| ID | Description | Categories | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1862 | HAUGE, Eiliv Odde. Salt-Water Thief. 159p., illus. London: Duckworth, 1958
The biography of Odd Starheim, who fought with the Norwegian resistance. He seized the s.s. Galtesund, which was taken to Aberdeen, but was killed while trying to repeat the exploit. |
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| 1863 | HOWARTH, David. The Shetland Bus. x, 220p., illus., index. London: Nelson, 1951; New York: Sloane, 1952.
The Special Norwegian Naval Unit was based in Shetland. Their aim was to land men and cargo in Norway for the underground and to bring refugees back to the UK. US title: Across to Norway. |
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| 1864 | HOWARTH, David. We Die Alone. 255p., illus. London: Collins, 1955.
An unsuccessful attempt to land Norwegians in Northern Norway in 1943. |
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| 1865 | IRVINE, James W. The Waves Are Free: Shetland/Norway Links 1940 to 1945. xiv, 257p., bibliog., illus., index. Lerwick: Shetland Publishing, 1988. ISBN: 0906736102. Commandos and agents, MTBs, submarines, and fishing boats all played a part in ensuring that, through constant raids, Norway was an operational theatre throughout the war. |
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| 1866 | IVERSEN, Kaare. Shetland Bus Man. vii, 152p.,illus. Edinburgh: Pentland, 2000. ISBN: 1898852944.
The first Norwegian account, by a participant, of the special operations immortalised by Howarth in The Shetland Bus. |
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| 1867 | LADD, James D. SBS the Invisible Raiders: The History of the Special Boat Squadron from World War Two to the Present. 283p., illus., index. London: Arms & Armour; Annapolis: NIP, 1983. ISBN: 0853685932.
A history of the various groups of swimmer-canoeists and shallow- water divers who preceded then formed the SBS. These irregular groups operated from Norway to Singapore during the war. The second half of the book covers the postwar years up to and including the Falklands Conflict. |
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| 1868 | LANGLEY, Mike. Anders Lassen, VC, MC of the SAS: The Story of Anders Lassen and the Men Who Fought with Him. 254p., bibliog., illus., index. London: New English Library, 1988. ISBN: 0450424928.
A good biography of a legendary raider of astonishing bravery, who won the only SAS VC. |
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| 1869 | LASSEN, Suzanne. Anders Lassen, VC. ix, 244p., illus., index. London: Muller, 1965.
Lassen was a Danish merchant seaman who joined British irregular forces and served with great gallantry in the Mediterranean and Aegean, most notably with the Special Boat Section and the SAS. |
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| 1870 | LEE, David, Beachhead Assault: The Story of the Royal Naval Commandos in World War II. 272p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Greenhill, 2004. ISBN: 1853676195. The first account of the RN's own commandos, formed in 1941 and led by Beachmasters, who secured the beaches on the way in, and were prepared to defend them on the way out. Largely concerned with the major landings in the Mediterranean and D-Day. Reprinted several times. |
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| 1871 | LODWICK, John. The Filibusters: The Story of the Special Boat Service. vi, 189p., illus. London: Methuen, 1947. This small but effective raiding unit operated in the Eastern Mediterranean performing various covert operations. Reprinted by Greenhill in 1990 as Raiders from the Sea (ISBN: 1853670685), with a new foreword by Lord Jellicoe who commanded SBS for almost two years. Reprinted again by Greenhill in 2018, ISBN: 9781784383459. |
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| 1872 | MANUS, Max. 9 Lives before Thirty. [8], 328p., illus. Garden City: Doubleday, 1947.
An American translation of his Norwegian autobiographies. See also the British version entitled Underwater Saboteur. |
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| 1873 | MANUS, Max. Underwater Saboteur. 239p., illus. London: Kimber, [1953].
The author was parachuted into Norway in 1943 and was responsible for sabotage attacks, particularly on shipping. |
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| 1874 | MINSHALL, Merlin. Guilt-Edged. 319p., illus. London: Bachman & Turner, 1975. ISBN: 0859740323.
Minshall spent his life trying to prove that amateurs would always beat professionals - and losing. A well-connected child of the establishment he spent the prewar years cruising round Europe. He joined the RNVR and worked with Ian Fleming, plotting madcap escapes such as blowing up the Iron Gates on the Danube. He was exiled to New Zealand by Admiral Godfrey (a bête noire), but returned to Europe to spend the latter part of the war as naval liaison officer to Tito's partisans. What are intended as humorously self-deprecating memoirs become irritatingly full of blind prejudice. |
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| 1875 | NEVILLE, Ralph. Survey by Starlight: A True Story of Reconnaissance Work in the Mediterranean. 207p., illus. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1949.
A personal memoir from a member of Number 5 Combined Operations Pilotage Party, who took passage in submarine and canoe to survey possible landing beaches. |
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| 1876 | NUTTING, David. Attain by Surprise: Capturing Top Secret Intelligence in World War II edited by David Nutting. 315p., bibliog., illus. index. Chichester: Colver, 1997. ISBN: 0952625717.
30 Assault Unit was the brain child of Ian Fleming. It was a mixed service unit whose role was to land with the assault forces and to press ahead to capture scientific and military intelligence. The editor was a member of the unit and collects the reminiscences of a cross-section of survivors. A revised second edition was published in 2003 (ISBN: 0952625725) . |
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| 1877 | PITT, Barrie. Special Boat Squadron: The Story of the SBS in the Mediterranean. viii, 212p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Century, 1983. ISBN: 0712601082.
A solid account of the operations of these special forces. |
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| 1878 | RANKIN, Nicholas. Ian Fleming's Commando: The Story of 30 Assault Unit in WWII. xvi, 397p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Faber, 2011. ISBN: 9780571250622.
An engaging and well written account of the unit which specialised in acquiring documents from the enemy. |
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| 1879 | REES, Quentin. The Cockleshell Canoes: British Military Canoes of World War Two. 256p., illus., index. Stroud: Amberley, 2010. ISBN: 1848680651.
Over 4000 canoes were made and the contribution they made to the war was immense, but has remained untold until now. The author tells the story of the development and use of these canoes, from Combined Operations to SOE. |
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| 1880 | RICHARDS, Brooks. Secret Flotillas: The Clandestine Sea Lines to France and French North Africa 1940–1944. xix, 729p., bibliog., illus., index. London: HMSO, 1996.
Effectively an official history. A full, detailed, and scholarly account. Republished by Routledge in two volumes in 2004. |
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| 1881 | SAELEN, Frithjof. None but the Brave: the Story of "Shetlands" Larsen, CGM, DSO, DSC, DSM and bar. 232p., illus. London: Souvenir, 1955.
Leif Larsen escaped from Norway in 1941 in a fishing smack and from then on fought ceaselessly to free his homeland. In 52 trips across the North Sea and back he laid mines, attacked the Tirpitz, fought seaplanes, and conveyed agents, arms, and refugees. A stirring tale. |
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