Hans "Kyllingen" Storhaug, MM, DSM (23 May 1915 – 8 June 1995) was a Norwegian resistance member during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, especially noted for his role in the heavy water sabotage 1942–1943, and for his participation in the SOE operation ''Grebe'' and '' Grebe Red'' in

Østerdalen Østerdalen () is a valley and Districts of Norway, traditional district in Innlandet county, in Eastern Norway. This area typically is described as the large Glåma river valley as well as all its tributary valleys. Østerdalen is often subdivide ...

1943–1945.

Personal life

Storhaug was born in Rena, a son of Ludvig Storhaug and Emilie Røed. He was a brother-in-law of singer and songwriter

Alf Prøysen Alf Prøysen () (23 July 1914 – 23 November 1970) was a Norwegian author, poet, playwright, songwriter and musician. Prøysen was one of the most important Norwegian cultural personalities in the second half of the 20th century. He work ...

, who married his sister Else Storhaug in 1948.

World War II

Following the German invasion of Norway in April 1940 Storhaug participated in the defence of Norway as a soldier. He fought against the Germans in Solør on 18 April, and later took part in skirmishes at

Dovre Dovre is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Dovre (villag ...

. In December 1940 he traveled from

Ålesund Ålesund () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The town is the administrative centre of Ålesund Municipality. The centre of the town of Ålesund lies on the islands of Hessa, Aspøya, Ålesund, Asp� ...

to Scotland, where he joined the Norwegian Independent Company 1 (). He took part in Operation Anklet, the

Commando A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force, specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines. Originally, "a commando" was a type of combat unit, as oppo ...

raid on

Reine Reine is the administrative centre of Moskenes Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The fishing village is located on the island of Moskenesøya in the Lofoten archipelago, above the Arctic Circle, about southwest of the city of Tromsø. ...

on 26 December 1941. He was recruited a member of the Swallow/Gunnerside team which was parachuted onto the

Hardangervidda Hardangervidda () is a mountain plateau ( Norwegian: ''vidde'') in central southern Norway, covering parts of Vestland, Telemark, and Buskerud counties. It is the largest plateau of its kind in Europe, with a cold year-round alpine climate, and o ...

plateau on 16 February 1943, along with Joachim Rønneberg (leader of the group),

Knut Haukelid Knut Haukelid (May 17, 1911 – March 8, 1994) was a Norwegian military officer. He was a Norwegian resistance movement soldier during World War II, most notable for participating in the Norwegian heavy water sabotage. Early life Knut Anders ...

, Fredrik Kayser, Birger Strømsheim and

Kasper Idland Kasper Idland Military Medal, MM (21 June 1918 – 25 May 1968) was a Norwegian resistance movement, Norwegian resistance member during World War II. Idland took part in the Norwegian heavy water sabotage in 1943. Early life and education I ...

. After joining the preparatory Grouse team, the combined group succeeded in the destruction of

heavy water Heavy water (deuterium oxide, , ) is a form of water (molecule), water in which hydrogen atoms are all deuterium ( or D, also known as ''heavy hydrogen'') rather than the common hydrogen-1 isotope (, also called ''protium'') that makes up most o ...

equipment and stock at

Vemork Vemork is a hydroelectric power plant outside the town of Rjukan in Tinn Municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The plant was built by Norsk Hydro and opened in 1911, its main purpose being to fix nitrogen for the production of fertilizer. ...

in February 1943. After the mission at Vemork Storhaug escaped by ski to Sweden, together with four of the other Gunnerside members. From Sweden he returned to Britain. He participated in the Operation Grebe, where six SOE soldiers were paradropped in

Eastern Norway Eastern Norway (, ) is the geographical region of the south-eastern part of Norway. It consists of the counties Oslo, Akershus, Vestfold, Østfold, Buskerud, Telemark, and Innlandet. Eastern Norway is by far the most populous region of Norw ...

in October 1943. Three of the six men were killed immediately, drowning after landing in a lightly frozen lake. The other three made their way to Sweden. They returned to Norway in March 1944 (renamed ''Grebe Red''), and operated behind enemy lines in

until the war ended.

Legacy

Storhaug participated in the 1948 film '' Kampen om tungtvannet'', where he played himself. In the 2015 television series ''

The Heavy Water War ''The Heavy Water War'' (original title ' and alternative title ''The Saboteurs'' (United Kingdom)) is a six-episode war drama television miniseries written by Petter S. Rosenlund and produced by NRK, Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. It is a ...

'', Endre Ellefsen played the character "Hans Storhaug".

Honors

* - St. Olav's Medal With Oak Branch * - Haakon VIIs 70th Anniversary Medal * - Distinguished Service Medal * -

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the British Armed Forces, armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, below commissioned o ...

* -

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

* - Medal of Freedom

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Storhaug, Hans 1915 births 1995 deaths People from Åmot Norwegian Army personnel of World War II Norwegian expatriates in the United Kingdom Norwegian resistance members Norwegian Special Operations Executive personnel Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal with Oak Branch Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (United Kingdom) Recipients of the Military Medal Recipients of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Medal of Freedom