September 26, 1944 – Early Morning
Early on the eventful morning of September 26, 1944, Helén Mowinckel Nilsen was cycling back into Os from the neighbouring kommune of Fana, where he had been providing weapons training to Milorg [15] members. During the day he worked as a farmhand to provide cover for his underground work as a weapons instructor and organizer. On his way back home Mowinckel Nilsen encountered few people as he cycled past Ole Bull's famous home Lysøen and the ruins of Lyse monastery.
When he was almost home, he was stopped by a soldier asking for his pass. Mowinckel Nilsen could see a platoon of soldiers lined up with a sergeant-major standing in front of them pointing and gesturing. Checking passes was not the most dangerous job in the army, and the guard yawned as he checked the pass and then waved Mowinckel Nilsen on.
Mowinckel Nilsen's home at that time was half a kilometre from Osøyri, on the east side of the Os peninsula. Like some others in the underground, he did not use his real name, but was known in the area as Johannes Sigurdsson, and to his friends he was Lange Johannes (Long John). He was tall, with light skin and blond hair, and claimed to be descended from Icelanders. Only one person in the area knew his real identity.
Early on the eventful morning of September 26, 1944, Helén Mowinckel Nilsen was cycling back into Os from the neighbouring kommune of Fana, where he had been providing weapons training to Milorg [15] members. During the day he worked as a farmhand to provide cover for his underground work as a weapons instructor and organizer. On his way back home Mowinckel Nilsen encountered few people as he cycled past Ole Bull's famous home Lysøen and the ruins of Lyse monastery.
When he was almost home, he was stopped by a soldier asking for his pass. Mowinckel Nilsen could see a platoon of soldiers lined up with a sergeant-major standing in front of them pointing and gesturing. Checking passes was not the most dangerous job in the army, and the guard yawned as he checked the pass and then waved Mowinckel Nilsen on.
Mowinckel Nilsen's home at that time was half a kilometre from Osøyri, on the east side of the Os peninsula. Like some others in the underground, he did not use his real name, but was known in the area as Johannes Sigurdsson, and to his friends he was Lange Johannes (Long John). He was tall, with light skin and blond hair, and claimed to be descended from Icelanders. Only one person in the area knew his real identity.
Helén Mowinckel Nilsen
Mowinckel Nilsen was born in Vladivostok, the end of the Trans-Siberian Railway. His Norwegian parents had lived for a while in eastern Siberia. But Mowinckel Nilsen grew up and went to school in Fana. In 1939, at 19, he enlisted in the Kings Guard. After Norway fell to the Germans, he made his way to Britain and was trained in underground resistance organization and became a member of Linge Company [16].
In February of 1944, he had arrived in Austevoll from the Shetland Islands on a submarine chaser [17]. The Captain of the sub-chaser was Leif A. Larsen, who became known as “Shetland Larsen” because of his many exploits from the British/Norwegian base in the Shetland Islands.
Mowinckel Nilsen stayed in Bergen for a while, but he was known to too many people there, so he moved to Os where he took over leadership of the Milorg resistance group. The Milorg group consisted of about two hundred men organized into two companies, with each company made up of smaller teams that had different tasks and responsibilities. It was an unusually large and well-organized group for a community as small as Os. One company was based in the western part of the kommune, the other in the eastern half.
The top priority for the group was intelligence, which was relayed through a radio-operator in Bergen. Not a single machine-gun nest could be built in Os and the surrounding areas without the information being passed on immediately to London. Other responsibilities included communications and providing cover or refuge for those sought by the Germans.
Mowinckel Nilsen wore ties only when he had to, but was often seen with a large scarf that covered his neck and collar. But the most important thing about the scarf was that it was a hiding place for a small German-made Mauser pistol. He said that if he were stopped and told to put his hands up, it would be easy to reach the gun if needed. When the danger was over, he could loosen the scarf and the gun could slide back into his shirt and stop at his belt.
Mowinckel Nilsen had not gone far after being stopped by the sentry when he heard and saw a bomber flying erratically eastwards over Bjørnafjord near Bjørnatrynet. The plane disappeared from view, but he could still hear it. Then the sound became louder again as the plane turned left towards the north.
Mowinckel Nilsen wondered what was going on and stopped to see what would happen next. He was near the German base at Haugsneset, and he wondered if the plane was attacking the base. The sentry on guard outside the fort disappeared back into a bunker, while Mowinckel Nilsen looked for a large rock or wall that he could take cover behind.
When the plane came into view again, Mowinckel Nilsen abandoned his search for cover to get a better look at the bomber. It was flying low and he could see it RAF roundels.
Mowinckel Nilsen had a vague impression that one propeller was not turning. With his aircraft identification training, he recognized the plane as a Wellington. It continued its left turn and was now headed east over a farm owned by one of his most trusted men, barely missing the treetops.
Mowinckel Nilsen wondered why the Germans at the base did not try to shoot down the plane. Air-raid sirens used to sound for far less than this, chasing people into shelters, but they were silent now.
The plane was disappeared from view over Bjørnatrynet and the roar of its engines stopped suddenly, as if someone had pulled a plug. Mowinckel Nilsen was certain it had landed. With luck, his men would make contact with the crew of the aircraft before the German troops running around the garrison could grab their cartridge belts. He hoped that the Germans would follow their standard practice of always taking the time to line up and march in order, regardless of what occurred. They favoured thoroughness over rapid response. The German's rigid insistance on procedure would hopefully work in favour of the aircrew.
Mowinckel Nilsen got back on his bike and sped away to the home of his closest friend and second-in-command.
In February of 1944, he had arrived in Austevoll from the Shetland Islands on a submarine chaser [17]. The Captain of the sub-chaser was Leif A. Larsen, who became known as “Shetland Larsen” because of his many exploits from the British/Norwegian base in the Shetland Islands.
Mowinckel Nilsen stayed in Bergen for a while, but he was known to too many people there, so he moved to Os where he took over leadership of the Milorg resistance group. The Milorg group consisted of about two hundred men organized into two companies, with each company made up of smaller teams that had different tasks and responsibilities. It was an unusually large and well-organized group for a community as small as Os. One company was based in the western part of the kommune, the other in the eastern half.
The top priority for the group was intelligence, which was relayed through a radio-operator in Bergen. Not a single machine-gun nest could be built in Os and the surrounding areas without the information being passed on immediately to London. Other responsibilities included communications and providing cover or refuge for those sought by the Germans.
Mowinckel Nilsen wore ties only when he had to, but was often seen with a large scarf that covered his neck and collar. But the most important thing about the scarf was that it was a hiding place for a small German-made Mauser pistol. He said that if he were stopped and told to put his hands up, it would be easy to reach the gun if needed. When the danger was over, he could loosen the scarf and the gun could slide back into his shirt and stop at his belt.
Mowinckel Nilsen had not gone far after being stopped by the sentry when he heard and saw a bomber flying erratically eastwards over Bjørnafjord near Bjørnatrynet. The plane disappeared from view, but he could still hear it. Then the sound became louder again as the plane turned left towards the north.
Mowinckel Nilsen wondered what was going on and stopped to see what would happen next. He was near the German base at Haugsneset, and he wondered if the plane was attacking the base. The sentry on guard outside the fort disappeared back into a bunker, while Mowinckel Nilsen looked for a large rock or wall that he could take cover behind.
When the plane came into view again, Mowinckel Nilsen abandoned his search for cover to get a better look at the bomber. It was flying low and he could see it RAF roundels.
Mowinckel Nilsen had a vague impression that one propeller was not turning. With his aircraft identification training, he recognized the plane as a Wellington. It continued its left turn and was now headed east over a farm owned by one of his most trusted men, barely missing the treetops.
Mowinckel Nilsen wondered why the Germans at the base did not try to shoot down the plane. Air-raid sirens used to sound for far less than this, chasing people into shelters, but they were silent now.
The plane was disappeared from view over Bjørnatrynet and the roar of its engines stopped suddenly, as if someone had pulled a plug. Mowinckel Nilsen was certain it had landed. With luck, his men would make contact with the crew of the aircraft before the German troops running around the garrison could grab their cartridge belts. He hoped that the Germans would follow their standard practice of always taking the time to line up and march in order, regardless of what occurred. They favoured thoroughness over rapid response. The German's rigid insistance on procedure would hopefully work in favour of the aircrew.
Mowinckel Nilsen got back on his bike and sped away to the home of his closest friend and second-in-command.