World War II · Series · 2015
The Heavy Water War
Kampen om tungtvannet
As German physicists pursue nuclear research, Norwegian scientist Leif Tronstad works from London with British intelligence to stop heavy water leaving the Vemork plant, and a small team of Norwegian commandos is sent to destroy it.
Where it happened
Follow the story across 4 places.
Stop 1: London
Having escaped occupied Norway, Tronstad persuades the British that Vemork's heavy water must be stopped and plans the operations.
Stop 2: Hardangervidda plateau
A small advance team parachutes onto the frozen plateau and survives the winter waiting for the attack force.
Stop 3: Vemork hydroelectric plant
Key location
The commandos climb down into the gorge and up the other side to break into the guarded plant.
Stop 4: Lake Tinn
When the Germans try to ship the remaining heavy water out, the resistance faces a terrible choice about the civilian ferry.
What really happened
The Norsk Hydro plant at Vemork, near Rjukan, was the world's only large producer of heavy water, which German scientists wanted as a moderator for a nuclear reactor. After a British glider assault, Operation Freshman, ended in disaster in November 1942, six Norwegian commandos of Operation Gunnerside joined the advance party in the mountains and, on the night of 27 to 28 February 1943, blew up the plant's high-concentration cells without firing a shot.
When production resumed, American bombers struck the plant in November 1943, and on 20 February 1944 saboteurs sank the ferry SF Hydro on Lake Tinn as it carried the last heavy-water stocks to Germany, killing 14 Norwegians. The series puts unusual weight on Tronstad and on the German side, including physicist Werner Heisenberg.
Where to watch
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Full details
- Original title
- Kampen om tungtvannet
- Created by
- Petter S. Rosenlund
- Countries
- Norway, Denmark, United Kingdom
- Languages
- Norwegian, German, English
- Seasons
- 1 season
- Released
- 2015
- Period
- –
- Theaters of war
- Western Europe
- Themes
- Resistance
- Espionage
- True story
