Blockade runners - a Swedish version of the history?

[Jens Andersen]

Hello

I have just read A. Cecil Hampshire's account in "On Hazardous Service" (1974) on the Norwegian and British blockade runners between Sweden and Britain - the operations "Performance" and "Bridford".

Are there any literature on the Swedish side of the history?

I find it specially interesting, that Hampshire claims that the head Swedish intelligence cooperated directly with the Germans! I suppose this have casued a lot of wrting in Sweden?

Best regards
Jens

[map358]

I have just read A. Cecil Hampshire's account in "On Hazardous Service" (1974) on the Norwegian and British blockade runners between Sweden and Britain - the operations "Performance" and "Bridford".

Are there any literature on the Swedish side of the history?

I find it specially interesting, that Hampshire claims that the head Swedish intelligence cooperated directly with the Germans! I suppose this have casued a lot of wrting in Sweden?

I don't know if there are any Swedish books on this subject, but a couple of years ago a retired member of the Security Service wrote a very interesting book about Swedish counter espionage:
Forsberg, Tore.: Spioner och spioner som spionerar på spioner. ISBN 91-89660-18-8
It contains a chapter about the blockade runners.

Can't say that I know much about the blockade runners, and the concept "the head Swedish intelligence" is a bit vague, but if Hampshire is suggesting that the Swedish Chief of Police Office or Military HQ sold out the blockade runners to Germany in 1942 I pity him.

According to Forsberg:
The British agent George Binney was posted in Sweden to supply England with high quality steel and roller bearings. In December 1940, he had organized five Norwegian ships that were ready to leave Göteborg for England.

The Swedish destroyer H.M. Ehrenskiöld should escort Norwegian m/s Eliabeth Bakke to a rendezvous point north of Göteborg. On the morning of December 16 the Commanding Officer of H.M. Ehrenskiöld informed his staff about an escort duty the next day. He told them the name of the Norwegian ship, but not the destination. He emphasized that the information was classified as secret. He was not aware that his Second in Command and another officer were Nazis.
The two officers contacted the brother of one of them, who in turn informed a German diplomat. On December 17, m/s Eliabeth Bakke and H.M. Ehrenskiöld set of north, but after a couple of NM m/s Eliabeth Bakke halted and sent H.M. Ehrenskiöld away, as the captain of the Norwegian ship didn't trust the Swedish Navy.
When the two Swedish officers got ashore they phoned a third brother and informed him on where they had left the Norwegian ship and that they had also spotted a second Norwegian ship, probably to leave for the same destination as m/s Eliabeth Bakke.
What they didn't know was that the brothers were under surveillance and their telephones bugged by the Security Police. All four were arrested the following morning. Through a Swedish sailor the Security Police informed George Binney about the betrayal. The Second in Command was sentenced to seven years imprisonment at hard labor and dishonorable discharge. The others got more lenient sentences.

The five Norwegian ships anchored in the Byfjorden fiord to await bad weather. On the morning of January 23 they left in intervals and though they were attacked by the Luftwaffe all five made it to England.

The success of Binney's operation caused an outrage in Berlin. The Germans demanded that the Swedish government should take actions to stop this kind of transports. When Sweden announced that foreign ships were no longer allowed to anchor in Swedish fiords, but would be forced to go to a harbor, the Germans seemed pleased, and put no further pressure on Sweden.


About the disastrous operation "Performance" Forsberg writes that the German Abwehr was very interested in the Norwegian ships and that Quislings managed to sabotage three of them. After several months of surveillance the Security Police arrested three men, who had supplied Abwehr with the time of departure for the Norwegian ships. The three agents were sentenced to shorter imprisonment at hard labor. Sir Binney had used his diplomatic immunity to smuggle contraband aboard the Norwegian ships and was declared persona non grata.

[Andy H]

Hi

The 5 M/V's left Sweden as part of Operation Rubble:- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Rubble

Regards

Andy H

[aerophil]

There was an excellent book published in English in 1996, titled "Blockade Runners, Sweden's Lifeline in the Second World War", by two Swedes Leif A Sandberg Lars-Axel Nilsson.

It is about the two airlines that operated schedule service between Scotland and Sweden during the 2nd World War, i.e. Swedish ABA and UK's British Airways, and later BOAC.

Used copies are available from used book dealers for $75 to $85.

Ken Sanford