# Torstein Raaby

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{{Short description|Norwegian traveler explorer}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Torstein Raaby DSO.
|image = Torstein Raaby.png
|image_size =
|caption = Historical photo of Torstein Raaby
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1918|10|06}}
|birth_place = [Dverberg](/source/Dverberg), [Vesterålen](/source/Vester%C3%A5len)
|death_date = {{Death date and age|1964|3|23|1918|10|06}}
|death_place = [Greenland](/source/Greenland) 
|known_for = Crew member on the ''[Kon-Tiki](/source/Kon-Tiki)''
|alma_mater = 
|spouse =
|occupation = Radio operator<br />[Resistance](/source/Norwegian_resistance_movement) fighter
|employer =
}}

'''Torstein Pettersen Raaby''' (6 October 1918 – 23 March 1964) was a [Norwegian](/source/Norway) telegrapher, [resistance](/source/Norwegian_resistance_movement) fighter and explorer. He is known as a crew member on the [Kon-Tiki](/source/Kon-Tiki) expedition.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Torstein Raaby |url=http://www.vesteraalen.info/torstein_raaby.htm |access-date=June 1, 2017 |publisher=vesteraalen.info}}</ref>

==Biography==
Raaby was born in the village of [Dverberg](/source/Dverberg) on the island of [Andøya](/source/And%C3%B8ya) in [Nordland](/source/Nordland), Norway.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Torstein Raaby |url=https://www.nfk.no/fylkesleksikon/innhold/hendelser-og-historie/torstein-raaby.852756.aspx |access-date=June 1, 2017 |publisher=nfk.no/fylkesleksikon}}</ref>

During [World War II](/source/World_War_II) he became a [Secret Intelligence Service](/source/Secret_Intelligence_Service) officer, having entered training in 1943.<ref name="nkl">{{Cite encyclopedia |year=1995 |title=Raaby, Torstein |encyclopedia=[Norsk krigsleksikon 1940–45](/source/Norsk_krigsleksikon_1940%E2%80%9345) |publisher=Cappelen |location=Oslo |url=http://mediabase1.uib.no/krigslex/r/r4.html#raaby-torstein |last=Nøkleby |first=Berit |editor-last=Dahl, Hans Fredrik |editor-link=Hans Fredrik Dahl |authorlink=Berit Nøkleby |accessdate=2008-11-08 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091231225614/http://mediabase1.uib.no/krigslex/r/r4.html#raaby-torstein |archivedate=2009-12-31}}</ref> He spent ten months in hiding in the village of [Alta](/source/Alta_(town)), sending detailed reports on German warships and their radar installations to England via a hidden radio set surreptitiously connected to the antenna of a German officer. His reports were instrumental helping the [RAF](/source/RAF) to find and permanently disable the battleship [''Tirpitz''](/source/German_battleship_Tirpitz). For that and other undercover operations during the war, Raaby was awarded Norway's highest decoration for military gallantry, the [War Cross with sword](/source/War_Cross_with_sword) in 1944 and the British DSO. Raaby held the rank of Second Lieutenant ([''Fenrik''](/source/Norwegian_military_ranks)).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Raaby, Torstein Pettersen |url=https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/49590 |access-date=June 1, 2017 |publisher=TracesOfWar.com}}</ref>

==Kon-Tiki expedition and later years==
In 1947, he took part in [Thor Heyerdahl](/source/Thor_Heyerdahl)'s  [Kon-Tiki expedition](/source/Kon-Tiki_expedition) from [Peru](/source/Peru) to [Polynesia](/source/Polynesia) as a radio operator,<ref name=nkl/> exchanging frequent messages with amateur radio enthusiasts in [Chile](/source/Chile), the United States, and even Norway, on a tiny 6-[watt](/source/watt) transmitter.<ref>{{Cite web |date=11 August 2012 |title=Fra hemmelig agent til Kon-Tiki-oppdager |url=https://www.nrk.no/nordland/fra-hemmelig-agent-til-kon-tiki-1.8274680 |access-date=June 1, 2017 |publisher=nrk.no/nordland}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Thor Heyerdahl |date=1964 |title=Minneord om Torstein Raaby |url=http://www.vesteraalen.info/minneord_heyerdahl.htm |access-date=June 1, 2017 |publisher=vesteraalen.info}}</ref>

After the expedition he returned to northern Norway, until he, again as a radio operator, lived on the remote [Bear Island](/source/Bear_Island_(Norway)), far north of the [Arctic Circle](/source/Arctic_Circle). From 1959 to 1961 he was a station controller of the radio station on the Arctic island of [Jan Mayen](/source/Jan_Mayen).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bjørn Rørholdt |date=1964 |title=Minneord om Torstein Raaby |url=http://www.vesteraalen.info/minneord_rorholdt.htm |access-date=June 1, 2017 |publisher=vesteraalen.info}}</ref>

Raaby died near [Alert, Nunavut](/source/Alert%2C_Nunavut) of a heart condition while in route on an expedition to reach the [North Pole](/source/North_Pole) on skis.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jørgen Alnæs |title=Heroes and Nomads in Norwegian Polar Explorer Literature |url=http://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/nordlit/article/viewFile/1160/1103 |access-date=June 1, 2017 |publisher=septentrio.uit.no}}</ref>

Torstein Raaby is buried at his birthplace of [Dverberg](/source/Dverberg) on [Andøya](/source/And%C3%B8ya).

==Honours and awards==
* [War Cross with sword](/source/War_Cross_with_sword) (Norway)
* [Distinguished Service Order](/source/Distinguished_Service_Order) (United Kingdom)
* [King's Medal for Courage in the Cause of Freedom](/source/King's_Medal_for_Courage_in_the_Cause_of_Freedom) (United Kingdom)
* [Croix de Guerre 1939-1945](/source/Croix_de_Guerre_1939-1945) (France)

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
* Heyerdahl, Thor (1950) ''The Kon-Tiki Expedition'' (George Allen & Unwin. translated by F.H. Lyon)
*Bjørn O Staib (1965) ''On skis toward the North Pole'' (NYC: Doubleday & Co. translated by Christopher Nordman)
{{Kon-Tiki|state=collapsed}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raaby, Torstein}}
Category:1918 births
Category:1964 deaths
Category:People from Andøy Municipality
Category:Norwegian explorers
Category:Norwegian resistance members
Category:Recipients of the War Cross with Sword (Norway)
Category:Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
Category:Recipients of the King's Medal for Courage in the Cause of Freedom
Category:Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France)
Category:Kon-Tiki expedition

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Torstein Raaby](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torstein_Raaby) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torstein_Raaby?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.