Air Campaign 022 - Norway 1940. The Luftwaffe’s Scandinavian Blitzkrieg (2021).pdf

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C A M P A I G N
A I R
NORWAY 1940
JAMES S. CORUM
|
The Luftwaffe’s Scandinavian Blitzkrieg
I L LU S T R AT E D B Y G R A H A M T U R N E R
A I R C A M PA I G N
NORWAY 1940
The Luftwaffe’s Scandinavian Blitzkrieg
JAMES S. CORUM |
IL LUSTR ATED BY GR AHAM TURNE R
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
CHRONOLOGY
ATTACKER’S CAPABILITIES
DEFENDER’S CAPABILITIES
CAMPAIGN OBJECTIVES
THE CAMPAIGN
ANALYSIS
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
4
5
11
18
28
34
90
93
95
4
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Ju 88 medium bomber. The
Ju 88 entered Luftwaffe
service in 1939. With a
top speed of 292mph, a
range of 1,800km and
able to carry a 2,000kg
bombload, the twin-engine
medium bomber with a
four-man crew became the
Luftwaffe’s main medium
bomber for most of the
war. It was a rugged
aircraft, capable of dive
bombing, and handled
well. It was a highly
versatile platform that was
adapted as a very
successful night fighter and
long-range reconnaissance
aircraft. Germany built
more than 15,000 Ju 88s
in many variants.
(Author’s collection)
Admiral Erich Raeder,
Commander-in-Chief of the
German Navy. Raeder
was the main proponent
of Germany’s invasion of
Norway and convinced
Hitler to authorize a
campaign that would
employ the Kriegsmarine’s
entire surface fleet.
(Author’s collection)
The German Navy, or Kriegsmarine, was the primary driver of the campaign to seize and
occupy Norway. One of the main lessons that the Kriegsmarine had learned from World
War I was the ability of Britain’s Royal Navy to carry out a highly damaging naval blockade
of Germany. In 1929 Admiral Wegener, one of Germany’s leading naval strategists, wrote
a book,
Die Seestrategie des Weltkrieges
(The
Naval Strategy of the World War),
that argued
that Norway held the pivotal strategic position for the German Navy. His view was that if
the Germans had occupied Norway during the war, the British blockade would have been
outflanked and Germany could have used Norwegian ports such as Trondheim to give its
U-boats access to the North Atlantic. Wegener’s book was read widely within the naval
officer corps and was influential on German naval thinking. There were other factors that
made Norway important. A large part of the Swedish iron ore required by German industry
was shipped through Norway from the ice-free northern port of Narvik. Keeping Swedish
iron-ore shipments secure was important to the Wehrmacht. Finally, Norway was important
to secure the German flank if war came with Britain. If Norway were occupied by British
forces, then Norwegian airbases could be used by RAF bombers to attack northern Germany.
When Germany went to war with
Britain, the Kriegsmarine began
thinking of occupying Norway. On
9 October 1939 Admiral Dönitz,
commander of the U-boats, sent a
memo to the operations staff of the
navy arguing that the harbour of
Trondheim, in Norway’s central west
coast, would be an ideal location
for a U-boat base. In October and
November, the Kriegsmarine’s
commander, Admiral Raeder, passed
5
on to Hitler the memo about the use of Norway by U-boats and met with Hitler in early
December to urge the occupation of the Norwegian coast. A few days later, a secret visit to
Berlin in December 1939 by Vidkun Quisling, a former Norwegian war minister and the
leader of Norway’s Nasjonal Samling Party, a minuscule pro-Nazi party, brought Norway’s
position to Hitler’s attention. Quisling favoured an alliance with Germany and met with
Nazi leaders and Admiral Raeder. Raeder and Nazi leaders arranged for Quisling to meet
with Hitler on 14 December 1939. While Hitler made no promises to Quisling, the idea of
occupying Norway appealed to him. With the Polish campaign over and the campaign in the
West in the planning stages, Hitler had a lull in which to consider a major strategic move.
On 19 December Hitler directed OKW (Oberkommando der Wehrmacht) to make a staff
study of the possibility of invading Norway. A small staff was created called ‘Studie Nord’
and directed to report to OKW on the feasibility of an invasion of Norway.
CHRONOLOGY
1939
10 October
Admiral Raeder, Commander-in-Chief,
Kriegsmarine, meets with Hitler and reminds Hitler of
the danger to Germany if the British occupy Norway.
November
The United Kingdom Ministry of Economic
Warfare sends a report to the cabinet that iron-ore traffic
to Germany through Norway has been vastly increased.
11 December
Vidkun Quisling, Nazi-sympathizing
Norwegian politician and former war minister, visits
Berlin and meets with Admiral Raeder.
14 December
Raeder arranges for Quisling to meet with
Hitler and Quisling discusses bringing Norway into the
Nazi orbit.
16 December
Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty,
submits a memo to the British Cabinet advocating the
mining of Norwegian waters.
18 December
The British chiefs of staff submit a report
to the Cabinet recommending that a force be prepared
to intervene in Norway.
19 December
A German staff study on the invasion and
occupation of Norway, ‘Studie Nord’, begins.
6 January
The British War Office directs that some units
be held in readiness to be deployed to Scandinavia –
mainly Norway, but possibly Sweden.
19 January
The British military begins planning for
the Norway intervention, codenamed ‘Avonmouth’.
Planning is based on providing a force of 80,000 men
and 10,000 vehicles under a corps headquarters. It
should be ready by April. Air support in the form of two
bomber squadrons, two fighter squadrons, and one army
cooperation flight is envisioned.
27 January
German planners assign the
codename
Weserübung
to the operation.
February 1940
5 February
The Allied Supreme War Council meets
in France. The French agree to provide units for an
expeditionary force to Norway.
5 February
Using assistance to Finland as a rationale,
the Allied Supreme War Council decides on intervention
in Norway. Initial plans are for a landing at Narvik, and
success would rely on the acquiescence of Norway and
Sweden. Despite the stated rationale, cutting supplies of
iron ore to Germany is a prime motivation for the plan.
16 February
The British destroyer HMS
Cossack
intercepts the German transport
Altmark
in Norwegian
waters, recovering 299 British prisoners of war.
The
Altmark
incident makes public the Allies’ readiness
to intervene in Norway and provides impetus to German
planners to accelerate their plans.
January 1940
January
Out of ‘Studie Nord’, a special planning staff is
organized under the navy’s Captain Theodor Kranke.
2 January
The British chiefs of staff recommend a much
larger force for military intervention in Norway.

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