Norwegian scientist and military officer (1903-1945)
Leif Tronstad
Born
(1903-03-27)27 March 1903 Bærum, Norway
Died
11 March 1945(1945-03-11) (aged 41) Syrebekkstølen, Rauland, Norway
Buried
Vestre gravlund
Allegiance
Norway
Service/branch
Norwegian Army
Years of service
1924–1927 1940–1945
Rank
Major
Unit
Norwegian Independent Company 1
Battles/wars
World War II
Norwegian Campaign
Norwegian resistance movement †
Operation Gunnerside (planner)
Awards
War Cross with sword
Norwegian War Medal
Defence Medal 1940–1945
Order of the British Empire
Distinguished Service Order
Légion d'honneur
Croix de Guerre
Medal of Freedom
Relations
Edla Obel (wife)
Other work
Athlete, scientist
Leif Hans Larsen Tronstad DSO, OBE (27 March 1903 – 11 March 1945) was a Norwegian inorganic chemist, intelligence officer and military organizer. He graduated from the Norwegian Institute of Technology in 1927 and was a prolific researcher and writer of academic publications. A professor of chemistry at the Norwegian Institute of Technology from 1936, he was among the pioneers of heavy water research, and was instrumental when a heavy water plant was built at Vemork.
After the invasion of Norway by Germany during World War II, Tronstad conducted domestic resistance for one year before fleeing the country for England. There, he gathered valuable intelligence from Norwegian sources, both on the development of the V-2 rocket and the growing German interest in heavy water. In 1943 Tronstad planned Operation Gunnerside, in which the German access to heavy water processing at Vemork was severely impeded. His information about the V-2 rocket contributed to the massive Allied bombing of Peenemünde.
For a long time Tronstad had wanted to return to Norway to organize resistance work, however he was prevented by the Norwegian military authorities in Britain. In 1944, he did travel to Norway, to organize Operation Sunshine, for the defence of Norwegian infrastructure. After five months in the country, he was killed in action after his team had taken the local bailiff hostage.
Leif Hans Larsen Tronstad DSO, OBE (27 March 1903 – 11 March 1945) was a Norwegian inorganic chemist, intelligence officer and military organizer. He...
whistle-blower and novelist Leif Segerstam (born 1944), Finnish conductor and composer Leif Shiras (born 1959), American tennis player LeifTronstad (1903–1945), Norwegian...
bound in HDO molecules). Norwegian Institute of Technology lecturer LeifTronstad and Jomar Brun, head of the hydrogen plant, proposed a project in 1933...
particular emphasis on the role of the Norwegian intelligence officer LeifTronstad. The first two episodes were initially broadcast on NRK1, on 4 January...
Post-Colonial Future (Report). Academia.edu. Retrieved 24 March 2016. "LeifTronstad". Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Archived from the...
towards the end of World War II. Operation Sunshine was planned by LeifTronstad from his position within the exiled Norwegian Ministry of Defence in...
Hardangervidda, to participate in the Operation Sunshine with LeifTronstad. Syverstad and Tronstad were both killed in a shooting incident 11 March 1945. He...
1975) 1902 – Charles Lang, American cinematographer (d. 1998) 1903 – LeifTronstad, Norwegian chemist and military leader (d. 1945) 1903 – Xavier Villaurrutia...
heavy water, and although the scientist and organiser of the sabotage, LeifTronstad, had not been aware of the connection between heavy water and atomic...
the world mass-produced heavy water, following a production plan by LeifTronstad and Jomar Brun. After the end of the war Norsk Hydro had a strong liquidity...
(born 1907) 11 March Gunnar Syverstad, resistance member (born 1910). LeifTronstad, scientist, intelligence officer and military organizer (born 1903)...
(d. 1990) March 27 Betty Balfour, English screen actress (d. 1977) LeifTronstad, Norwegian scientist, intelligence officer and military organizer (d...
of Technology, and graduated in chemistry in 1941. His professor was LeifTronstad, a well-known resistance member during the German occupation of Norway...
during the Second World War, with a particular emphasis on the role of LeifTronstad, broadcast on More4 and across Europe. Headline Pictures' films include...
Norwegian High Command, together with scientists such as Svein Rosseland, LeifTronstad and Helmer Dahl. The Technical Committee is considered as the precursor...
Ditlev Danielsen Henry Gleditsch Mosse Jørgensen Leif B. Lillegaard Knut Selmer Bernhard Stokke LeifTronstad Skolestatistikk 1945–46, pp. 74–75, Norges offisielle...
Germany. Others managed to flee from the country, among these were LeifTronstad, Einar Johansen, Bjørn Rørholt and Olav Skeie. In February 1941, Skylark...
Harald Sandvik King Haakon VII, Prof. LeifTronstad, Capt. Harald Sandvik and Crown Prince Olav, Glenmore Lodge, Scotland 1944, Kompani Linge training...
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