Hans Otto Meyer
 Hans Otto Meyer    (intelligence operative) | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 1925 |
| Died | 2002 (Age 76) |
| Nationality | Norwegian |
| Member of | Norwegian Shipowners' Association |
Hans Otto Meyer was a Norwegian shipowner and Stay Behind operative.[1]
During WW2, he was a navy officer working from London with covert operations during the war. After the war, his shipping lines were used by British naval intelligence to photograph harbours and the coast in Warsaw Pact nations.
In November 1978, police received tips of a clandestine liquor factory on Meyer's property on the inaccessible and craggy Gjeterøya island outside Oslo. After the discovery of the liquor factory (run by the janitor allegedly without approval), the police decided to investigate Hans Otto Meyer's private mansion in Oslo.
In connection with the police raid, they found a secret entrance to a bunker full of weapons, equipment and ammunition enough to equip more than a hundred men, and an advanced radio device that raised its antenna through the stovepipe at transmission. The secret entrance through the fireplace was covered by cameras and an automatic machine gun trap. Meyer claimed he kept the weapons as a participant in a covert Stay Behind army under the Defense Intelligence Service (Norwegian: Forsvarets etterretningstjeneste).
In parliament, the Minister of Defense Rolf Hansen at first denied that Meyer was affiliated with the intelligence services. However, he later admitted the charges and confirmed that Meyer had been associated with the Stay Behind network.
Why someone tipped off the police, and why the intelligence services did not provide cover for Meyer during the raid, is still unclear. The speculation is that the raid was a punishment as part of an internal feud.
Meyer founded and operated Mey-Air[2], and a Norwegian charter airline with 9 aircraft based at Fornebu airport, which closed after 4 years of service in (1970-74).
