Mission
The men selected for Operation Musketoon were two officers and eight men from No. 2 Commando and two Norwegian corporals from the Norwegian Independent Company 1, part of the Special Operations Executive. The raid was commanded by Captain Graeme Black, from Ontario in Canada. The second in command was Captain Joseph Houghton. The other men from No. 2 Commando were: Company Sergeant Major Miller Smith, Lance Sergeant Richard O'Brien, Lance Bombadier William Chudley and privates John Fairclough, Cyril Abram, Eric Curtis, Reginald Makeham and Fred Trigg. The two Norwegian corporals were Erling Djupdraet and Sverre Granlund. For a fortnight before leaving for Norway, the team had been training on a large country estate in Scotland. During the planning stage the commandos were supposed to be picked up after the raid, by a Short Sunderland flying boat. This was cancelled before they left, due to risks to the aircraft. Instead they would head for neutral Sweden. To assist in this, each man was issued with special equipment, which included a silk map of Norway and Sweden, a rice paper map of Russia and Norwegian Kroner notes. They also carried two compasses (one sewn into each collar tab), a hacksaw blade, a fighting knife and a Colt pistol. The only other small arm taken was a suppressed Sten gun, carried by Captain Houghton.
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Famous quotes containing the word mission:
“We never can tell how our lives may work to the account of the general good, and we are not wise enough to know if we have fulfilled our mission or not.”
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