Haakon Sørbye
Encyclopedia
Haakon Sørbye was a Norwegian engineer and resistance
member during World War II
. He is known as a member of the illegal radio group Skylark B
. After the war he was a professor at the Norwegian Institute of Technology
.
, and enrolled at the Norwegian Institute of Technology
on 1 September 1939—the day World War II
started. In April the war reached Norway, with Nazi Germany
invading
and occupying
the country. Sørbye participated briefly in the Norwegian Campaign
as a telegrapher, but the Norwegian forces in Trøndelag had lost by 10 May.
In September 1940 the Secret Intelligence Service
established two stations for radio communication in occupied Norway; the so-called Skylark A was led by Sverre Midtskau
in Oslo
while Skylark B
was led by Erik Welle-Strand
in Trondheim
. As students formed the backbone of the Skylark B group, Sørbye joined. Other members were Bjørn Rørholt
and Einar Johansen
, and the chemistry professor Leif Tronstad
, helped out as well. Egil Reksten
later took over as leader. Skylark B established regular contact with the intelligence in London
in 1941, and helped spread messages about German troop and naval movements as well as vital information about German
activity at Vemork
heavy water
plant.
In September 1941, however, Gestapo
managed to track the Skylark B transmitting activity. Sørbye was arrested by the Nazi authorities, and was first held in Vollan prison
. He was then incarcerated at Møllergata 19
from 27 September 1941 to 16 January 1943, then at Grini concentration camp until 29 July 1943. He was then shipped to Germany and Nacht und Nebel
camps. He spent much time in Natzweiler
. Despite health problems, he survived until the end of World War II, and was brought home with the White Buses
. Reksten survived as well, but seven of the eleven detainees associated with Skylark died. Sørbye was decorated with the King's Medal for Courage in the Cause of Freedom
and the Defence Medal 1940–1945.
, and stationed at their radar in Bergen. During the 1950s he stayed abroad to research; at the UK Post Office Research Station
in 1951 and the SHAPE Air Defence Technical Centre
(SADTC) from 1957 to 1960. In 1964 he was hired as a lecturer in telephone technology at the Norwegian Institute of Technology. After a period as professor of communication technology at the Technical College Twente from 1970 to 1972, he was a professor of telematics
at the Norwegian Institute of Technology from 1972 to his retirement in 1987.
After his retirement he has spent much time as a guide with the White Buses. He has also practiced as a radio amateur
. His wife Ruth was a skilled geologist.
Norwegian resistance movement
The Norwegian resistance to the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany began after Operation Weserübung in 1940 and ended in 1945. It took several forms:...
member during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He is known as a member of the illegal radio group Skylark B
Skylark B
Skylark B was a radio communications group that operated in Trondheim during the German occupation of Norway. The group was established and led by Erik Welle-Strand, who was a student in Trondheim. Preparations were done in 1940, when a transmitter was brought in from the United Kingdom, and the...
. After the war he was a professor at the Norwegian Institute of Technology
Norwegian Institute of Technology
The Norwegian Institute of Technology, known by its Norwegian abbrevation NTH was a science institute in Trondheim, Norway. It was established in 1910, and existed as an independent technical university for 85 years, after which it was merged into the University of Trondheim as an independent...
.
World War II
Sørbye attended secondary school at StabekkStabekk
Stabekk is a suburban centre in the municipality of Bærum, Norway. Mainly a residential area and have most of the conservative population in Norway the current population is 6,261....
, and enrolled at the Norwegian Institute of Technology
Norwegian Institute of Technology
The Norwegian Institute of Technology, known by its Norwegian abbrevation NTH was a science institute in Trondheim, Norway. It was established in 1910, and existed as an independent technical university for 85 years, after which it was merged into the University of Trondheim as an independent...
on 1 September 1939—the day World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
started. In April the war reached Norway, with Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
invading
Operation Weserübung
Operation Weserübung was the code name for Germany's assault on Denmark and Norway during the Second World War and the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign...
and occupying
Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany
The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany started with the German invasion of Norway on April 9, 1940, and ended on May 8, 1945, after the capitulation of German forces in Europe. Throughout this period, Norway was continuously occupied by the Wehrmacht...
the country. Sørbye participated briefly in the Norwegian Campaign
Norwegian Campaign
The Norwegian Campaign was a military campaign that was fought in Norway during the Second World War between the Allies and Germany, after the latter's invasion of the country. In April 1940, the United Kingdom and France came to Norway's aid with an expeditionary force...
as a telegrapher, but the Norwegian forces in Trøndelag had lost by 10 May.
In September 1940 the Secret Intelligence Service
Secret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. Alongside the internal Security Service , the Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence Intelligence , it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence...
established two stations for radio communication in occupied Norway; the so-called Skylark A was led by Sverre Midtskau
Sverre Midtskau
Sverre Midtskau was a Norwegian resistance member during World War II. He is best known as leader of the illegal radio post Skylark A.-World War II:...
in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
while Skylark B
Skylark B
Skylark B was a radio communications group that operated in Trondheim during the German occupation of Norway. The group was established and led by Erik Welle-Strand, who was a student in Trondheim. Preparations were done in 1940, when a transmitter was brought in from the United Kingdom, and the...
was led by Erik Welle-Strand
Erik Welle-Strand
Erik A. L. Welle-Strand was a Norwegian mining engineer and resistance member during World War II. He is best known as leader of the illegal radio post Skylark B.-Early life:...
in Trondheim
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
. As students formed the backbone of the Skylark B group, Sørbye joined. Other members were Bjørn Rørholt
Bjørn Rørholt
Bjørn Arnold Rørholt was a Norwegian engineer, military officer, Secret Intelligence Service agent and resistance member during World War II.-Early life:...
and Einar Johansen
Einar Johansen
Einar Johansen was a Norwegian engineer and resistance member during World War II. He is known as a member of the illegal radio group Skylark B, and after this was discontinued he set up new radio posts in Tromsø and the rest of Northern Norway. He was highly decorated.-World War II:Johansen...
, and the chemistry professor Leif Tronstad
Leif Tronstad
Leif Hans Larsen Tronstad DSO, OBE was a Norwegian scientist, intelligence officer and military organizer. He graduated from the Norwegian Institute of Technology in 1927 and was a prolific researcher and writer of academic publications...
, helped out as well. Egil Reksten
Egil Reksten
Egil Reksten was a Norwegian engineer and resistance member during World War II. He is best known as leader of the illegal radio post Skylark B.-World War II:...
later took over as leader. Skylark B established regular contact with the intelligence in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1941, and helped spread messages about German troop and naval movements as well as vital information about German
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
activity at Vemork
Vemork
Vemork is the name of a hydroelectric power plant outside Rjukan in Tinn, Norway. The plant was built by Norsk Hydro and opened in 1911, its main purpose being to fix nitrogen for the production of fertilizer. Vemork was later the site of the first plant in the world to mass-produce heavy water...
heavy water
Heavy water
Heavy water is water highly enriched in the hydrogen isotope deuterium; e.g., heavy water used in CANDU reactors is 99.75% enriched by hydrogen atom-fraction...
plant.
In September 1941, however, Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
managed to track the Skylark B transmitting activity. Sørbye was arrested by the Nazi authorities, and was first held in Vollan prison
Vollan prison
Vollan prison in the city of Trondheim in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway functioned as a concentration camp during the Nazi occupation of Norway. It was primarily used for transit purposes for prisoners who were either bound for execution, work camps, or extermination camps....
. He was then incarcerated at Møllergata 19
Møllergata 19
Møllergata 19 is an address in Oslo, Norway where the city's main police station and jail was located. The address gained notoriety during the German occupation from 1940 to 1945, when the Nazi security police kept its headquarters here...
from 27 September 1941 to 16 January 1943, then at Grini concentration camp until 29 July 1943. He was then shipped to Germany and Nacht und Nebel
Nacht und Nebel
Nacht und Nebel was a directive of Adolf Hitler on 7 December 1941 signed and implemented by Armed Forces High Command Chief Wilhelm Keitel, resulting in the kidnapping and forced disappearance of many political activists and resistance 'helpers' throughout Nazi Germany's occupied...
camps. He spent much time in Natzweiler
Natzweiler-Struthof
Natzweiler-Struthof was a German concentration camp located in the Vosges Mountains close to the Alsatian village of Natzwiller in France, and the town of Schirmeck, about 50 km south west from the city of Strasbourg....
. Despite health problems, he survived until the end of World War II, and was brought home with the White Buses
White Buses
"White Buses" refers to a program undertaken by the Swedish Red Cross and the Danish government in the spring of 1945 to rescue concentration camp inmates in areas under Nazi control and transport them to Sweden, a neutral country...
. Reksten survived as well, but seven of the eleven detainees associated with Skylark died. Sørbye was decorated with the King's Medal for Courage in the Cause of Freedom
King's Medal for Courage in the Cause of Freedom
The King's Medal for Courage in the Cause of Freedom is a British medal instituted on 23 August 1945 to reward those, mainly foreigners, who during the Second World War with the danger of life had contributed to helping British military personnel to escape the enemy and escape from occupied areas...
and the Defence Medal 1940–1945.
Post-war life
Sørbye resumed his studies, and finally graduated from the Norwegian Institute of Technology in 1948. He was hired by the Norwegian Defence Research EstablishmentNorwegian Defence Research Establishment
The Norwegian Defence Research Establishment is a research institute that conducts research and development on behalf of the Norwegian Armed Forces and provides expert advice to political and military defence leaders...
, and stationed at their radar in Bergen. During the 1950s he stayed abroad to research; at the UK Post Office Research Station
Post Office Research Station
The Post Office Research Station at Dollis Hill, London, was first established in 1921 and opened by Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald in 1933.In 1943 the world's first programmable electronic computer, Colossus Mark 1 was built by Tommy Flowers and his team, followed in 1944 and 1945 by nine...
in 1951 and the SHAPE Air Defence Technical Centre
SHAPE Technical Centre
The SHAPE Technical Centre or Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe Technical Centre was formerly known as the SHAPE Air Defence Technical Centre . It was formed in 1955 and located in The Hague, Netherlands. It conducted research and development for NATO in the area of air defence, in...
(SADTC) from 1957 to 1960. In 1964 he was hired as a lecturer in telephone technology at the Norwegian Institute of Technology. After a period as professor of communication technology at the Technical College Twente from 1970 to 1972, he was a professor of telematics
Telematics
Telematics typically is any integrated use of telecommunications and informatics, also known as ICT...
at the Norwegian Institute of Technology from 1972 to his retirement in 1987.
After his retirement he has spent much time as a guide with the White Buses. He has also practiced as a radio amateur
Amateur radio
Amateur radio is the use of designated radio frequency spectrum for purposes of private recreation, non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, and emergency communication...
. His wife Ruth was a skilled geologist.