Wilhelm Mohr

Wilhelm Mohr. On World War II
had learned that an army unit had established some form of HQ at
Røros. There, in the rather chaotic atmosphere of rumours and friction
of war, Mohr took command of the Wing on 13 April, at the age of 22.
They operated from there until later that month, performing reconnaissance
missions to map out the German advances on the ground.
Assessing the Wing’s operations, Mohr himself – in his usual sober
manner – said: ’I would not say it had any significant usefulness’. 11
By late April it had become clear that South Norway would have to be
surrendered to the German forces, and it was decided that each pilot
could choose whether they wanted to continue their fight against the
Germans in North Norway, or go to Lesja to start preparing for the
journey over to the UK and then continue the fight from there. Mohr
chose Lesja. By then, the Germans had advanced to Tynset, and on
Mohr’s low-level flight towards Lesja from Aursunden, a German bullet
went through the wing of his Fokker and petrol started to poor out,
forcing Mohr to make an emergency landing just north of Fokkstua.
After making necessary repairs to the aircraft and procuring fuel by
sledge – he set course for Lesja. Mohr landed on Lesjaskogsvannet
(Lesja Woods Lake) on 24 April, in order to link up with (then) Captain
Bjarne Øen, 12 who had established an HQ for the remnants of the
Norwegian Air Arm at Lesja. Mohr landed shortly after 18 Gladiators
of the British 263 Squadron had been attacked on the lake, 13 of which
were destroyed. Once landed, he spotted three German Heinkels heading
for him and his Fokker. He jumped out of the aircraft, only to find
himself in deep snow and unable to escape. The Heinkels made three
11 Wilhelm Mohr, Recollections, unpublished memoirs, Oslo 27 June 2007, p. 32.
12 Adolf Bjarne Øen (1898–1994) is one of the leading figures of the Royal Norwegian Air
Force. He became the Inspector General of the Army Air Arm on 13 April 1940 – four
days after Germany attacked Norway. He played a key role in building up the Norwegian
Air Force in Britain during WWII, and later – as Chief of the RNoAF – in developing the
RNoAF as a separate service after the War. Øen held a number of key positions in his career,
and became Chief of Defence in 1963. Norsk Biografisk Leksikon [The Norwegian Biographical
Encyclopedia] (2005) Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget, H. Aschehoug & Co (W. Nygaard)
A/S and Gyldendal ASA, Volume 10, pp. 92–93.
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