands on route for some final training and here No.3 SS Battalion Company became No.4 Commando and No.4 Company was designated No.3 Commando. They set off again on 1st March, arriving at the Lofoten Islands in the early hours of 4th March.

The Germans were totally unaware of the attack, and the German troops were taken by surprise. The Fish Oil factories and military installations were destroyed and they then reembarked and headed for home. Lord Lovat had joined No.4 Commando and had captured the German staff at a seaplane base nearby. They returned home with 315 volunteers for the Norwegian forces, sixty Quislings and 225 German prisoners, all for the cost of one casualty, an officer who had accidentally shot himself in the thigh. The Trawler Krebs was also boarded and the Enigma cypher machine onboard, though thrown overboard, had a spare set of cyphers which were captured and passed onto Bletchley park.

A mission was planned against the Canary Islands, in case Spain entered the war, and ten Amphibious landing ships with Force 110 aboard, with a commando contribution of four small parties, drawn from Nos. 2, 1 and 3 combined, 4 and 9 commandos. They sailed to Freetown, Sierra Leone, where they remained for a time until the plan was abandoned and they returned to the UK, stopping off at one time at Ascension Island due to a possible invasion scare.

Following an abortive mission to Norway, a second raid was planned this time against Vaagso, to destroy German military installations. No.4 Commando contributed a medical detachment to the force. No.12 Commando mounted a raid against Lofoten Islands as a diversion and captured the garrison there. Vaagso was raided with the support of naval gunfire, Bomber Command Hampdens and Coastal Command Blenheims, with other Blenheims and Beaufighters overhead to keep the Luftwaffe at bay. They landed at 0700 on the 27th, and one landing craft was hit by a phosphorous bomb dropped by an aircraft and hit by German fire. The main objectives were taken, but South Vaagso was tougher than expected and almost the entire force was required to reduce the garrison there. The force reembarked at 1445 hours, bringing back some Norwegian volunteers, 98 prisoners and 4 Quislings. However, 17 commandos had been killed and the Navy had suffered 2 killed and 6 wounded, the commandos had also suffered 53 wounded.