Norway's WW2 railway sabotage plot

Norway's WW2 railway sabotage plot

From Witness History by BBC World Service

May 5, 2026 · 9 min

About this episode

The episode discusses a sabotage operation by Norwegian resistance fighters during World War II.

In May 1942, a team of Norwegian resistance fighters in occupied Norway were getting ready to blow up a railway carrying materials crucial to the German war machine. Led by Lieutenant Peter Deinboll, a local from the area, they set out to execute what the Allied forces saw as the top priority sabotage operation in Norway at that stage in the war. Should they fail, allied planes would carpet bomb the village, including Deinboll’s hometown. Lars Bevanger speaks to Lieutenant Deinboll’s nephew, Gunnar Deinboll Jenssen. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more. Recent episodes explore everything from how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: the moment Reagan and…

People in this episode

Guest: Gunnar Deinboll Jenssen

Topics covered

  • World War II
  • Norwegian resistance
  • sabotage operations
  • historical accounts
  • military history

Keywords

  • Norwegian resistance
  • sabotage
  • WW2
  • Peter Deinboll
  • Gunnar Deinboll Jenssen

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Allied forces

Places: Norway, occupied Norway

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