Thomas Christian Sneum
Born(1917-05-21)21 May 1917
Sønderho, Fanø, Denmark
Died3 February 2007(2007-02-03) (aged 89)
Roskilde, Denmark
Buried
Sønderho Cemetery, Fanø[1]
Service/branch Royal Danish Air Force
SIS
Free Norwegian Air Force
Years of service1937-1945
RankFlight lieutenant
AwardsKing's Medal for Courage

Thomas Christian Sneum (21 May 1917 Fanø - 3 February 2007 Roskilde) was a Danish flight officer who was among the first British agents in Denmark during World War II. His most spectacular achievement was when, in 1941, he photographed two German Freya radar stations on Fanø. In the night of 21–22 June 1941 he and pilot Kjeld Pedersen made a spectacular escape from Denmark to Great Britain in a D.H. Hornet Moth.[2] This would later inspire Ken Follett to write his novel Hornet Flight.[3]

Sneum stated he had planned to assassinate Heinrich Himmler in February 1941 with a longbow from a room in Hotel d'Angleterre, but the plan was cancelled when Himmler failed to appear publicly.[4][5]

Further reading

  • Ryan, Mark (February 2011). The Hornet's Sting: The Amazing Untold Story of World War II Spy Thomas Sneum. New York: Skyhorse Publishing Inc. ISBN 978-1-61608-170-6.

References

  1. ↑ "Thomas Christian Sneum". gravsted.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  2. ↑ Jones, R V (2009). Most Secret War. Penguin Books. pp. last 3 pages of Chapter 23. ISBN 978-0-141-04282-4.
  3. ↑ Nielsen, Carsten Egø. "Behind Enemy Lines". historie-online.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  4. ↑ Lauridsen, Søren (8 September 2008). "Dane Wanted to Murder Top Nazi". ekstrabladet.dk (in Danish). JP/Politikens Hus A/S. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  5. ↑ Blüdnikow, Bent (4 June 2009). "The Man Who Wanted to Shoot Himmler". b.dk (in Danish). Berlingske Media. Retrieved 13 April 2018.



This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.