Lofoten War Memorial Museum

The museum gives a view of the Second World War in Northern Norway. In particular, the museum tells the story of the Allied commando raid, operation Claymore, on march 4th of 1941 on the Lofoten Isles.

The purpose of this amphibious attack was to capture the Enigma¬-machine, used by the Kriegsmarine and other secret codes as well. From Scapa Flow on the Orkneys a fleet with 600 men, among them 50 Norwegian commandoes, sailed to the Lofoten Isles.

The Germans were completely taken by surprise. The Allies sunk several German vessels and the commandoes blew up the fish factories. They didn’t find the Enigma machine, though some important secret codes were captured.

This Allied attack is regarded to be one of the first important successes against the Germans. The Allied fleet returned with 213 German prisoners and 314 Norwegian volunteers.

For current visiting hours, please visit the website of the museum.

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Source

• Text: Kees Boks
• Photos: Lofoten Krigsminnemuseum