The Shetland Bus

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I really enjoyed this book. For all the chaotic and brave stories that came out of WW2, this one seemed special and isolated. A small team of sailors set up base in the Shetland Islands during Nazi Germany’s reign in Norway in WW2. The team traveled to Norway to smuggle in supplies or to take out refugees, and this book is simply the account of the entire process from the formation of the Shetland Bus to the many successful missions they carried out. After the War he designed and built boats before turning to writing full time. He wrote an account of the Shetland Bus operation, as well as many other books of history, bringing to his many of his books an immense practical knowledge of ships and the sea. Owned by Sevrin Roald, Arne Roald and Olav Røsvik, of Vigra. Built by Einar Helland, Vestnes 1937. 60 feet (18m) long, with 85hp (63kW) Haahjem engine.

The toll on boats and crew – 44 men had been lost by early 1943 – led to the fishing boats being replaced by ‘sub-chasers’, fast armed patrol boats borrowed from the US navy. They carried out hundreds more missions with no loss of life, right to the end of the war.

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WWII seems to have been so overwhelmingly huge that I don't think I'll ever stop finding books that tell stories that surprise me. This one is the story of an undercover supply line between the Shetland islands and occupied Norway. Participants were Norwegian civilian fishermen and UK soldiers and sailors, including the author who was one of the commanders. Collectively, the group of men who were the Shetland Bus originally had the name of the Norwegian Naval Independent Unit, but in October 1943, when it officially became part of the Royal Norwegian Navy, it was renamed the Royal Norwegian Naval Special Unit. The Shetland Bus Memorial is likely the centerpiece of this legacy, consisting of a small metal sculpture representing one of these fishing boats. Other features in the area include a concrete plaque, along with information boards on the windows of nearby buildings. From August 1941 until the end of the war in May 1945, the Shetland Bus conducted more than 150 missions, transporting to Norway 192 agents and 383 tons of weapons and supplies, and rescuing 373 Norwegians. Following the war, Larsen received multiple medals in both Norway and Britain. According to Scalloway Museum, no other non-Brit has received more British medals.

When the war ended, the Heland returned to Norway and became fishing vessel again. In 1971, it was donated to Sunnmøre Museum. The Heland is now preserved as a typical representative fishing vessel of the "Shetland Bus" fleet. The M/K. Blia left Norway on 14 November 1941, en route to Shetland. Captain of the vessel was 21-year-old Ingvald Leroy, and along with his six crew members, he had on board thirty-five Norwegian refugees. On the night of the journey, the weather was particularly bad, with a strong possibility of storms forecast.

The value in using Norwegian sailors was that they countered avoidable risks; local knowledge to distinguish manmade flaws in the landscape — a sentry, perhaps, or a new fixture designed to overwatch the coast — was a priceless asset. The true story of the Shetland bus, the clandestine traffic across the North Sea from German-occupied Norway to Shetland during the Second World War. A small group of Norwegian sailors loosely connected to the British Royal Navy take refugees from Norway to Shetland in small fishing boats, equipped only with small arms to protect themselves from German aircraft and patrol boats. The film is closely based on real events, and many of the members of the group, [2] including the leader, known as "Shetlands-Larsen", play themselves. The script was written by Øystein Brekke. Popularly known as Shetlands Larsen, Leif Larsen was a highly decorated Norwegian sailor. He was arguably the most famous of all who operated the route. Of the 198 trips to Norway, Larsen completed 52 of them. Leif Larsen led the Norwegian bus operations in World War II Irvine, James W. (1991). The Giving Years: Shetland and Shetlanders, 1939–1945 (Shetland Publishing) ISBN 978-0906736159

Only a few weeks after the occupation began, the first boats of an "armada" of fishing vessels and other boats began to arrive in Shetland. Many of these boats made several journeys across the North Sea carrying refugees. The boats were of many types and shapes, but most of those later used as the "Shetland Bus", were from 50 to 70 feet (21m), with two masts and equipped with a 30 to 70hp (52kW) single-cylinder semi-diesel engine, which made the characteristic 'tonk-tonk' sound. They had a maximum speed of 9 knots (17km/h).

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The Vita arrived at Shetland on 9 May 1940 with four Norwegian Navy officers and two other refugees aboard. The Vita started as a "Bus" boat before the "Shetland Bus" was officially established. Her first voyage to Norway was on 22 December 1940, skippered by Hilmar Langøy. The next was on 27 March 1941, this time skippered by Ingvald Johansen, who became her skipper for the rest of her missions. Johansen's crew were; Åge Sandvik, H.W. Olsen, Jens Haldorsen and J. Hermansen. Throughout the course of the war there were a total of twelve raids carried out by British commandos and elements of the SOE along the coast of Norway, which collectively proved to be extremely effective. These raids helped increase the total number of German troops stationed in Norway to some 370,000 men, because of the belief that Britain might try to carry out a full-scale invasion of Norway.