Operation Claymore - Mission

Mission

The objectives of Operation Claymore were threefold: the overall commander of the raid was Rear Admiral L.H.K. Hamilton. The Royal Navy were tasked to safely escort the transports carrying the landing force to the islands and back. While there they were to destroy or capture any German shipping or Norwegian shipping working for the Germans and provide naval gunfire support for the landing forces. The naval forces taking part were the escorts from the 6th Destroyer Flotilla: HMS Somali, HMS Bedouin, HMS Tartar, HMS Eskimo and HMS Legion under the command of Captain C. Caslon. There were two newly converted landing ships the HMS Queen Emma and the HMS Princess Beatrix which were to transport the landing force.

The landing force was provided by the Special Service Brigade under command of Brigadier J.C. Haydon. The commandos taking part were 250 all ranks from No. 3 Commando under command Major J.F. Durnford-Slater, 250 all ranks of No. 4 Commando under command of Lieutenant Colonel D.S. Lister. They were supported by a Section of Royal Engineers of No 55 Field Company, under command of Second Lieutenant H.M. Turner, and 4 officers and 48 other ranks of the Royal Norwegian Navy, under the command of Captain Martin Linge. The landing force were to destroy the oil producing facilities in the ports of Stamsund, Henningsvær, Svolvær and Brettesnes. Engage the German garrison and attempt to make prisoners of war and personnel found in the area. They were also to detain any supporters of the Norwegian Quisling party and persuade the local population to leave with them and join the Free Norwegian Forces.

The force started gathering at Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands on 21 February 1941 and remained there for almost a week before leaving for Norway just after midnight on 1 March 1941. The landing force was distributed amongst the ships, headquarters Special Service Brigade were transported on HMS Somali. No. 4 Commando which had been assigned landings at Svolvær and Brettesnes were on board HMS Queen Emma. No 3 Commando which had been assigned landings at Stamsund and Henningsvær were on board HMS Princess Beatrix. The Royal Engineers and Norwegian forces were divided between both the landing ships.

The time they had spent at Scapa Flow was used getting acquainted with the transport ships and the Assault Landing Craft they would be using to reach the shore. The problems the navy perceived providing gunfire support were also discussed, as because of the shallows the destroyers would not be able to approach closer than 1 mile (1.6 km) to shore. Because of this the commandos were trained to rely on their own weapons to provide covering fire and support each other from their landing craft. Plans were also made for them to look after themselves in case the destroyers were called away to deal with a naval threat, which included every man being ordered to take enough rations to last 48 hours ashore.