Weapons used in Norway used during WW2 by
the Norwegian resistance  "Hjemmefronten"

During the 2nd World War England supported Norway with Military training and equipment. The Norwegian king had escaped to England 1940. The résistance grow over the time of occupation.

The German soldiers considered the freedom fighters to be terrorists! The Nazis used very brutal lethal methods also against innocent civilians.

Several of these weapons are still available in Norway.

 

 

For more details and pictures about fighting knives please go to  the article in English about
Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting knives.

 

Weapons from England

The Welrod silent pistol

 

Very little is known about this pistol, which more resembles a repeating rifle than a pistol if you look at the mechanism.

 

A number of examples were made and tested In November 1942 on behalf of the Chief of Combined Operations (CCO) and Capt. Sykes. Captain Sykes was also know from the Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting knife.

There was a small number made of a test-model called Mk I.

Very soon the production changed to Mk II which you can see here on the pictures.

 

A manual from 1943 explains the technique to shoot with this pistol:

For these deliberate shot, extreme accuracy is required. It can only be obtained by correct trigger squeeze, that is by gradual squeeze of the whole hand. With training and practice it will be found quite possible to get very accurate groups at the distances mentioned. The gun should be held with the thumb and forefinger as close up to the muzzle as possible, the pistol grip being held by the right hand no harder than is necessary to compress the safety catch. For standing shots, the left elbow should be held as close in to the body as possible.

 

 

Above the single shot Welrod Mk 2 pistol in 7,65 mm Browning (32 ACP)

The pistol is equipped with a permanent silencer.

The bolt has to be twisted and pulled back for each shot like a bolt action rifle. This eliminates the mechanical sound to a minimum.
The gun is very silent. One of these was used by the partisan Reidar Nielsen to kill guards at a radar station.
This pistol has been used in Norway.

Below the Welrod Mk 2 pistol with open bolt.

 

The Sleeve Gun

 

Courtesy of  Richard Karlsson

Mills hand grenade M36 MkI made by SG&Co 1943 from Norway

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Liberator

Liberator
Single shot pistol in .45ACP

Each pistol had such an instruction manual

– without any text, only drawings.

 

This is a perfect "START UP"  weapon

 

 

 

The rare British Commando knife BC41 was also used in Norway.

The Fairbairn Sykes Fighting knives were however more commonly used

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Brigade of Norwegian soldiers was also equipped in Sweden with Swedish guns.

Swedish semi-automatic rifle Ag m/42 model Ljungman for Norway

Swedish Suomi submachine gun m/37-39

 

The unmarked variation of Swedish pistol m/1940.
This unmarked very rare variation of Swedish pistol m/40 is very often wrongly claimed to been designed for SOE in Norway and Denmark. 
The fact is that they were produced for the Swedish Inteligence Service during WW2.

For more details and pictures about pistol m/1940 please go to  the article in English about
Pistols of Swedish Military Secrete Service.

 

 

 

 

Here are some pictures from some of our meetings.
used by SOE in Norway, "Hjemmefronten". 

 

SOE Equipment from Norway
BC 41 knives and F-S Fighting knives of the first pattern together with more equipment.
A nice selection of sharp weapons.
SOE Special weapons

 

Let us look into this wooden box.

 
 
Knives

 

 

Optics
Guns from top to bottom:

Lanchester SMG

Thompson M1

Sten Mk 2

Sten Mk 3

Kongsberg M1914

Pistol Husqvarna m/1940

Pistol Husqvaran m/1907
The VERY clumsy
Lanchester Submachine gun with bayonet.

 

 and Kongsberg M1914 in
45 ACP

 

Explosives

 

 

The pictures above were taken at a lecture that
Kurt Johannessen from Oslo, Norway gave at one of our meetings.

The items belong to Curt Johannessen and our members.

 

 

 

Above - the most common pure fighting knives used during WW2. (Nowadays they are not common any more).
From left to right:

German Fallschirmsjäger fighting knife
French "Le venegeur de 1870", which was confiscated by the Germans and used by them.
US M3 fighting knife, which rarely can be found in Norway and Denmark.
The British commando knife: Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting knife (model 2)

After the war there were many knives left behind by the Germans.

The rare German Paratrooper knife above.

It is also called the gravity knife.
The spike in the other end can be folded open and the knife can be used in both directions!

 

Here is another German knife made by Eickhorn, Solingen. The knife was taken from a soldier in Norway during the war.

Note the nail fixing the scabbard to the frog.

This knife is unusual in its design because the blade has like normal a full tang but the crossguard is also part of the blade and tang.
Gothia Arms Historical Society in English
Gothia Arms Historical Society in Swedish