‘Y-y-you knew him!’ I couldn’t believe it.
‘Yes. Top Brass thought it best to keep all us Norwegians together. So we trained and flew together in our own squadron. They did the same with the French and the Poles. I must say, you’re very like him in so many ways. Rather takes my breath away, in fact.’
‘Well, speaking of family, we owe your brother our lives,’ I said. ‘It still seems incredible that an SS officer is an agent for the British.’
‘It was his choice,’ said Nils. ‘He knows just how dangerous his position is.’
I nodded. ‘He does. I’ll tell you this, he certainly had us fooled.’
‘Yes, and rest assured, if he gave you his word that he’ll do everything to protect your families, then that’s exactly what he’ll do.’ He smiled at me. ‘So, lads, your war is over. I guess you’ll want to see Freya as soon as possible.’
‘Yes!’ said Loki. ‘Where is she?’
He laughed. ‘She’s lodging with neighbours of mine. The village isn’t far from here. When the army’s done with you, I’ll take you there.’
For Loki, the thought of seeing Freya again was like anticipating the best possible reward ever. He couldn’t wait to get the hell out of there. But the army had other ideas. We were escorted to a billet – a wooden hut in the centre of the camp – and held there under armed guard for three days. I guessed they needed to check out our story, but couldn’t work out why it took them so long.
Our accommodation was comfortable enough. There was hot water, plenty to eat, and each day Nils came to visit us. Nevertheless our frustration grew. So much so that finally Loki snapped and hammered his fists on the door. ‘Let us out of here!’ he yelled. ‘It’s not fair, Finn. They shouldn’t treat us this way. Not after all we’ve done. I want to see Freya. Do you hear me? I want to see her now!’
When Nils came to visit on day three, he greeted us with excitement. ‘Come with me, lads,’ he said. ‘I’ve got a surprise for you.’ He set off across the camp’s drill square at a trot. Over his shoulder he shouted, ‘You two have caused quite a stir. Reached the very top. Even Mr Churchill has been briefed. And our king is said to be proud of your achievements.’
‘Is that right?’ said Loki. ‘Well, all I care about is getting out of here and seeing Freya again.’
Nils laughed. ‘This way, gentlemen.’ He jumped up the wooden steps outside yet another prefabricated wooden building. Inside, administrators snapped to attention on his arrival and saluted him. He led us down a corridor and opened a door. ‘There you are, my fellow countrymen.’
I reached the doorway. Inside, Freya was sitting on a chair. Her eyes lit up and she leaped to her feet. We hugged and kissed, and then we all spoke at once. We all had so much to tell. Nils coughed to clear his throat and to attract our attention. ‘Sorry to interrupt, but you can all save it for later. Right now you have an appointment to keep. This way, if you please.’ He opened another door.
Inside the next room, four chairs had been placed in a line in front of a long desk. On the other side sat a man in a raincoat and trilby. He looked up and smiled. He spoke to us in Norwegian. ‘Come in and sit down. You too, Captain Jacobsen.’
We all did as we were told, although Loki couldn’t take his eyes off Freya.
‘Right,’ said the man, ‘down to business.’ He picked up a file and waved it at us. ‘Your story has raised more than a few eyebrows. Of course, I don’t need to tell you just how important those maps of the Foettenfjord are. And I’m sure Bald Eagle would be proud to know that his efforts weren’t in vain.’
I smirked and wondered if this was the sort of man Jack had had in mind when he mentioned bigwigs with too many medals. Still, what the man had said was right – neither his work nor his death was in vain.
‘We intend to deal with that battleship before she sails. A commando unit is already undergoing final preparations, so let’s hope their raid is successful. But it doesn’t end there, does it?’ he added, flicking through the file. ‘There’s that Heinkel you liberated. We intend to put it to good use. We shall use it to send agents in and out of occupied territory. It’s worth its weight in gold to us. On behalf of the British Government, I would like to offer you our heartfelt thanks.’
Loki got up. ‘Terrific. Thanks. Can we go now? We’ve got a lot of catching up to do.’
‘No! Sit down. I haven’t finished.’ The man glared at Loki. ‘Sit down!’
I didn’t like his tone. I realized our meeting had more to it than just a big backslapping thank you to us all.
‘The question,’ he continued, ‘is what to do with you now.’
Tentatively I raised a hand.
‘Yes?’ he said.
‘I’d like to learn to fly Spitfires, please. I want to follow in my father’s footsteps.’
‘Hurricanes for me,’ Loki chipped in. ‘If that’s all right?’
The man smiled.
‘Well?’ I asked.
He sighed and then got up and walked over to the window. The small panes of glass had tape stuck to them, forming crosses. I guess it reduced shattering if there was an air raid. With his back to us, he said, ‘We’ll see. Maybe in time that can be arranged.’
‘Until then?’ I asked, looking at Loki and Freya.
‘I’m sending you all back to school,’ he replied.
‘What?’ said Loki incredulously. ‘Are you out of your mind?’
I looked at Captain Jacobsen for an explanation but he said nothing.
The man spun round. ‘No, Mr Larson, I’m not out of my mind. You’re going back to school. But don’t worry, I think you’ll like it. It’s a special school. A brand-new school, and one with a very unusual curriculum.’
‘What are you on about?’ I asked.
‘This school is top secret, totally hush-hush. We’re going to train secret agents there.’
We all gasped. Secret agents! It slowly sank in. They wanted us all to become secret agents. The thought was as thrilling as it was scary. My brain was racing. And several thoughts struck me like a rapid series of punches. Maybe they’d send us all back to Norway one day. We might be able to see our families again – assuming, of course, they managed to survive their time at the fortress. I remembered what I’d said to Mr Larson – that I wanted to hit back, get involved, really involved. And sitting before me was a total stranger offering exactly that opportunity.
The man returned to his chair. ‘Now, listen carefully, all of you. Firstly, I cannot tell you my name, so you may know me only as “X”. My authority, however, comes from Mr Churchill himself. You have demonstrated exactly the type of skills we need in our recruits.’ I looked at Nils, who smiled. He was involved in this too then. The man continued. ‘With further training, I believe you can all make a significant contribution to shortening this war. Indeed, you already have. And, unlike myself, you have age on your side. In fact, your youth is a potent weapon. You will be able to go places and do things that older men – and women, of course – couldn’t.’
I turned to Nils Jacobsen. ‘I thought you told us our war was over,’ I said.
He shrugged. ‘I was wrong.’
‘And if we say no?’ asked Freya timidly.
X threw up his arms. ‘Of course, we can’t force you. Other arrangements could be made. But …’ He hesitated. ‘Having read your reports, I came to the conclusion that you understood our fight for freedom, the challenges we all face against Nazi Germany, and the courage and sacrifice needed for victory.’ He leaned forward. ‘Was I wrong?’
There was silence in the room.
‘No,’ I said finally. ‘You weren’t wrong.’ I looked at my friends and saw they were all looking at me. ‘Well, you’re both going to have to make up your own minds,’ I said. ‘But I’m in.’
‘Are you sure, Finn?’ said Loki. He looked uncertain. ‘Don’t you want to know more first? Don’t you want some time to think about it?’
‘Not really,’ I replied. ‘When my father left us, I
didn’t understand why. Not really. But now I do. Our little adventure has taught me that. I want to do whatever I can. Just think how exciting it will be, Loki – we’ll be secret agents!’
Loki puffed out his cheeks and blew a huge sigh. ‘Well, guess I’m in too then. After all, we’re a team.’ He looked at X and added, ‘We tend to rely on one another rather heavily.’
I laughed.
‘Count me in too,’ said Freya. ‘I’ve got nothing else planned!’
X rose to his feet. ‘Excellent,’ he declared. ‘In a few days you’ll fly south. I can’t tell you the exact location but Captain Jacobsen here has kindly volunteered to fly you, and will remain on hand for a few weeks to help you settle in. So my job here is done. I’ll leave you to, erm, catch up.’ He stepped round the table and shook our hands. ‘Welcome to Special Operations, and here’s to making it a great success.’
Freya hugged me. ‘It’s good to see you, Finn. I just hope we’re doing the right thing. I have the feeling we’re all going to end up in some very dangerous situations.’
‘I think you’re right, Freya. But we’ll all look after each other, won’t we. Together we’ll be unbeatable, like we always have been.’
Loki slapped me on my back. ‘Yes, Finn, that’s us – unbeatable!’
Postscript
Under the cover of darkness something very strange happened on the south coast of England in 1940. German Heinkel seaplanes appeared in the night sky. They flew south, as if heading home after a raid. But, having crossed the coast and flown a few miles out to sea, they suddenly turned round and came back, landing at Calshot Spit, an RAF station used for servicing and repairing flying boats. The seaplanes were hurriedly taken out of the water, lifted onto wheeled dollies, moved into a hangar and placed under armed guard. Their existence was top secret. In fact, the Heinkels belonged to the Royal Norwegian Naval Air Service and had been liberated by their pilots after Germany invaded Norway in April 1940. The planes were subsequently used to carry secret agents in and out of occupied Europe.
A year later two young Frenchmen, Denys Boudard and Jean Herbert, stole a German plane from under the noses of the Luftwaffe at an airfield near Caen and managed to fly it to England, landing safely at Christchurch aerodrome.
Stories like these inspired Dogfight.
Norway was strategically important during the Second World War for several reasons. Its sheltered coastal waters – known as the inner lead – enabled Swedish iron ore to be shipped to Germany from northern ports such as Narvik during the winter, when other routes became impossible to navigate. Such raw materials were vital to Germany’s thirsty industrial machinery of war. Norway’s location also made it the ideal place from which the Nazis could attack the Allied North Atlantic convoys shipping supplies from America to Russia. The many deep fjords and tall mountains offered perfect hiding places for German submarines, the U-boats, and larger vessels of the German Navy (Kriegsmarine). Early in 1942 the famous German battleship Tirpitz entered the Trondheimfjord and berthed at the head of the Foettenfjord (the same location has been used for the battleship in Dogfight). Anti-submarine nets and booms were placed round the ship and she was heavily camouflaged. Even so, word of her presence quickly reached England through the work of the Norwegian Resistance. Various attempts were made to sink her. Eventually, in September 1943, while anchored in the Altafjorden she was successfully sabotaged by commandos using ingenious underwater craft (X-craft) carrying explosives. The raid put the Tirpitz out of action until the RAF flew in and finished the job.
Many different Luftwaffe squadrons were based in Norway during the occupation, and seaplanes were a common sight in the air and on the fjords. Each squadron had its own badge, and one similar to that described in Dogfight – comprising a penguin carrying a telescope under its wing – belonged to the coastal reconnaissance wing (Küstenfliegergruppe 706).
As for the inhabitants of many occupied countries during the Second World War, life for Norwegians was difficult, with strict rationing and severe curtailment of everyday freedoms. Public gatherings were banned, travel was severely restricted, and radios were confiscated. Labour camps were set up and many men sent to them. Punishment for acts of defiance was harsh and swift.
Resistance took many forms – from simply failing to co-operate to direct action. Underground newspapers and newsletters flourished, being printed and distributed in secret. They numbered about three hundred at their peak. The Nazis traced and destroyed many printing presses, arresting and imprisoning those caught. Even so, intelligence and communication networks grew, as did the Home Front, with men and women forging documents and operating hazardous escape routes to neutral Sweden. During the winter months brave fishermen risked their boats and their lives ferrying people and supplies between Norway and the Shetland Islands off the coast of Scotland, their activities becoming known as the ‘Shetland Bus’. In other instances, secret agents, commandos and supplies were parachuted in or arrived by seaplane, landing on remote fjords or frozen lakes. The Lysander was a popular plane for this role owing to its short takeoff and landing capabilities (STOL). And, incredible though it now seems, the idea of dropping specially trained dogs by parachute together with collapsible ski-sledges was thought of during wartime, and was tried out with a number of Alsatians.
Wireless operators in the Resistance had a torrid time trying to keep lines of communication open while staying one step ahead of the German Peilerwagen (detector vans) and their so-called Funkspiele (radio game). The life-expectancy of a wireless operator in the field was measured in terms of weeks. The special directional S-phone described in Dogfight really was developed and used to aid communication between pilots and men on the ground.
As in most occupied countries during the Second World War, not everyone actively resisted the Nazi presence. Some, especially members of the fascist Nasjonal Samling (NS) party in Norway (the only legal political party under occupation), actively collaborated. The NS party also gave rise to the Hird – groups of young Norwegian men formed into several ‘regiments’. They included the Hirdmarinen and Hirden Flykorpset, which provided a source of volunteers for the German navy and the Luftwaffe. Others – numbering several thousand – volunteered for the Wehrmacht and Waffen SS. Therefore life was fraught with danger for those desperate to fight back. Idle gossip, a whisper overheard or a slip of the tongue could all end in tragedy.
Although Dogfight is a work of fiction and key locations in and around the city of Trondheim have been created for the purposes of telling this story (for example the Wehrmacht’s Headquarters and the Lofoten bar), others are all too real. The Kristiansten Fortress overlooks the city and was occupied by the Nazis from 1940 to 1945. It was used as a place of execution for captured members of the Norwegian Resistance. Today, visitors to the fortress can see a plaque dedicated in their memory.
Acknowledgements
A big thank you to Shannon Park, Charlie Sheppard and Carolyn Whitaker for all their guidance and support.
About the Author
Craig Simpson spent his childhood in southern England. At eighteen he headed off to veterinary school in Bristol but soon realized that in the wrong hands a scalpel could do more harm than good, and switched to studying science. He spent a while juggling test tubes before realizing there had to be more to life. After fifteen years scaling the corporate ladder, and travelling widely he became an independent consultant. A keen amateur historian, inspired by true stories he then abandoned the rat-race to write adventure novels. He now lives between the New Forest and the Hampshire seaside.
Also by Craig Simpson:
RESISTANCE
SPECIAL OPERATIONS: DOGFIGHT
AN RHCP DIGITAL EBOOK 978 1 407 04735 5
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