Wilhelm Mohr

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Wilhelm Mohr. On World War II The impression stays overwhelming. It was like a page in history was turned … What a sight. The ocean beneath us was filled with various ships, everyone heading south, war ships that bombarded in advance, amphibious ships on the beaches and on their way, merchant ships ready to supply all kinds of material. It struck me that if you needed to jump out of the aircraft at the time – chances were good you would land on a ship’s deck. 19 According to Wilhelm Mohr, they met no resistance in the air. The Allied struggle for air supremacy had been successful, and without that, no invasion could have taken place. 20 Subsequently, the Wing’s role was altered from air-to-air to air-to-ground operations. The targets were German defences in the landing area, attacking all German movement in the area, and there were also interdict operations to stop German reinforcements. Soon, all ground personnel could be moved across the Channel, and operations continued as Allied ground forces consolidated their bridgeheads in the landing area. Starting at the B16 Airfield outside Caen, France, the Wing moved north-eastwards as the Allied front moved north-eastwards – into northern France, Belgium, the Netherlands and up to the German border. While in Belgium, Mohr was informed that the Norwegian authorities in London had joined the Army and Navy Air Forces under one command as a separate service – effectively establishing the Royal Norwegian Air Force on 10 November 1944. Mohr thought it an important step forward, but comments that at the time it did not affect them much – the focus was set on providing an effective contribution to the Allied progress and everyday flying with the objective of attacking German forces. The last airfield that the Wing operated from was Airfield B106 at Twente, close to the German border. The war was coming to an end. On Liberation Day, 8 May 1945, Mohr was in Antwerp, leading 132 19 Wilhelm Mohr, Recollections, unpublished memoirs, Oslo 27 June 2007, p. 71. 20 Wilhelm Mohr, telephone conversation with the author, 20 May 2009. 18
Biography of Wilhelm Mohr (N) Wing’s ground personnel car convoy from Airfield B106. Fourteen days later he was back home in Norway. 21 After WWII, Mohr was aide-de-camp to King Haakon VII (1946-49). He played an important role in building up the newly-established Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF), and served in various postings in the RNoAF in the 1950s – including three years in Washington as Norway’s representative on NATO’s Military Committee. 22 Mohr became Chief of Staff of the Air Force in 1960. He became Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force in 1963, and among other things he played a key role in inducing the development of the first RNoAF doctrine after WWII in the late 1960s. In 1969 Lieutenant General Wilhelm Mohr became Deputy Commander in Chief of the Allied Forces Northern Europe, and later Director of the National Defence College in Oslo. Upon retirement in 1975, he took up activities within natural resources management, including fish farming, which in those days was in its infancy. 23 Mohr became Head of the Norwegian Civil Aviation Accident Commission 1977–1989. 24 Lieutenant General Wilhelm Mohr has received a number of decorations for his military service, including the War Cross with Sword (Norway), The Order of St. Olav (Norway), The Distinguished Flying Cross (Britain), and The Legion of Merit (US). 25 Today, Lieutenant General Wilhelm Mohr lives in Oslo and regularly visits the RNoAF Academy in Trondheim, giving his reflections on WWII and the history of the RNoAF to the young cadets – and how these experiences might translate into wisdom for the challenges 21 On a personal note, Wilhelm Mohr and two friends were staying at a hotel in Hamburg together with the Canadian 7 Armoured Division when he learned that the Germans had signed the capitulation documents on 5 May 1945. Thus, as Mohr says: `People have asked me where I was when the War ended. I tell them Hamburg’. Ibid, p. 81. 22 Wilhelm Mohr, telephone conversation with the author, 19 June 2009. 23 Ibid. 24 Wilhelm Mohr, telephone conversation with the author, 20 May 2009. 25 Wilhelm Mohr (1997) `The Contributions of the Norwegian Air Forces in World War II’, Air Power History 44 (1997), p. 32. The Norwegian Biographical Encyclopedia (2003) Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget, H. Aschehoug & Co (W. Nygaard) A/S and Gyldendal ASA, Volume 6, p. 336. 19
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PART III Friends and Allies: A Wart
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AcknowledgementsAcknowledgements A
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Wilhelm Mohr

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