On 5 June 1940, Captain Rei Sandberg, the commander of Skorpa prisoner of war camp from early May 1940, received a call from the district military command asking how many airmen were held at the camp. At that time the number was 40, however later that day another 51 prisoners arrived at the camp, 19 of whom were airmen. Thus, when the order came in the late evening to transfer the 40 airmen to Harstad for interrogation at the British headquarters in Norway there were 59 Luftwaffe personnel at Skorpa. District Command concluded that it was best to send the requested 40 prisoners, rather than to send all 59. The 40 sent from Skorpa were the highest ranking of the 59, including all the pilots. None of these prisoners ever reached Harstad, instead being embarked on Allied ships and taken to the United Kingdom as the Allies evacuated Northern Norway only days later. Shortly after the departure of the Luftwaffe prisoners orders came through for the southern Norwegian soldiers guarding the camp to be transferred for front service against the Germans. Before any of the soldiers could leave Skorpa, however, word reached the camp at 0130hrs on 8 June of the forthcoming capitulation of the Norwegian mainland.