The ''Draug'' class was the first multi-vessel class of destroyers built for 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, ...

in the early 20th century and the first destroyers constructed for the Royal Norwegian Navy since , which was commissioned on 17 May 1896. The class comprised three ships, , and . All three were built at the naval shipyard at

Horten is a town and municipality in Vestfold in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway—located along the Oslofjord. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Horten. The municipality also includes the town of Åsgårdstrand ...

. The ''Draug'' class were the last Norwegian-constructed destroyers until the was laid down in 1939. The ''Draug'' class saw service until the 1940s. In 1940, ''Garm'' was sunk while the other two remained in service until sold and

broken up Ship-breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for either a source of parts, which can be sold for re-use, or for the extraction ...

for scrap.

Characteristics

The ''Draug'' class was patterned on the British , only somewhat larger and more heavily armed. The destroyers had a

displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and Physics *Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

of and were long with a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy * Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy ** Laser beam * Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized g ...

of and a draught of . The destroyers had a complement of 76 officers and ratings. The ships of the class were coal-powered vessels with a capacity of . While ''Draug'' and ''Troll'' had vertical

triple expansion steam engine A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure ''(HP)'' cylinder, then having given up he ...

s driving two

shafts ''Shafts'' was an English feminist magazine produced by Margaret Sibthorp from 1892 until 1899. Initially published weekly and priced at one penny, its themes included votes for women, women's education, and radical attitudes towards vivisection ...

, rated at , ''Garm'' was powered by Germania direct steam turbines, rated at . ''Draug'' had a maximum speed of , ''Troll'', and ''Garm'', . They carried six

quick-firing gun A quick-firing or rapid-firing gun is an artillery piece, typically a gun or howitzer, which has several characteristics which taken together mean the weapon can fire at a fast rate. Quick-firing was introduced worldwide in the 1880s and 1890s an ...

s, as well as three trainable

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed abo ...

Ships in class

Service history

As the single ''Valkyrjen'' was not enough to fulfil the need for destroyers, the ''Draug'' class was ordered and built in the years 1908–1913. ''Draug'' was the lead ship, launched in 1908, followed by ''Troll, '' in 1909 and ''Garm'' in 1913. The class, and lead ship, was named after the

Draugr The draugr or draug ( non, draugr, plural ; modern is, draugur, fo, dreygur and Danish, Swedish, and no, draug) is an undead creature from the Scandinavian saga literature and folktale. Commentators extend the term ''draugr'' to the undead in ...

– a sinister, malevolent being of Nordic origin and often connected with mariners and the sea. All three ships were kept in commission until the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, although they were mothballed years before 1939. As war became imminent, the three ships were returned to active service, ''Troll'' and ''Garm'' on 28 August, ''Draug'' on 5 September 1939. As all three ships were in poor condition, it took much time and work before they could be declared operational. After mobilisation, the ''Draug''-class vessels were considered fit only for escort and guard service. They served with the 1st Destroyer Division based at

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

. On 8 April 1940, as the

German invasion of Norway German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

was imminent, the three ''Draug''-class ships were posted to the 2nd Naval District in south- and mid-western Norway. ''Draug'' was based at

Haugesund Haugesund () is a municipality on the North Sea in Rogaland county, Norway. While the population is greater in the neighboring Karmøy municipality, the main commercial and economic centre of the Haugaland region in northern Rogaland and southern ...

, ''Garm'' at Bergen and ''Troll'' at

Måløy Måløy () is a town in the municipality of Kinn in Vestland county, Norway. Måløy is located on the southeastern side of the island of Vågsøy, about northeast of the village of Holvika and about south of the village of Raudeberg. The M� ...

. ''Draug'' escaped to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

on 9 April 1940 after an action against German transports. ''Garm'' was sunk by German

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...

s at the village of Bjordal in the

Sognefjord The Sognefjord or Sognefjorden (, en, Sogn Fjord), nicknamed the King of the Fjords ( no, Fjordenes konge), is the largest and deepest fjord in Norway. Located in Vestland county in Western Norway, it stretches inland from the ocean to the sm ...

on 26 April 1940. ''Troll'', which had been ordered to

Shetland Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...

, was abandoned by her crew at

Florø is a town and the administrative centre of the municipality of Kinn, Vestland, Norway. The town was founded by royal decree in 1860 as a ladested on the island of Florelandet, located between the Botnafjorden and Solheimsfjorden. Florø is N ...

was captured at anchor by the advancing German forces on 18 May 1940. ''Troll'' was used as a condensor vessel and heating

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels. ...

in the shipyard at Laksevaag. ''Draug'' served as an escort vessel on the east coast of Britain until she was

scrapped Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has monetary value, especially recovered me ...

in 1944. ''Troll'' was returned to Norway by the Germans following the end of the Second World War. The ship was sold in 1947 and broken up for scrap.

Citations

Bibliography

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External links