Operation Lola

'Lola' was a British naval undertaking on behalf of the Special Operations Executive to land agents and stores on Sandøya, an island off the west coast of German-occupied Norway (12/15 February 1945).

Lieutenant R. Seddon’s MGB-718 of the 15th Motor Gun Boat Flotilla departed Aberdeen with two agents and 50 cases of stores, but the weather was so bad that the motor gun boat could make no more than 6 kt for much of the time. All the boat’s watertight hatches and bulkheads were damaged, all her radio equipment was soaked and unserviceable, and the boat’s interior was a shambles. Seddon pressed on, against the advice of the Norwegian pilot on board, and landed the agents and their stores. The boat then headed back to Aberdeen, which she reached with 5 ft (1.5 m) of water in her bilges.