HNoMS Norge (1900)

Type

Battleship

Period

20th Century

Nation

Norway

Overview: HNoMS Norge was one of two Eidsvold-class coastal defence ships (locally called "panserskip", or armoured ships) built for the Royal Norwegian Navy by Armstrong Whitworth at Elswick, Newcastle. Though often classed informally as a "coastal battleship," she was a miniaturized pre-dreadnought-style vessel designed specifically for fjord and coastal defence rather than blue-water fleet actions. Alongside her sister Eidsvold, she was the largest and most powerful unit in the Norwegian Navy for roughly four decades. Specifications: Norge displaced 4,233 tons standard, measured 94.6 m long, 15.7 m beam, and 5.4 m draft, and was powered by two vertical triple-expansion steam engines fed by six Yarrow coal-fired boilers delivering 4,500 ihp for a trial speed of about 17.2 knots. Her main armament comprised two 21 cm (8.26 in) guns in single turrets fore and aft, backed by six 15 cm (5.9 in) casemate guns, eight 7.6 cm guns, several 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns, and two submerged 45 cm torpedo tubes. Armor consisted of a Krupp cemented belt up to 152 mm thick and 229 mm on the main turrets, though her underwater protection against torpedoes was never adequate. Service History: Launched on 31 March 1900 and commissioned in February 1901, Norge served peacefully for decades, including ceremonial duties such as transporting the coffin of writer Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson in 1910 and carrying newly elected King Haakon VII in 1905. She remained in service, essentially unmodernized, through Norwegian neutrality in WWI and into WWII. On 9 April 1940, during the German invasion (Operation Weserübung) and the first Battle of Narvik, Norge opened fire on German destroyers but was struck amidships by torpedoes from Bernd von Arnim; she broke in two and sank in under a minute, with 101 of her crew lost and about 90 rescued. Notable Facts: By 1940 Norge's armament was essentially unchanged since 1901, making her hopelessly outclassed by modern German destroyers despite her armor. Her low silhouette and twin funnels gave her, at a distance, the look of a true pre-dreadnought battleship despite her much smaller size. Her wreck in Narvik harbor has been surveyed multiple times, and recovered items such as her steering wheel and anchor are preserved and documented in Norwegian archives.