Operation Leader

A US Navy Dauntless dive bomber flying near the Norwegian coast during Operation Leader

Date	4 October 1943
Location	Bodø area of Norway
Result	Allied victory

Belligerents

United States

United Kingdom

Norway

Germany

Commanders and leaders

Bruce Fraser

Olaf M. Hustvedt

Strength

42 aircraft

Casualties and losses

4 aircraft

5 ships destroyed
7 ships damaged
2 aircraft

Operation Leader was a successful air attack conducted by the United States Navy against German shipping in the vicinity of Bodø, Norway, on 4 October 1943, during World War II. The raid was executed by aircraft flying from the aircraft carrier USS Ranger, which at the time was attached to the British Home Fleet. The American airmen located many German and Norwegian ships in this area, and are believed to have destroyed five and damaged another seven. Two German aircraft searching for the Allied fleet were shot down as well. Three American aircraft were destroyed in combat during the operation, and another crashed while landing.

The attack followed a two-year lull in Allied aircraft carrier operations against Norway, and took the German forces by surprise. The choice of the target area was guided by intelligence gained from decoding German radio signals and reports from Norwegian Secret Intelligence Service agents, and two Norwegian airmen flew with the attack force to provide advice on the local geography. While historians have found it difficult to determine the exact number of ships sunk, Operation Leader damaged the German war effort by considerably disrupting the convoy system in the region and reducing shipments of iron ore.

During mid- to late-1943 the Home Fleet, the Royal Navy's main striking force stationed in the United Kingdom, was augmented by two forces of United States Navy warships to replace British ships dispatched to the Mediterranean and Pacific. These reinforcements were considered necessary to ensure that the fleet remained able to counter the German battle group based in Norway, which was built around the battleships Tirpitz and Scharnhorst, and the heavy cruiser Lützow.

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