Relic of Operation Fritham

[vykkagur]

I just came across a short article on this little oddity:

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This resides in a museum on Spitsbergen, one of a group of islands above the Arctic Circle off Norway. It would undoubtedly be from the shipment sent there in May 1942 in support of Operation Fritham, the Allied landings there to deny the Germans the islands' coal mines, and disrupt their weather station and airbase. The force lost most of their weapons and equipment when the Luftwaffe sank their ships, so the nearest available replacements were flown in from the Shetlands, and the forces in the Shetlands were stocked with - Ross Mk. III rifles. This ugly little object has been converted to .30-06 (probably just rechambered, long-range accuracy not its' forte...) with a Mauser magazine. It's likely purpose is self-defence against polar bears, as the .303 would have been more than adequate for just seal-killing.

While I'm always an admirer of skillful and ingenious amateur gunmaking, this nasty piece of backyard rock-bashing does NOT qualify!

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