The Heavy Water Sabotage

At the outbreak of World War II, the Vemork hydroelectric plant at Rjukan in Telemark, Southern Norway was the only facility in Europe that produced heavy water in large-scale volumes. The barrels of heavy water that were rolled out were sent to Germany, where they were used to control nuclear fission.

2The sabotage of the Vemork power plant was planned by the British secret unit called the SOE (Special Operations Executive). SOE was formed out of existing secret departments in the UK.It was established for the purpose of conducting warfare by means other than direct military engagement. The mission of the SOE was to encourage and facilitate espionage and sabotage behind enemy lines and to serve as the core of a resistance movement in Britain itself in the possible event of an Axis invasion.

3Norwegians in London assisted in the plans to sabotage the heavy water unit at the Vemork power plant, and photographs and sketches of the plant were sent to London by Norwegian contacts at the facility, in particular Jomar Brun, who was the manager of the heavy water unit at Vemork.

二战爆发伊始，挪威南部泰勒马克郡留坎的韦莫克水电站是欧洲唯一大规摸生产重水的设施。这里生产出的一桶桶重水全被运往德国用于控制核裂变。

2摧毀韦莫克电站的计划是由英囯秘密单位特别行动处（SOE）制定的。SOE 由英国现有秘密部门中抽调人员组成，目的是以直接交战以外的方式作战。SOE 的任务是鼓励和支持敌后的间谍和破坏活动，另外，万一轴心国入侵，它将作为英国国内抵抗运动的核心力量。

3在伦敦的挪威人参与了破坏韦莫克电站重水组的计划。电站里的挪威联络人将工厂的照片和草图发至伦敦，其中特别要提到一位叫约马尔·布伦的联络人，他是韦莫克重水组的经理。

41942 年10 月，SOE 挑 选出4 名训练有素的挪威突击队员，空投到哈当厄高原，该地在留坎以西，距留坎及韦莫克电站还有不短的距离。冬天这几个月，他们一直待在海拔约1200 米的高原上，好几个星期除了青苔什么吃的都没有，最后总算猎到一只驯鹿。

4In October 1942, 4 SOE hand-picked trained Norwegian commandoes were dropped by parachute onto the Hardangervidda mountain plateau, a good distance to the west of Rjukan and the Vemork plants. They stayed on the plateau, some 1,200 metres above sea level,throughout several winter months, eating nothing but moss for weeks before they finally shot a reindeer.

5In February an additional six SOE Norwegian commandoes were parachuted onto Hardangervidda to join the team. To reach the Vemork plant, the group of saboteurs had to cross the river right at the bottom of the gorge, as they could not use the 75 meter long suspension bridge across the deep ravine.It was only after one of the commandoes, Claus Helberg, had been out on a couple of reconnaissance missions in the area that the group decided that the seemingly impossible task of climbing across the gorge could be attempted.

6One hour before midnight on February 27, the saboteurs climbed down the gorge and went across the ice-choked river, edged up the rock face on the other side, and emerged by the railway track to the plant.

7Even before the group of commandoes had landed in Norway, SOE had a Norwegian agent, Jomar Brun, within the plant who supplied detailed plans and schedule information. The saboteurs used this information to enter the main basement by a cable tunnel and through a window. The German guards heard nothing above the powerful drone of the generators.

5转年2 月，SOE 又空投了6 名挪威突击队员到哈当厄与4 人会合。要去韦莫克电站，执行破坏任务的突击队必须穿过峡谷谷底的河流，因为他们不能从橫跨深谷75 米长的悬索桥通过。突击队中一名叫克劳斯·赫尔贝格的队员几次侦察该地区后，突击队认为可以尝试跨越这道似乎不可能跨越的峡谷。

62月27日午夜前一个小时,突击队员们爬到谷底，渡过浮冰堵塞的河道，慢慢攀上对岸岩壁，然后沿着铁轨前往电站。

7在突击队空降挪威前，SOE 早就派挪威特工约马尔·布伦在电站卧底，他为制订计划和时间表提供了详细信息。突击队员根据这些信息通过电缆管道从窗户进入了中心地下室。由于发电机的嗡嗡声太响，德国卫兵什么也没听见。

8两名突击队员安装好爆炸装置。引线约可燃两分钟，但被切短到可燃3 0秒后点燃了。一名队员有钥匙，所以他们能够迅速撤离。等德国人发现出了事，大批德国兵开始涌向韦莫克电站时，突击队员们早已沿着铁路线往留坎方向跑远了。

8Two of the saboteurs mounted the explosive charges. The fuses were about two minutes long, but they were cut down to 30 seconds and then lit. One of the saboteurs had a key so they could get out fast. By the time the Germans realized what had happened and soldiers started streaming up to the Vemork plant,the saboteurs were already far down the railway line on their way to Rjukan.

9It was very dark and the snow was deep but they all got away. Once back on the mountain plateau, the group split up. The explosives team travelled by ski,fully armed and in their camouflage uniforms, the 400 kilometres over the high country and across the valleys of Eastern Norway to Sweden. The others spread out over the plateau, and remained in Norway to carry out other operations under SOE command.

10The Germans brought in thousands of soldiers and organized an extensive search, but were unable to find any of the saboteurs. The action destroyed the facility and large quantities of heavy water only for a period of time.

11A couple of months later, SOE intelligence agents in Rjukan discovered that the Germans planned to ship all the semi-finished products from Vemork to research centres in Germany. The Allied forces were still concerned that the Germans possibly could use heavy water to develop nuclear weapons, although that was seen as unlikely.

9天很黑，积雪很深，但队员们都逃出来了。一回到高原，突击队便分头行动：爆破组全副武装身穿迷彩，滑雪板穿行400 千米，滑过高海拔地区，越过挪威东部的山谷，到达瑞典；其余队员在高原上分散开，继续留在挪威执行SOE指挥的其他军事行动。

10德囯人调来几千名士兵，组织了全面搜索，但未能找到一个突击队员。盟军此次行动只是暂时破坏了电站设施、销毁了大量重水。

12Orders came by radio from London to destroy the cargo during transport. The weakest line was the journey by the train ferry ‘Hydro’ over the Tinnsjo Lake. The heavy water cargo was closely guarded at all times, but the boat that was to transport the shipment stood unwatched the night before. One of the three saboteurs had experimented with a timer and detonating mechanism, and he tried to set the explosion to go off when it would be easiest to rescue passengers.

13The ferry’s departure was Sunday morning, 20 February 1944. Fortunately there were never many passengers on Sundays. The cargo was 53 passengers,some trucks including two trucks with 600 kilos of heavy water.

14The explosion came at 11 AM, when the ferry was at the deepest area of the lake. The bow was torn off and the ferry sank in a matter of minutes. 14 Norwegian civilians and 4 German soldiers died.

15The explosion on the Tinnsjo Lake ended the last chapter in the story of heavy water sabotage in Norway during the war.

11几个月后，SOE 驻留坎的情报人员发现，德国人计划用船把所有半成品从韦莫克运往德囯的研究中心。盟军仍然担心德国可能利用重水研制核武器，虽然看起来可能性不大。

12伦敦方面通过无线电发出指令：在运输途中将货物炸毁。在火车渡轮“海德罗”号过廷湖的那一段路时，守卫最为薄弱。重水受到24 小时严密守护，但渡轮在装运重水的前一晚无人看守。三名突击队员中的一位已经用计时器和爆炸装置做过试验,他设计将爆炸定在最容易救援落水乘客的时候。

13渡轮于1944 年2 月20 日星期天的早晨离港。幸运的是星期天乘客一向不多。船上载有53 位乘客，还有几辆卡车，其中就包括装有600 千克重水的两辆。

14上午11 点，爆炸声响起，当时渡轮正处于廷湖水最深的区域。船头被炸开，渡船几分钟就沉没了。14 位挪威平民及4 个德国士兵身亡。

15廷湖爆炸为战时挪威重水破坏行动画上了句号。