HNoMS Gor (1884-1945)

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Career
[[Image:\|300px]] The gunship HNoMS Gor.
Ordered:
Laid down:
Launched:	7 May 1884
Commissioned:	1884
Fate:	Rebuilt as minelayer, decommissioned 1945
General characteristics
Displacement:	273 or 289 tons (sources disagree)
Dimensions:	31.27 m long
Armament:	As built: 1 x 26cm/30 (10.2 inch) Krupp breachloading gun 1 x 1pdr (37 mm / 1.46 inch) automatic gun[1] 2 x 1pdr (37 mm / 1.46 inch) revolving gun[2] After rebuild: 1 x 12 cm (4.72 inch) gun 1 x 7.6 cm (3 inch) QF gun 2 x 37mm (1.46 inch) guns Mines
Propulsion:	420 hp ( Kw), 10 knop ( km/h, mph)
Crew:	44 (38 after rebuild)

The HNoMS Gor was a gunboat built for the Royal Norwegian Navy at Horten Naval Yard in 1884. She was one of a class of two gunboats - the other ship in her class being Tyr. The Gor and Tyr can be seen as improved Vale class gunboats

The main gun was a staggering 7.8m meter long[3], or about a quarter of the length of the whole vessel. In addition she was armed with three smaller, automatic guns for self defence.

Shortly before World War I, Gor was rebuilt as a minelayer. During this rebuild, the heavy gun was replaced with a more modern 12 cm breachloader, and one of the 37 mm guns was replaced with a more potent 76 mm gun. Since the heavy gun and ammunition was removed, Gor could carry a useful number of mines.

Gor was kept in service until the German invasion in 1940. Until the surrender of Norwegian forces in southern Norway, she mostly operated in the Sognefjord, and she fell into German hands for the remainder of the war.

After World War II, Gor was returned to the Royal Norwegian Navy, and scrapped shortly thereafter.

The vessel was built at the Naval Yard at Horten, and had the yard number 64.

The Gor was named after the mythical Finnish King Gor who according to the Orkneyinga saga and the Hversu Noregr byggðist (both found in the medival Icelandic Flateyjarbók) founded Norway together with his brother Nór.