Knut Haukelid
Encyclopedia
Knut Haukelid was a Norwegian resistance movement
soldier during World War II
, most notable for participating in the Norwegian heavy water sabotage
. He was the twin brother of actress Sigrid Gurie
.
subway system. In 1929, Haukelid came back to America to attend Massachusetts State College
. He returned to Norway and later completed his education at the Dresden School of Technology
and the University of Berlin. Returning to Norway, he worked for his father's engineering firm, Haukelid og Five.
(Norwegian: Kompani Linge) in 1941. During World War II
Knut Haukelid and the Kompani Linge group, sabotaged the Nazi Germany
controlled heavy water
Vemork
plant in Rjukan
in a long-range raid which began at an airfield in England. On February 28, 1943, the demolition team entered the Norsk Hydro
plant and set explosive charges. The heavy water produced at a facility in occupied Norway was vital for the Third Reich's participation in the nuclear bomb race. British War Cabinet
also ordered Haukelid to sink the Norwegian ferry SF Hydro
carrying the containers of heavy water
across Lake Tinnsjå
. The ferry was sunk with hidden explosives on February 19, 1944.
with sword. He was awarded this decoration twice, in 1944 and 1947: the War Cross with two swords. In addition, Haukelid was decorated by the British with The Distinguished Service Order
and later, by Winston Churchill
personally, with The Military Cross.
Haukelid graduated from the Norwegian Military Academy
in 1948. He served as Major in the Telemark
Infantry Regiment, and was later appointed Lieutenant General and head of the Home guard of Greater Oslo. Haukelid became a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army Infantry in 1959 and served as Colonel and head of Greater Oslo Homeguard from 1966 until his retirement in 1974. At the time of his retirement, Haukelid was one of only three active Lieutenant Generals (2 stars) in Norway. The only 3-star General, at the time, was King Olav V.
Haukelid wrote his autobiography, Det demrer en dag in 1947 (revised edition 1953 under the name Kampen om tungtvannet). Other books such as Knut Haukelid's Skis Against the Atom and Thomas Gallagher's Assault in Norway: Sabotaging the Nazi Nuclear Program provide accounts of the Norway raid and Haukelid's participation.
plant was portrayed in the classic Norwegian 1948 film Kampen om tungtvannet. Haukelid played himself, as did the rest of Kompani Linge, in the film released internationally as Operation Swallow: The Battle for Heavy Water. A largely fictional Hollywood account of the sabotage, The Heroes of Telemark
(1965), starred Richard Harris as Knut Straud.
In the Spring of 1984, on the 40th anniversary of the sabotage action against the heavy water plant at Vemork
, the survivors of the Kompani Linge group who participated in the action were honored at a reception at the residence of the American Ambassador in Oslo. On October 18, 1985, Knut Haukelid was honored at the Second Annual Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame Banquet in Minot, North Dakota
.
(1944) - War Cross with two swords (1947) - St. Olav's Medal With Oak Branch
(1943) - Distinguished Service Order
- Military Cross
- Medal of Freedom with Silver Palm - Legion of Honor - Croix de Guerre
with Palm and Star - Commander of Order of the Sword
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:...
soldier 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...
, most notable for participating in the Norwegian heavy water sabotage
Norwegian heavy water sabotage
The Norwegian heavy water sabotage was a series of actions undertaken by Norwegian saboteurs during World War II to prevent the German nuclear energy project from acquiring heavy water , which could be used to produce nuclear weapons...
. He was the twin brother of actress Sigrid Gurie
Sigrid Gurie
Sigrid Gurie was a Norwegian American motion picture actress from the late 1930s to early 1940s.- Early life :...
.
Early life
Knut Anders Haukelid’s, parents were Bjørgulv and Sigrid Haukelid, a couple from Norway who were living in, Brooklyn, New York while Bjørgulv, a civil engineer, worked for the New York Subway System (1902–1912). Since Haukelid and his twin sister, Sigrid Gurie Haukelid, were born in America, the twins held dual Norwegian-American citizenship. In 1914, the family returned to Norway. Haukelid subsequently grew up in Oslo, where his dad worked as an engineer helping to lay out the OsloOslo
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...
subway system. In 1929, Haukelid came back to America to attend Massachusetts State College
University of Massachusetts
This article relates to the statewide university system. For the flagship campus often referred to as "UMass", see University of Massachusetts Amherst...
. He returned to Norway and later completed his education at the Dresden School of Technology
Dresden University of Technology
The Technische Universität Dresden is the largest institute of higher education in the city of Dresden, the largest university in Saxony and one of the 10 largest universities in Germany with 36,066 students...
and the University of Berlin. Returning to Norway, he worked for his father's engineering firm, Haukelid og Five.
World War II
He joined Norwegian Independent Company 1Norwegian Independent Company 1
Norwegian Independent Company 1 was a British SOE group formed in March 1941 originally for the purpose of performing commando raids during the Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany. It was organized under the leadership of Captain Martin Linge...
(Norwegian: Kompani Linge) in 1941. 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...
Knut Haukelid and the Kompani Linge group, sabotaged the 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...
controlled 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...
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...
plant in Rjukan
Rjukan
Rjukan is a town and the administrative center of Tinn municipality in Telemark . It is situated in Vestfjorddalen, between Møsvatn and Tinnsjå, and got its name after Rjukanfossen west of the town. The Tinn municipality council granted township status for Rjukan in 1996. The town has 3 386...
in a long-range raid which began at an airfield in England. On February 28, 1943, the demolition team entered the Norsk Hydro
Norsk Hydro
Norsk Hydro ASA is a Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, headquartered in Oslo. Hydro is the fourth largest integrated aluminium company worldwide. It has operations in some 40 countries around the world and is active on all continents. The Norwegian state holds a 43.8 percent...
plant and set explosive charges. The heavy water produced at a facility in occupied Norway was vital for the Third Reich's participation in the nuclear bomb race. British War Cabinet
War Cabinet
A War Cabinet is a committee formed by a government in a time of war. It is usually a subset of the full executive cabinet of ministers. It is also quite common for a War Cabinet to have senior military officers and opposition politicians as members....
also ordered Haukelid to sink the Norwegian ferry SF Hydro
SF Hydro
SF Hydro was a Norwegian steam powered railway ferry that operated on Tinnsjø in Telemark. The ferry operated between Mæl and Tinnoset between 1914 and 1944, connecting the two railways Rjukanbanen and Tinnosbanen. The railway was used to transport raw materials and fertilizer from Norsk Hydro's...
carrying the containers of 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...
across Lake Tinnsjå
Tinnsjå
Tinnsjå is one of the largest lakes in Norway. It is located between the municipalities of Tinn and Notodden in Telemark county. At its source in the west, the Måna river flows out of Møsvatn and past Rjukan into Tinnsjå...
. The ferry was sunk with hidden explosives on February 19, 1944.
Post-war life
For his participation in these raids, Knut Haukelid received multiple awards including Norway's highest decoration for military gallantry, the Krigskorset med Sverd or War CrossWar Cross
War Cross is the name for a military decoration in various countries, including:* Croix de guerre, of France* Croix de guerre * War Cross also known as Croix de guerre or Oorlogskruis...
with sword. He was awarded this decoration twice, in 1944 and 1947: the War Cross with two swords. In addition, Haukelid was decorated by the British with The Distinguished Service Order
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
and later, by Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
personally, with The Military Cross.
Haukelid graduated from the Norwegian Military Academy
Norwegian Military Academy
The Norwegian Army Academy was established in 1750. It is the oldest university-level educational institution in Norway, and one of the oldest active military academies in the world. Krigsskolen primarily educates officers for the Norwegian Army. There are separate academies for the Royal...
in 1948. He served as Major in the Telemark
Telemark
is a county in Norway, bordering Vestfold, Buskerud, Hordaland, Rogaland and Aust-Agder. The county administration is in Skien. Until 1919 the county was known as Bratsberg amt.-Location:...
Infantry Regiment, and was later appointed Lieutenant General and head of the Home guard of Greater Oslo. Haukelid became a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army Infantry in 1959 and served as Colonel and head of Greater Oslo Homeguard from 1966 until his retirement in 1974. At the time of his retirement, Haukelid was one of only three active Lieutenant Generals (2 stars) in Norway. The only 3-star General, at the time, was King Olav V.
Haukelid wrote his autobiography, Det demrer en dag in 1947 (revised edition 1953 under the name Kampen om tungtvannet). Other books such as Knut Haukelid's Skis Against the Atom and Thomas Gallagher's Assault in Norway: Sabotaging the Nazi Nuclear Program provide accounts of the Norway raid and Haukelid's participation.
Cultural References
The sabotage action against the VemorkVemork
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...
plant was portrayed in the classic Norwegian 1948 film Kampen om tungtvannet. Haukelid played himself, as did the rest of Kompani Linge, in the film released internationally as Operation Swallow: The Battle for Heavy Water. A largely fictional Hollywood account of the sabotage, The Heroes of Telemark
The Heroes of Telemark
The Heroes of Telemark is a 1965 war film directed by Anthony Mann based on the true story of the Norwegian heavy water sabotage during World War II...
(1965), starred Richard Harris as Knut Straud.
In the Spring of 1984, on the 40th anniversary of the sabotage action against the heavy water plant 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...
, the survivors of the Kompani Linge group who participated in the action were honored at a reception at the residence of the American Ambassador in Oslo. On October 18, 1985, Knut Haukelid was honored at the Second Annual Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame Banquet in Minot, North Dakota
Minot, North Dakota
Minot is a city located in north central North Dakota in the United States. It is most widely known for the Air Force base located approximately 15 miles north of the city. With a population of 40,888 at the 2010 census, Minot is the fourth largest city in the state...
.
Honors
- War Cross with swordWar Cross with sword
The War Cross with Sword is the highest ranking Norwegian gallantry decoration. It is awarded for extraordinary brave actions or extraordinary leadership during combat. A recipient deemed worthy of additional citations will receive up to an additional two swords on the medal ribbon in addition to...
(1944) - War Cross with two swords (1947) - St. Olav's Medal With Oak Branch
St. Olav's Medal With Oak Branch
St. Olav's Medal with Oak Branch is a Norwegian military award, which was instituted by King Haakon VII of Norway on 6 February 1942. In Norway, the medal is considered as a separate award from the civilian St...
(1943) - Distinguished Service Order
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
- Military Cross
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
- Medal of Freedom with Silver Palm - Legion of Honor - Croix de Guerre
Croix de guerre
The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...
with Palm and Star - Commander of Order of the Sword
Order of the Sword
The Order of the Sword is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I of Sweden on February 23, 1748, together with the Order of the Seraphim and the Order of the Polar Star.Awarded to officers, and originally intended as an award for bravery and particularly long or useful service, it...
Additional sources
- Haukelid, Knut. Skis Against the Atom: The Exciting, First Hand Account of Heroism and Daring Sabotage During the Nazi Occupation of Norway (North American Heritage Press. Minot, North Dakota. August 1, 1989)
- Gallagher, Thomas. Assault In Norway: Sabotaging the Nazi Nuclear Program (The Lyons Press; The Globe Pequot Press, Inc. November 1, 2002)
External links
- Norwegian American Hall of Fame
- Biography for Knut Haukelid
- Real Heroes of Telemark
- Norsk Høstfest Gallery
- Norwegian Heavy Water Sabotage
See also
- German nuclear energy projectGerman nuclear energy projectThe German nuclear energy project, , was an attempted clandestine scientific effort led by Germany to develop and produce the atomic weapons during the events involving the World War II...
- Norwegian Independent Company 1Norwegian Independent Company 1Norwegian Independent Company 1 was a British SOE group formed in March 1941 originally for the purpose of performing commando raids during the Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany. It was organized under the leadership of Captain Martin Linge...
- Norwegian heavy water sabotageNorwegian heavy water sabotageThe Norwegian heavy water sabotage was a series of actions undertaken by Norwegian saboteurs during World War II to prevent the German nuclear energy project from acquiring heavy water , which could be used to produce nuclear weapons...
- SF HydroSF HydroSF Hydro was a Norwegian steam powered railway ferry that operated on Tinnsjø in Telemark. The ferry operated between Mæl and Tinnoset between 1914 and 1944, connecting the two railways Rjukanbanen and Tinnosbanen. The railway was used to transport raw materials and fertilizer from Norsk Hydro's...