Operation Cartoon

Operation Cartoon was a British Commando raid on the island of Stord near Leirvik over the night of 23 and 24 January 1943. It was carried out by fifty-three men of No. 12 Commando supported by ten men from the Norwegian Troop, No. 10 Commando.

Operation
The raiders were transported to Stord by seven Royal Norwegian Navy motor torpedo boats of the 30th MTB Flotila. Their objective was the destruction of the Pyrite mine on the island of Stord. On arrival at Stord half the commandos were landed at Sagvåg quay and engaged the defending German positions there whilst the remainder were landed on the other side of the bay. The commandos carrying 50 lb of explosives reached the Pyrite mine which was 2 mi away after twenty-five minutes. Exploding their explosive charges put the mine out of action for a year. On their extraction from the island the torpedo boats attacked a German steamer which they left sinking. The commandos also captured three German prisoners as well as a quantity of papers and equipment, this was achieved for the loss of one commando killed, two commando’s and eight sailors injured.