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Refugees arrive in
Scalloway, having
safely come across on the 'HITRA' |
Operations such as the Shetland Bus required the Germans to use a lot of men and
resources to maintain an effective defence of the strongly indentured coastline
of western Norway. The Shetland Bus missions were one of the factors that
convinced the Germans that it was through Norway that the Allied invasion would
come.
Gradually the infamous Festung Norway ('Fortress Norway') was built up until
the whole western coast was full of gun sites. There was a consistent flow of
new divisions of men and coastal artillery to Norway.
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One of the many agents'
radios smuggled
into Norway by the Shetland Bus |
When the Allies invaded Normandy in June 1944 as many as 340,000 Germans and
a large part of the German Navy were stationed in Norway with little chance of
getting out.
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Supplies to be sent to
Norway, packed into oil drums
and wooden German boxes to avoid investigation |
For Norwegians the Shetland Bus operation was of great psychological importance.
To them it was proof that there was life outside occupied Norway. Large
quantities of arms and technical equipment were landed, as well as a regular
stream of agents going into Norway and refugees escaping from Norway. An idea of
the scale of the operation is gained when it is realised that the day the
Germans surrendered in May 1945 there were 60 illegal radio stations
transmitting and most of them had got their equipment from Shetland.
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