Operation Coton

'Coton' was a British operation by the Special Operations Executive to establish a base on neutral Swedish territory from which the railway to the south of Mosjøen could be attacked (January/8 May 1945).

The plan was presented early in November 1944, and its main target was fixed as the Trolldal viaduct. A. Hegstad, the leader of the four-man party, travelled overland from Stockholm in Sweden to reconnoitre the area around Atosstugan, also in Sweden, at the end of January 1945 and the other three men (L. Sandin, L. Langaas and J. Gundersen) followed during February. By the middle of March there were 14 men at the base, and on 21 April some of them cut the railway in two places to the north of Majavatn. At the liberation of Norway in May 1945, the 'Coton' party proceeded to Mosjøen and took over leadership of the local resistance groups.