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SBO Cold War Norway
Norwegian stay behind organisation
- this page is a stub
Norsk okkupasjonsberedskap (Norwegian occupation preparedness)
— codenamed ROC after a mid-1800s fictional character 'Rocambole' —
was the Norwegian stay-behind organisation (SBO)
during the Cold War,
formed in 1947 by five key figures.
In 1948 it was subordinated to the Norwegian Armed Forces and renamed
Stay-Behind, with NATO responsible for international
coordination.
In later years it became known as
Okkupasjonsberedskap (Occupational preparedness).
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Norwegian stay-behind radio sets on this website
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In 1947, a group of five key business figures formed the first stay-behind
organisation in Norway. They had gained experience in resistance work
during World War II (WWII) and named themselves
Femmannsgruppe (Five Men Group).
They divided the country into 20 districts and created an
intelligence and communications network, codenamed Saturn.
They also had a corporate security system (codenamed Jupiter), acquired
weapons, and began identifying communists [1].
On 25 October 1948, Minister of Defence and former Milorg
leader – Jens Christian Hauge – issued a government directive for the
development of a Norwegian stay-behind organisation (SBO).
It was sponsored by several private organisations, such as the
Arbeidsgiverforeningen (Employers Association), Libertas, Industriforbundet (Industrial Confederation)
and Rotary.
That same year, the Five Men Group (Femmannsgruppe) was subordinated to the
Norwegian Armed Forces Intelligence Service (Forsvarets etterretningstjeneste).
NATO became responsible for the international coordination with the
SBOs in other European countries.
In the 1950s, the organisation consisted of three large networks spread across
different districts in Norway, that were
strictly separated and hidden from each other.
Each network was divided into 20 to 40 groups of five men each.
The three separate networks were:
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- ROC (Rocambole)
This network was named after a fictional character (Rocambole) from the
mid-1800s. It was responsible for sabotage and consisted of small groups with
secret sockpiles of weapons and other equipment. The leader of this network was
Jens Henrik Nordlie.
- Lindus
This was the intelligence network. It consisted of intelligence agents and
a group that would evacuate certain types of Norwegian and allied personnel,
should the country be attacked. The leader of this network was Hans Ringvold.
- Blue Mix
This network was responsible for the rescue and evacuation of Allied soldiers
who would end up behind enemy lines, such as airmen who had to make an
emergency landing or jump out by parachute. The leader of this network was
Ingvald Eidsheim.
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Spread around the country were secret caches with ammunition, weapons,
uniforms, medical equipment, primus stoves, tents, skis, etc. The chaches were
usually hidden in the terrain.
Like in many other European countries, the permanent staff of the organisation
was initially recruited from people with experience from WWII.
Over time they were replaced by experienced and trusted officers with suitable
military backgrounds.
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The Norwegian stay-behind organisation is known under the following names:
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- Femmannsgruppe (Five Men Group) (Saturn, Jupiter)
- Stay-Behind
- Norsk okkupasjonsberedskap (Norwegian occupation preparedness)
- Okkupasjonsberedskap (Occupational preparedness)
- ROC (Rocambole)
- Lindus
- Blue Mix
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© Crypto Museum. Created: Tuesday 07 January 2025. Last changed: Friday, 10 January 2025 - 09:21 CET.
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