Witness History Norway's WW2 railway sabotage plot
May 5, 2026
Gunnar Deinboll Jenssen, nephew of Lieutenant Peter Deinboll who led wartime sabotage in Norway, shares family recollections of resistance actions near Orkanger. He recounts the plan to strike a sulphur supply line, the risky attack on a transformer powering mine trains, a timer failure and a seven-hour escape to Sweden. He also describes local support, exile work in London, and postwar recognition.
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Daring Transformer Sabotage And Narrow Escape
- Lieutenant Peter Deinboll led a seven-man sabotage to blow the transformer powering the sulfur train line from the mine to Årkanger in May 1942.
- The timer failed, Deinboll narrowly escaped after seven hours evading German soldiers and then fled to Sweden.
Sabotage Prioritised For Strategic Resource Impact
- The Allies ranked the mine and its transport as the top sabotage priority because it supplied about 25% of Germany's sulfur.
- Disrupting that supply threatened explosives and ammunition production, making the transformer a strategic target.
Local Support Sustained Continued Sabotage
- After the first blast failed timing perfectly, the team still managed subsequent attacks that disabled almost all locomotives and halted exports for a time.
- Locals supported the saboteurs with food, intelligence and moving explosives despite heavy German guard presence.