HNoMS Rap (1873)

Type

Torpedo Boat

Period

19th Century

Nation

Norway

Overview: HNoMS Rap was a tiny wooden torpedo boat built in 1873 for the Royal Norwegian Navy, widely regarded as one of the world's first dedicated torpedo boats. She was built by John I. Thornycroft & Company at Church Wharf, Chiswick, England, and ordered either in 1872 or 1873. Specifications: Rap displaced only about 7 long tons, measured 18.2 m (59 ft 9 in) in length with a 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) beam, and was powered by a 100 hp compound steam engine driving her at a notably fast 14.5 knots. She carried a crew of just seven and was originally fitted for a towed (spar/Harvey-type) torpedo before being equipped with launch frames for self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes in 1879. Service History: Although built several years before Britain's HMS Lightning, Rap was not fitted with self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes until 1879, the same year Lightning entered service, so she narrowly missed being the first true self-propelled-torpedo boat. Her small size left her with limited endurance and seaworthiness, and over the following decades she was superseded by larger, more capable Norwegian torpedo boats. She remained in service, including use during neutrality patrols in the First World War, until being stricken from the fleet in 1920. Notable Facts: Her first commanding officer, Lieutenant (later Rear Admiral) Johan Koren, personally designed her torpedo-launching racks. Rap is preserved today at the Royal Norwegian Navy Museum (Marinemuseet) in Horten, one of the oldest naval museums in the world, having been transferred there in 1943. The name later lived on in the unrelated 1950s Rapp-class of Norwegian motor torpedo boats.