HNoMS ''Norge'' was a

coastal defence ship Coastal defence ships (sometimes called coastal battleships or coast defence ships) were warships built for the purpose of coastal defence, mostly during the period from 1860 to 1920. They were small, often cruiser-sized warships that sacrifi ...

of the ''Eidsvold''-class in the

Royal Norwegian Navy The Royal Norwegian Navy ( no, Sjøforsvaret, , Sea defence) is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for naval operations of Norway. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 in mobilized state, ...

. Built by

Armstrong Whitworth Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. With headquarters in Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth built armaments, ships, locomotives, automobiles and ...

Newcastle on Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne (Received Pronunciation, RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the la ...

, she was torpedoed and sunk by German destroyers in Narvik harbour on 9 April 1940.

Description

Built as part of the general rearmament in the time leading up to the events in

1905 As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia ( Shostakovich's 11th Symphony ...

, ''Norge'' remained, along with her sister-ship ''Eidsvold'', the backbone of the Royal Norwegian Navy for just over 40 years. ''Norge'' and ''Eidsvold'' were the largest vessels in the Royal Norwegian Navy, displacing 4,233 tons and crewed by 270 men. Both vessels were considered to be quite powerful for their time, with two 21 cm (8.26 inch) guns as their main armament. They were armoured to withstand battle with ships of a similar size, with 6 inches (15.24 cm) of Krupp cemented armour in the belt and 9 inches (22.86 cm) of the same armour on the two gun turrets. Håkon inspects KNM Eidsvold

It was intended to augment the Norwegian

fleet with the two ships of the ''Bjørgvin'' class, ordered in 1912, but after these were requisitioned by the British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

while still under construction at the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

the Eidsvold class and the older, two ship strong, ''Tordenskjold'' class was forced to soldier on long after they were obsolete.

First and final battle

HNoMS Norge - steering wheel recovered 1983

On the morning of 9 April 1940, German forces entered

Ofotfjord Ofotfjord ( or ) is a fjord in Nordland county, Norway. It is an inlet of the Norwegian Sea, located about north of the Arctic Circle. The long Ofotfjord is Norway's 12th longest fjord and it is also the 18th deepest, with a maximum depth of . ...

under cover of fog and heavy snow. The Germans contacted the captain of ''Eidsvold'', demanding that he surrender, and when this was turned down, the battle-ready German destroyers torpedoed ''Eidsvold'' before she could fire her guns. Aboard ''Norge'', deeper inside the fjord, the explosions were heard, but nothing could be seen until two German destroyers suddenly appeared out of the darkness. Captain

Per Askim Per Askim (24 February 1881 – 8 March 1963) was a Norwegian naval officer who was in command of the two coastal defence ships defending Narvik during the German invasion of Norway on 9 April 1940. Personal life Askim was born in Moss to mi ...

of ''Norge'' gave orders to open fire. Four rounds were fired from the 21 cm guns (one from the fore gun and three from the aft) as well as seven or eight rounds from the starboard 15 cm guns, directed against the German destroyer ''

Bernd von Arnim Z11 ''Bernd von Arnim'' was a built for Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1 ...

''. The range has been estimated as 800 metres (1/2 mile). Due to the difficult weather conditions, it was hard to use the optical sights for the guns, which resulted in the first salvo falling short of the target and the others going over the target. The German destroyers waited until they were alongside the pier before returning fire. ''Bernd von Arnim'' opened fire with her 12.7 cm (5 inch) guns, as well as with machine guns, but the weather gave the Germans problems as well. The destroyer also fired torpedoes—in all three salvoes of two torpedoes each. The first two salvoes missed, but the last struck ''Norge'' midships, and she sank in less than one minute, her propellers still turning. Ninety of the crew were rescued from the freezing water, but 101 perished in the battle which had lasted less than 20 minutes. Anchor of Norge in Narvik

The wreck

The remains of ''Norge'' lie at a depth of about , in the middle of Narvik harbour. Partly salvaged in situ, it is considered a war memorial and diving on the wreck is prohibited.PS Norge
at Skovheim.org, retrieved 2 January 2007

Notes

Sources

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norge Eidsvold-class coastal defence ships Ships built on the River Tyne 1900 ships World War II coastal defence ships of Norway Maritime incidents in April 1940 World War II shipwrecks in the Norwegian Sea