The ''Tjeld'' class was a class of twenty fast

patrol boat A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval ship, naval vessel generally designed for Coastal defence and fortification, coastal defence, Border control, border security, or law ...

s designed and built for 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 ...

in the late 1950s. They were used as

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 in Norway, where this type of vessel were called MTBs or motor torpedo boats (''motortorpedobåt''). They remained in service until the late 1970s, when they were placed in reserve; all were stricken by 1995.

Construction

The ''Tjeld'' class was based on a prototype fast patrol boat, the ''Nasty'', developed and introduced as a private venture by Boat Services Ltd. A/S,

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 ...

, in close cooperation with

officers with

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

experience in fast patrol boats; the chief designer being naval architect

Jan Herman Linge Jan Herman Linge (28 January 1922 in Trondheim, Norway – 25 June 2007 in Asker, Norway) was a Norwegian engineer and boat designer. Early life and career Linge was born in Trondheim, Norway. He was the son of Martin Linge who was known ...

. The Norwegian ''Tjeld''-class vessels were constructed at Westermoen Båtbyggeri in

Mandal A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administrative c ...

. The first group of twelve vessels was ordered in 1957, launched between 1959 and 1960, and commissioned in 1960-1962. A second group of eight vessels was ordered in 1962, launched 1962-63, and commissioned 1963-66. The design was also marketed abroad, to the then- West German Navy and the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

, where they were known as the ''Nasty'' class, and to the

Hellenic Navy The Hellenic Navy (HN; , abbreviated ΠΝ) is the Navy, naval force of Greece, part of the Hellenic Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy historically hails from the naval forces of various Aegean Islands, which fought in the Greek War of Independ ...

as the ''Tjeld'', or Improved ''Nasty'' type.Conway p294 The U.S. Navy operated twenty of the United States Nasty-class patrol boats, with pennant numbers PTF-3 through PTF-22, primarily in the conduct of riverine warfare during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. A subsequent improved version, the Osprey class, was larger with aluminum instead of wooden hulls, of which four were operated by the U.S.Navy, PTF-23 through PTF-26. Many examples were later transferred to and operated by Naval Reserve units in the 1970s and 1980s, until phased out of service. A handful survive as museum articles, either restored or currently undergoing restoration.

Service history

The twenty ''Tjeld'' class vessels remained in service until the late 1970s; ''Skarv'' was stricken in 1978 as were six others in 1979, the remainder being laid up in reserve. All vessels had been disposed of by 1995. All the vessels of the first group were named after

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adaptation, adapted to life within the marine ecosystem, marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent ...

s; those of the second group were named for fish or

sea mammal Marine mammals are mammals that rely on marine ecosystems for their existence. They include animals such as cetaceans, pinnipeds, sirenians, sea otters and polar bears. They are an informal group, unified only by their reliance on marine enviro ...

s. Some of the boats were later renamed, as the bird names were going to be used for the . These boats took over the names of other ''Tjeld''-class vessels, which had been sold in 1981.

List of vessels

First group

Second group

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tjeld class, Norway Patrol boat classes Torpedo boats of the Royal Norwegian Navy Napier Deltic Ships built in Mandal, Norway Fast attack craft