A real hero of Telemark dies
A WAR hero who stopped the Nazi bid to create an atomic bomb has died, aged 99.
Joachim Ronneberg led a top-secret raid called Operation Gunnerside on a heavily-guarded plant in Norway’s southern region of Telemark in 1943.
Working with a British team, Ronneberg blew up a Norsk Hydro facility where German scientists were trying to produce the first atomic bomb.
Attacking the base on skis, they set off a string of explosives before escaping into Sweden through the mountains.
The operation was a roaring success and was later made into the Hollywood film Heroes Of Telemark, starring Kirk Douglas. Ronneberg revealed he only understood how important his mission was after atomic bombs were dropped on Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
After the conflict, Ronneberg went on to work as a radio journalist and spent later life raising awareness of the dangers of war among the young.
Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg said: “He is one of our great heroes.
“Ronneberg is probably the last of the best known resistance fighters to pass away.” TWO young women were being quizzed over the suspected murder of a 20-year-old man who was found dead at the wheel of his car.
Emergency services were called to the Volkswagen Polo in Peterborough by local residents.
An 18-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of murder.
Later a 19-year-old woman was also arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder.
The two women are being held in custody at Thorpe Wood Police Station in Peterborough.