The British force which landed north of Narvik at Harstad is now in place to begin an attack on Dietl’s 4,600 strong occupation force which it has surrounded and cut off from the sea. But their commander, Major General Pierse J. Macksey, wants the weather just right before he attacks, and a series of blizzards has begun, filling the valleys with 8 foot deep snowdrifts. To pass the time, the Guards officers give ski lessons to their men. When there are not enough skis to go around, some of the men switch to tobogganing. To the guards who have never been on toboggans and might need them now for transport in a strange terrain, tobogganing was serious business, to the local Norwegians, it seems that they’re just playing in the snow.

(Mark Horan adds): At RNAS Hatston, Acting Captain C. L. Howe, RN decides that the Squadrons would fly small armed reconnaissance missions to Bergen. 803 Squadrons was selected, and dispatched two Skuas armed with a single 250 pound SAP bomb and 8 x 20 pound Cooper bombs with orders to proceed to Bergen and then separate and approach the fjords from the North and South.

The aircraft took off at 0500, separated at 0650, and crossed the coastline at 0705 at 4,000 feet. Each aircraft made a high-speed run, descending to below 1,000 feet as they reconnoitred the surrounding fjords. On the way in, one aircraft sighted, attacked, and badly damaged a small auxiliary vessel flying the German flag, the patrol vessel Tarantel N. B. 18. On the way out, the other sighted and attacked a U-58 that was proceeding up the fjord on the surface. It was believed that the submarine was damaged by the bombing as it did not attempt to dive thereafter. Both aircraft returned safely at 0925.