Einar Skinnarland

Norwegian construction engineer and resistance fighter

Norwegian heavy water sabotage
Operation Sunshine

Awards

War Cross with sword
Distinguished Conduct Medal
Medal of Freedom
Croix de Guerre avec palme

Einar Skinnarland DCM (27 April 1918 – 5 December 2002) was a Norwegian resistance fighter during the Second World War.^[1]

Life and career

Einar Skinnarland was born in Vinje, in Telemark county, Norway. Skinnarland graduated from Telemark Engineering College in Porsgrunn.

Skinnarland worked at the Norsk Hydro plant at the Vemork hydroelectric plant, and decided to escape to the UK to help the war effort. He reached Aberdeen with the hijacked coastal steamer Galtesund in 1942, and was soon enrolled as a member of the Norwegian Independent Company 1 (Norwegian: Kompani Linge) under the SOE. He participated as a wireless operator in the Norwegian heavy water sabotage at the Vemork hydroelectric plant, site of the heavy water production at Rjukan Falls in Telemark. He was the first agent to be sent to Rjukan, dropped on the Hardangervidda on 28 March 1942. He had lived near the factory almost all of his life. His brothers and several of his friends also worked at the factory.^[2]

Skinnarland moved to Toronto in Canada in 1965 and helped build some of the world's largest dams.

Legacy

In the 1948 film Kampen om tungtvannet, his character was played by Henki Kolstad.^[3]

Awards

Einar Skinnarland was highly decorated for his wartime achievements.

References

^ Einar Skinnarland (NRK Telemark. 12/16/2002)
^ Stephen Stratford. "Operation Freshman". British Military & Criminal History in the period 1900 to 1999. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2008.
^ Svendsen, Trond Olav; Tørre, David A. "Kampen om tungtvannet". In Bolstad, Erik (ed.). Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Norsk nettleksikon. Retrieved 1 March 2024.