Emergencies and World Disasters
The Gamble That Sank Hitler's Secret: The SF Hydro Sabotage
22 min•13 september 2026
Om avsnittet
The Gamble That Sank Hitler's Secret: The SF Hydro Sabotage
Danger hid in an ordinary ferry: on 20 February 1944 the SF Hydro sank in four minutes with thirty-nine barrels on board that could have altered the course of the Second World War - and the saboteurs couldn’t be sure the barrels were even there. How did four men, eight kilograms of explosives and a single night decide the fate of those barrels, and what did divers find fifty years later still sealed at the bottom of Lake Tinn?
In this episode, we follow the route from the Vemork plant to the Mæl-Tinnoset ferry crossing, outline the failed Allied attempts to stop heavy water, and recount the night four saboteurs boarded an unguarded ferry with a timed fuse - asking whether their gamble really stopped Germany’s access to heavy water.
Person: Knut Haukelid
Date: 20 February 1944
Location: Lake Tinn, Norway
Event: SF Hydro ferry sinking
Topic: Heavy water transport from Vemork
- The SF Hydro sank to the bottom of Lake Tinn in four minutes on the morning of 20 February 1944.
- Thirty-nine barrels of potassium hydroxide, destined for Germany, were loaded onto the ferry for transport.
- Vemork produced five kilograms of heavy water per day by 1942 and was the world’s first industrial-scale heavy water plant.
- Four Norwegian saboteurs (Knut Haukelid, Alf Larsen, Knut Lier-Hansen, Rolf Sørlie) placed 8.4 kilograms of plastic explosive aboard the ferry.
- A 143-bomber raid on Vemork on 16 November 1943 killed 21 Norwegian civilians but failed to damage the heavily reinforced production facility.
To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.
© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].
Danger hid in an ordinary ferry: on 20 February 1944 the SF Hydro sank in four minutes with thirty-nine barrels on board that could have altered the course of the Second World War - and the saboteurs couldn’t be sure the barrels were even there. How did four men, eight kilograms of explosives and a single night decide the fate of those barrels, and what did divers find fifty years later still sealed at the bottom of Lake Tinn?
In this episode, we follow the route from the Vemork plant to the Mæl-Tinnoset ferry crossing, outline the failed Allied attempts to stop heavy water, and recount the night four saboteurs boarded an unguarded ferry with a timed fuse - asking whether their gamble really stopped Germany’s access to heavy water.
Person: Knut Haukelid
Date: 20 February 1944
Location: Lake Tinn, Norway
Event: SF Hydro ferry sinking
Topic: Heavy water transport from Vemork
- The SF Hydro sank to the bottom of Lake Tinn in four minutes on the morning of 20 February 1944.
- Thirty-nine barrels of potassium hydroxide, destined for Germany, were loaded onto the ferry for transport.
- Vemork produced five kilograms of heavy water per day by 1942 and was the world’s first industrial-scale heavy water plant.
- Four Norwegian saboteurs (Knut Haukelid, Alf Larsen, Knut Lier-Hansen, Rolf Sørlie) placed 8.4 kilograms of plastic explosive aboard the ferry.
- A 143-bomber raid on Vemork on 16 November 1943 killed 21 Norwegian civilians but failed to damage the heavily reinforced production facility.
To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.
© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].
Emergencies and World Disasters med Creator at Obomedia finns tillgänglig på flera plattformar. Informationen på denna sida kommer från offentliga podd-flöden.