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Joachim Roenneberg, serving behind enemy lines in his native Norway during the German occupation, in 1943 blew up a plant producing heavy water, or D2O, a hydrogen-rich substance that was key to the later development of atomic bombs.
Picked by Britain's war-time Special Operations Executive to lead the raid when he was only 23 years old, Roenneberg was the youngest member of Operation Gunnerside, which penetrated and destroyed key parts of the heavily guarded Norsk Hydro plant.
The subject of books and documentaries as well as movies and a TV drama series, the attack took place without a single shot fired.
https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/operation-gunnerside
At the very least, Operation Gunnerside should be recognized as one of the most successful SOE missions during World War II. For a mission that Rønneberg and his squad frequently imagined as a one-way trip, the operation experienced no casualties and succeeded in temporarily destroying the Germans' single source of heavy water at the time. During wartime, time is of the essence and any kind of setback has disadvantages. Rønneberg later commented that London could have suffered a different fate and ended up 'looking like Hiroshima' if his team had failed.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 24 2018, @01:15AM (5 children)
23 doesn't seem that young for a Lieutenant.
What was the typical age for young officers of that time during the war?
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday October 24 2018, @02:34AM (4 children)
The services have their own ideas regarding the ages of their ranks and ratings. Career officers take offense when they meet younger officers and ratings. I was a near victim of this prejudice while I was in the Navy. A directive came out from the CNO, telling the fleet that they wanted to "age" the enlisted ranks. I was E4 at the time, and had PNA'd (passed but not advanced) the tests for E5 once already. So, at the next testing cycle, I got my test results again, with PNA. (The test isn't everthing, of course - time in service, time in rate, evaluations, awards are all factored in.) For reasons, my captain basically said "Fuck this, we'll give you a meritorious advancement." But, bottom line, if it took a senior officer a couple of decades to get where he is at, he'll want to block any youngsters coming up from taking his job. Can't have conscripts taking over, can we?
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Wednesday October 24 2018, @02:44AM (3 children)
In England, enlisted men who were observed to be particularly good with mechanical things were given Field Commissions to Lieutenant, then assigned to disarm unexploded bombs during the Blitz.
There were a lot of such "UXBs" - they are _still_ finding them from time to time.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday October 24 2018, @02:53AM (2 children)
In the early days of helicopters, they had something similar. You couldn't have enlisted men flying choppers, so anyone who could master that joystick was commissioned. Guy could be dumber than a rock, and have zero morals, ethics, education, or anything else. But he could fly, so he was officer material.
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Wednesday October 24 2018, @05:41AM (1 child)
and Doctors were conscripted as Captains (or O-5 in the Navy)
MASH,/a> [wikipedia.org]
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Wednesday October 24 2018, @06:40AM
I always wondered how he got promoted so fast.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]