HNoMS Sæl
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HNoMS ''Sæl'' was the penultimate vessel of the ten 1. class torpedo boats of the
Royal Norwegian Navy The Royal Norwegian Navy () is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for navy, naval operations of Norway, including those of the Norwegian Coast Guard. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 i ...
. She was built at the Royal Norwegian Navy Shipyard in
Horten Horten () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Jarlsberg. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Horten (town) ...
in 1901, with yard number 85. She was to see close to 40 years service with the Royal Norwegian Navy, taking part in the preparations for war in connection with the dissolution the union with Sweden in 1905, enforcing Norwegian neutrality during the First World War and opposing the German invasion of Norway in 1940. She was lost in battle with ''
Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official military branch, branche ...
'' vessels at Ånuglo in the
Hardangerfjord The Hardangerfjord () is the fifth longest fjord in the world, and the second longest fjord in Norway. It is located in Vestland county in the Hardanger region. The fjord stretches from the Atlantic Ocean into the mountainous interior of No ...
on 18 April 1940.


Name

Sæl is the pre-1917 Reform
Bokmål Bokmål () (, ; ) is one of the official written standards for the Norwegian language, alongside Nynorsk. Bokmål is by far the most used written form of Norwegian today, as it is adopted by 85% to 90% of the population in Norway. There is no cou ...
version of the Norwegian word ''sel'', meaning
seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...
.


Characteristics

''Sæl'' was reasonably seaworthy in calm seas, with little engine noise and no bow water. The intent behind her design was to enable her to attack enemy shipping in both open seas and close to shore with the least possible chance of being spotted before launching
torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...
es at her targets.Hegland & Lilleheim 1998: 21 The 37 mm gun armament was placed one on each side of the ship, making it impossible for both her QF guns to fire at one target simultaneously.Hegland & Lilleheim 1998: 57


Early career


Tension with Sweden

Having been launched as the penultimate of the ten 1. class torpedo boats built for the Royal Norwegian Navy, HNoMS ''Sæl'' was amongst the front-line RNoN units mobilised in connection with the tense political conditions between
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
and
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
as the Norwegians dissolved the 91-year-old
personal union A personal union is a combination of two or more monarchical states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, involves the constituent states being to some extent in ...
between the two countries. As the two countries appeared on the brink of war in the autumn of 1905, the Royal Norwegian Navy carried out exercises involving almost its entire force. By the time the Karlstad negotiations met with success and Sweden recognised the independence of Norway on 23 October 1905, '' Sæl'' and many of the other Norwegian ships were patrolling the
Oslofjord The Oslofjord (, ; ) is an inlet in southeastern Norway. The fjord begins at the small village of Bonn in Frogn, Frogn Municipality and stretching northwards to the city of Oslo, and then curving to the east and then south again. It then flows s ...
in expectation of a Swedish naval attack against the country's capital
Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
and the central military and industrial area of
Eastern Norway Eastern Norway (, ) is the geographical region of the south-eastern part of Norway. It consists of the counties Oslo, Akershus, Vestfold, Østfold, Buskerud, Telemark, and Innlandet. Eastern Norway is by far the most populous region of Norw ...
.


First World War

During the First World War, Norway declared herself a
neutral country A neutral country is a sovereign state, state that is neutral towards belligerents in a specific war or holds itself as permanently neutral in all future conflicts (including avoiding entering into military alliances such as NATO, Collective Sec ...
and took no active part in the war. ''Sæl'' served throughout the war years escorting merchant ships in Norwegian waters and guarding the coast against neutrality violations. The Norwegian torpedo boats spent the war spread along the coast with orders to confront and board any warship that approached the coast of Norway, even though they might not necessarily enter Norwegian territorial waters. In the run-up to the war ''Sæl'' had been part of a large Norwegian naval manoeuvre during the
International Yacht Racing Union World Sailing is the international sports governing body for sailing; it is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). History The creation of the International Yacht Racing Union ( ...
's fourth annual Europe week sailing regatta, held in Horten 14 to 21 July 1914.


Inter-war years

Among the missions given the Norwegian torpedo boat force after the First World War was apprehending rum runners during Norway's 1919–1926
prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...
. On one occasion in the autumn of 1924 the customs patrol boat ''Bjørnen'' discovered the smuggler ship ''Paul Weber'' off
Halten Halten is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Wasseramt (district), Wasseramt in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Solothurn (canton), Solothurn in Switzerland. History Halten is first mentioned in 1201 as ''Hal ...
in
Sør-Trøndelag Sør-Trøndelag (; ) was a Counties of Norway, county comprising the southern portion of the present-day Trøndelag county in Norway. It bordered the old Nord-Trøndelag () county as well as the counties of Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, and Hedmark. ...
. ''Paul Weber'' was operated by a group of smugglers led by the flamboyant Paul Weber. ''Bjørnen'' called for assistance from ''Sæl'' to capture the smuggler. ''Sæl'' caught up with ''Paul Weber'' off the island of Frøya and opened fire, using live rounds, and lighted up the smuggler vessel with her searchlights. After a chase among the
skerries A skerry is a small rocky island, usually defined to be too small for habitation. Skerry, skerries, or The Skerries may also refer to: Geography Northern Ireland *Skerries, County Armagh, a List of townlands in County Armagh#S, townland in Coun ...
, and numerous live warning shots, the ''Paul Weber'' surrendered to the torpedo boat.


Second World War

At the outbreak of the Second World War, the close to 39-year-old ''Sæl'' and 16 other torpedo boats of three classes were taken out of reserve and mobilised in five divisions. ''Sæl'' was part of the 4th Torpedo boat Division in the 2nd Naval District together with HNoMS ''Storm'' and HNoMS ''Brand''.Hegland & Lilleheim 1998: 50 The divisions were purely administrative units, with each torpedo boat spread singly on the coast from Oslofjord to
Trøndelag Trøndelag (; or is a county and coextensive with the Trøndelag region (also known as ''Midt-Norge'' or ''Midt-Noreg,'' "Mid-Norway") in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County (); in 1804 the county was ...
. For the 4th Torpedo boat Division, deployed to the south western
Vestlandet Western Norway (; ) is the region along the Atlantic coast of southern Norway. It consists of the counties Rogaland, Vestland, and Møre og Romsdal. The region has no official or political-administrative function. The region has a population of ...
region, the war initially entailed coastal guard duties and hailing Norwegian merchant ships as they left Norwegian waters, handing over the latest news reports and wishing them a safe voyage.


Norwegian Campaign


Attempted defence of Bergen

In the morning of 8 April 1940, on the eve of the German invasion of Norway, ''Sæl'' was docked at the Marineholmen naval base in
Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...
between patrol missions. By 02:30 on 9 April she had finished coaling,Hegland & Lilleheim 1998: 53 having been ordered to make war preparations the previous day, and moved south towards her blocking position in the Lerøy area in the approaches to Bergen. Due to a lack of information as the position of the intruding German forces she sailed on a collision course with the German ''Kampfgruppe 3''. When the German ships were spotted by ''Sæl'' they were at such close range that the Norwegians had to make evasive manoeuvres to avoid a collision and were unable to launch a torpedo. As the ''Kriegsmarine'' ships passed her at only 10–15 metres distance, ''Sæl'' turned around and gave chase in the hope of catching up with the Germans and get within range for a torpedo shot. As dawn was soon approaching ''Sæl'''s commander, '' Fenrik'' (
Ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...
) L. Gulbrandsen, decided to disengage and temporarily place his ship in cover behind the Bratholmen islet.


Hardangerfjord

After Bergen was seized by German forces on 9 April, ''Sæl'' relocated to the Hardangerfjord to continue fighting the German invasion. She arrived at
Uskedal Uskedal or Uskedalen is a village in Kvinnherad municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located in a small valley along the southern shore of the Hardangerfjorden, about southwest of the village of Dimmelsvik and about east of t ...
in
Kvinnherad Kvinnherad is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Sunnhordland, along the Hardangerfjorden. The municipality was the 5th in siz ...
on 12 April, and on 17 April helped a
prize crew A prize crew is the selected members of a ship chosen to take over the operations of a captured ship. History Prize crews were required to take their prize to appropriate prize courts, which would determine whether the ship's officers and crew h ...
led by ''Fenrik'' Schau from the ''Trygg'' class torpedo boat HNoMS ''Stegg'' escort the captured 6,567 ton iron ore laden German cargo ship ''Afrika'' into the port of
Odda Odda () is a list of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in the old Hordaland counties of Norway, county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1913 until its dissolution in 2020 when it was merged into Ullensvang Municipality i ...
. After being greeted with jubilation and singing by the local population at Odda, ''Sæl'' was ordered back to Uskedal that same evening. At Uskedal ''Sæl'' formed the Hardangerfjord Naval District () together with the minelayer ''Tyr'' and five patrol boats.


Battle with German E-boats

The next day, 18 April, HNoMS ''Stegg'' was despatched to Langenuen in
Austevoll Austevoll is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality and an archipelago in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Midthordland in Western Norway. The administrative centre ...
to intercept four merchant ships, leaving ''Sæl'' alone in the area. Soon afterwards, an alarm went out in Uskedal warning that three German
E-boat E-boat was the Western Allies' designation for the fast attack craft (German: ''Schnellboot'', or ''S-Boot'', meaning "fast boat"; plural ''Schnellboote'') of the Kriegsmarine of Nazi Germany during World War II; ''E-boat'' could refer to a pat ...
fast attack craft were entering the Hardangerfjord. In response, district commander '' Orlogskaptein'' (Lieutenant Commander) Ulstrup – the former commander of the mine layer ''Tyr'' – gave an oral order that ''Sæl'' was to avoid contact with the superior enemy force. Ulstrup felt that the poorly armed, slow and not very manoeuvrable ''Sæl'' would not stand a chance against the three fast and modern opponents. The fact that Ulstrup's order was given orally led to a fatal misunderstanding. By the time word reached ''Fenrik'' Gulbrandsen, he understood the order to mean that he was to attack and destroy the three E-boats. Believing to be obeying orders, Gulbrandsen sailed ''Sæl'' into the fjord to confront the German vessels. At 16:00 the crew of the ''Sæl'' spotted two of the E-boats moving at great speed southwards from the Lukksund Narrows between
Tysnesøy Tysnesøya () or Tysnesøy is an island in Tysnes municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The island makes up the vast majority of the island municipality of Tysnes. The tallest point on the island is the tall mountain Tysnessåto. The isl ...
Island and the mainland. At a distance of ''Sæl'' opened up with her bow gun and for five minutes exchanged fire with the German ships. One of the E-boats was hit by several 37 mm rounds and left dead in the water and listing to the side. Soon after, one of ''Sæl'''s guns was knocked out by a German 20 mm shell, and shortly thereafter the firing lanyard on the other gun snapped. With multiple rounds hitting the Norwegian torpedo boat's bow, the E-boats moved into point blank range, riddling ''Sæl'' from bow to stern. As the third E-boat arrived on the scene, three torpedoes were fired at ''Sæl'', the two first going under the hull and the third hitting a small rock right in front of her. The explosion caused by the last torpedo further damaged the bow of the Norwegian ship and caused water to start flooding her. With the 7.92 mm Colt machine gun providing cover fire, ''Fenrik'' Gulbrandsen beached his vessel at full speed to save the crew. During that last manoeuvre ''Sæl'' hit an underwater rock and was left grounded with her stern sticking out of the water. At 16:25 Gulbrandsen ordered the crew to abandon ship. Although one man had suffered a lung shot and six others had minor grazing wounds, all 21 crew members made it ashore.


Sinking

Later in the evening of 18 April the crew of the ''Sæl'' attempted to moor their vessel to prevent it from slipping under. At high tide ''Sæl'' disappeared beneath the waves at Ånuglo, still flying the Norwegian war flag. After the battle, a Norwegian motorboat brought the wounded to the hospital in Rosendal.


The wreck today

The wreck of HNoMS ''Sæl'' was relocated in 1968 by the Royal Norwegian Navy's Mine Diver Command who found her at depth, intact with ammunition, mines and torpedoes on board. The ammunition was removed, but the mines and torpedoes were blown up on site, resulting in the complete destruction of the torpedo boat's midsection and leaving only the bow and stern still mostly intact, making her a popular dive site.


Notes


Bibliography

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sael Maritime incidents in April 1940 Ships built in Horten Torpedo boats of the Royal Norwegian Navy World War II torpedo boats of Norway World War II shipwrecks in the North Sea 1901 ships Ships sunk with no fatalities