The ''Eidsvold'' class was a class of

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 sacri ...

s, two of which were 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 1899 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 an ...

. The class consisted of two ships, and . Locally they were referred to as ''panserskip'' (lit.: armoured ship).

Description

Built as part of the general rearmament in the time leading up to the events in 1905, the two ships of the ''Eidsvold'' class remained, along with the slightly older , the backbone of the Norwegian Navy until 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 ...

in 1940. ''Norge'' and ''Eidsvold'' were the largest vessels in the Norwegian Navy, displacing 4,233 tons and crewed by 270 men. It was intended to augment the Norwegian Panserskip fleet with the two ships of the , ordered in 1912, but both were confiscated by the

British 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 Fr ...

at the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. Obsolete by the time of the German invasion, both ''Eidsvold''-class ships were sunk during the first

Battle of Narvik The Battles of Narvik were fought from 9 April to 8 June 1940, as a naval battle in the Ofotfjord and as a land battle in the mountains surrounding the north Norwegian town of Narvik, as part of the Norwegian Campaign of the Second World War. ...

. The ''Eidsvold'' class carried a mixed armament, typical of coastal defense ships: * Two 21 cm (8.26 inch) guns mounted in turrets fore and aft as the main armament * Six 15 cm (5.90 inch) guns, mounted three on either side in casemates as the secondary armament * Eight 7.60 cm (3 inch) guns, four mounted in the battery (two on either side) and the remaining four mounted fore and aft * Four 4.7 cm (1.85 inch / 3-pounder) rapid-fire guns for use against

torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of s ...

s * Two submerged

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 ...

s The ''Eidsvold'' class was armoured to withstand battle with ships of a similar class, but the underwater armour and internal partitioning were not designed to withstand torpedo hits, which caused both ships' demise: * 6 inches (15.24 cm) of

Krupp cemented armour Krupp armour was a type of steel naval armour used in the construction of capital ships starting shortly before the end of the nineteenth century. It was developed by Germany's Krupp Arms Works in 1893 and quickly replaced Harvey armour as the p ...

in the belt. * 9 inches (22.86 cm) of the same armour on the main gun turrets.

Ships in class

HNoMS ''Eidsvold''

* Builder:

* Laid down: * Launched: June 14, 1900https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eidsvold_launch_card_June_14th_1900.jpg The shipyard launch card on Wiki Commons. * Commissioned: * Operations:

Operation Weserübung Operation Weserübung (german: Unternehmen Weserübung , , 9 April – 10 June 1940) was Germany's assault on Denmark and Norway during the Second World War and the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign. In the early morning of 9 Ap ...

* Victories: None * Fate: Sunk by German destroyer ''Wilhelm Heidkamp'' at

Narvik ( se, Áhkanjárga) is the third-largest municipality in Nordland county, Norway, by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Narvik. Some of the notable villages in the municipality include Ankenesstranda, Ba ...

on 9 April 1940

HNoMS ''Norge''

* Builder:

* Laid down: * Launched: March 1900 * Commissioned: * Operations:

* Victories: None * Fate: Sunk by German destroyer ''Bernd von Arnim'' at

on 9 April 1940

Gallery

File:EB1911 Ship, Norwegian, Norge.jpg, KNMS Norge coastal battleship File:Eidsvold (1900) a.jpg, KNMS Eidsvold coastal battleship File:Eidsvold (ship, 1901) gun - Page's Magazine 1902.png, A 21 cm (8.26 in) gun turret being installed on Eidsvold.

Footnotes

References

* {{Norwegian coastal defence ships Coastal defense ship classes