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| Help from America |
In the autumn of 1943 the Shetland bus operation received a major
boost in the form of the arrival of three small American 'sub-chasers'
(submarine chasers). They were named the HESSA, HITRA and VIGRA
and were under the command of Petter Saelen, Ingvald Eidsheim and Leif
Larsen. Each boat had a crew of 26 men, of whom three were officers.
They were fast and efficient.
During the last two years of the war the submarine chasers carried out a
114 missions to Norway. Apart from one incident when a Canadian plane
opened fire by mistake against the Hessa these trips were uneventful and
there were no casualties. Agents, arms and equipment were landed and
refugees were taken on board and brought back to Shetland. Ingvald
Eidsheim on the Hitra held the speed record: 25 hours to the Norwegian
coast and back!
The end of the war is recalled by
Tommy Isbister.
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The 'MV
Hitra' below was one of the actual boats used
and has been restored by the Norwegian Navy |
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An
impressive bow designed
for speed in heavy seas |
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The 'MV
Hitra' visiting Scalloway in the 1990's
against the backdrop of the castle |
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Beautifully
restored and
fully operational |
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The
unusual vertical 'X-shaped' engines, whose
shape helped save space below decks |
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Pictures on this page
courtesy of Force 10 |
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