British officers aboard Hitra in 1945 (Photo, courtesy RNNM )
equipped with special mufflers for quiet operation . They removed one of the Oerlikon 20mm guns amidships and installed a two-pounder aft and two 50cali ber machine guns on the fl ying bridge. 2 The newly acquired vessels were christened Hitra (SC-718) , with Ingvald Eidsheim commanding, Hessa (SC683) , Pete r Salen commanding, and Vi gra (SC- 1061 ), Leif " Shetlands" Larsen commanding. It would take a book to re late their exploits during the two years that followed . For now , two incidents will have to do . Once when the Vigra was approach ing the coast of Norway it passed a nest of German vessels moored 1,000 yards away . A heavy snowstorm provided cover, but while they waited at the rendezvou s point for agents who were supposed to meet them the sky suddenl y cleared and the glow of a full moon appeared. To avoid be ing seen, the Vigra quickly retired behind an isl and. Sending a dinghy ashore with a search party to loo k for the agents , the crew spent the rest of the night playing cat and mouse with the enemy. The agents never appeared. Just before dawn the search party returned and Vigra wasted no time standing out to sea and returning to the Shetlands. For "The Larsen" it was just another routine trip . On a similar miss ion Hitra was approac hing Sunnfjord in the dark ofnight to pick up an agent on shore. The lookout spotted a Germ an patrol boat inspecting each creek and cove with powerful searchlights. Eidsheim had orders to avo id confrontations if at all possibl e. 18
With only amomenttoconsiderwhether the agent might already have been arrested and they were heading into a trap , he decided to get out. It was a wi se move. He later learned that a coastal steamer had been torpedoed wi th 11 lives lost, and the Germans were making a widespread search for subs. Had
The SCs landed 192 agents, delivered 383 tons of stores and equipment and saved 373 refugees . ... 1t is quite possible that in all the history of man's seafaring no other series ofjourneys has been undertaken deliberately in such bad weather and in such small ships. he been discovered a force of German minesweepers would have swept in and Hitra wo uld never have surv ived the unequal battle. 3 Later in the war an observer from Admiral Stark 's office wrote: " It would be difficult to sum up the value of these three craft in their contribution to the United Nations. Hundreds of tons of stores and supplies have been delivered to Resistance groups. An enemy pl ane has been shot down. Countless agents have been taken in and out and great numbers of marooned a lli ed airmen, including Americans, have been helped to evade the Gestapo. Despite very heavy
weather the ships have required minimum repairs ."4 Hitra made 43 of the 116 total trips across the North Sea by the three subchasers. The SCs landed 192 agents, delivered 383 tons of stores and equipment and saved 373 refu gees . The numbers mi ght seem small compared with other war statistics but the achievements were huge ly criti cal to Norway and the Allies durin g the Occupation . Interception of German communications and the prompt reporting of German ship movements led to major successes, inc luding the sinking of the battleships Bismarck, Scharnhorst and Tirpitz . Without the Shetlands Bus to maintain the steady stream of agents and supplies such stunning victories would not have been possible. In the wi nter months the seas between the Shetlands and Norway are among the stormiest in the world. The subchasers went to hundreds of different locations along the Norwegian coast, with some journeys two thousand miles in length and lasting three weeks. All the voyages required sailing alone in the depth of the subarctic winter. In thi s respect the journeys differed from the voyages of the Vikings. The Vikings made their explorations during the summer when, in latitudes that far north , there is continual dayli ght. In this case, each landing was secret and had to be made in darkness. It is quite possible that in al1the hi story of man 's seafaring no other series of journeys has been unde rtaken deliberate ly in such bad weather and in such sma ll ships. 5 In 1945 the war ended, and all clandestine fe rrying operations ceased. The three ships received letters of commendation from the British Chi ef of Operations. "Shetlands Larsen" of the Vigra became the most decorated individual in Norway's history , and Ingvald Eidshe im and Peter Salen, COs of Hitra andHessa, were close runners-up. The ir cool-headedness and bravery in situations of danger earned them permanent places in the annals of naval history. In October 1945 the US transferred permanent ownership of the three vessels to Norway. For several years Hitra , Hessa and Vigra remained in service as patrol ships, but the day finally arrived in 1958 when they were considered outdated. As is so often the case, economi cs took precedence over sentiment, no matter how distinguished the record or how beloved the ship by her sailors. SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998