Shetland Bus Boats - Background

Background

Germany launched their invasion of Norway on 9 April 1940, and despite the efforts of the Norwegians and the British, the Germans controlled most of the country by the beginning of May. The occupation of Norway and the oppression which followed immediately prompted a number of Norwegians to escape and make landfall in the Orkney and Shetland Islands.

Only a few weeks after the occupation began, the first boats of an "armada" of fishing vessels and other boats began to arrive in Shetland. Many of these boats made several journeys across the North Sea carrying refugees. The boats were of many types and shapes, but most of those later used as the "Shetland Bus", were from 50 to 70 feet (21 m), with two masts and equipped with a 30 to 70 hp (52 kW) single-cylinder semi-diesel engine, which made the characteristic 'tonk-tonk' sound. They had a maximum speed of 9 knots (17 km/h).

These engines were very unusual, and spare parts were not available in Britain, but that was easily solved. Norway's largest engine factory, Wichmann Diesel, at the time under German control, was located at Bømlo, near Bergen. The agents in the area received messages about which parts were needed, workers in the factory, many of them active members of the Resistance Movement, smuggled them out, and the parts were sent to Shetland with the next "Bus".

There were "Hardanger Cutters", with a straight bow and long stern from the Bergen area, and the more rounded "Møre Cutters" from the area around Ålesund. It appeared that the "Møre Cutter" was the strongest and best fitted for the heavy weather in the North Sea. Most of their crossings were done in the dark winter months with storms and heavy seas.

Although these crossings were, by their nature, carried out in a manner to avoid enemy contact. The crews managed to equip the boats with several concealed weapons. David Howarth, who was with Special Operations Executive and Norwegian seaman, Per Blystad (1911-1942) invented many of these constructions. The most ingenious of these was a concrete-lined oil drum bolted to the deck. When the removable lid was lifted, a pair of ready loaded Lewis Guns were telescoped into firing position, with the aid of a counterweight below decks. A steel shield came automatically up to protect the gunner. Oil drums were a natural thing to carry on a fishing boat's deck. Once in the North Sea, one of the boats was inspected by a suspicious British Navy ship, all other weapons were confiscated, but they did not find the two twin machine guns mounted on deck! Special low mountings for twin 0.50" Colt machine guns were mounted in the netroom, at the aft of the boat. These were not totally hidden, but with the use of folding handles, triggers, aims and shields they managed to keep them just above the edge of the gunwale, and they were easy to camouflage with a net. A similar construction was mounted in the bow, with a tarpaulin over, of the same shape as the covering of the whaling harpoons many of the Norwegian fishing boats had in the bow. At last all of the Bus boats carried seven or eight mounted, ready armed machine guns, and were able to protect themselves against enemy aircraft attacks.

In October 1943 three American submarine chasers, Hitra, Vigra and Hessa, were delivered, which made the journeys across the North Sea much safer. The submarine chasers made more than 100 crossings with no losses of ships or men. The only damage that occurred on the boats was when the Hessa was attacked by an Allied aircraft.