HNoMS Tyr (1887-1945)
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The gunship HNoMS Tyr. |
|
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Ordered: | |
| Laid down: | Horten Naval Yard in 1884 |
| Launched: | 16 March 1887 |
| Commissioned: | 1887 |
| Fate: | Rebuilt as minelayer, decommissioned 1945, sold to civilian owners and converted to car ferry |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 273 or 294 tons (sources disagree) |
| Dimensions: | 31.27 m long |
| Armament: | As built: 1 x 26cm/30 (10.2 inch) Krupp breach loading 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 57 mm (2.24 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 Tyr 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 Gor. 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, Tyr was rebuilt as a minelayer. During this rebuild, the heavy gun was replaced with a more modern 12 cm breach loader, and one of the 37 mm guns was replaced with a more potent 57 mm gun. Since the heavy gun and ammunition was removed, Tyr could carry a useful number of mines.
Tyr was kept in service until the German invasion in 1940.
Contents |
[edit] Tyr and the invasion
[edit] Mining the Bergen approaches
On 9 April 1940, the commander of Lerøy guard district, Captain F. Ulstrup, got the message that German warships had forced their way past the small Lerøy Fort on their way towards Bergen. Captain Ulstrup immidiatly boarded Tyr and sailed out to mine the Lerøyosen approaches to the soutwestern Norwegian city. Right before the German invasion flotilla arrived at Lerøyosen the Norwegian minelayer put out twentythree mines to block their path.
However, due to the built in time delay on the mines they were not active when the German warships passed over them. As the supply fleet of the German forces in the Bergen area started coming into Lerøyosen late in the evening, however, the mines were ready.
[edit] Effect of the Tyr's mines
The first ship to hit Tyr's mines was the 5.000 ton supply ship Sao Paolo, which sank with great loss of both lives and war materiél at 23.00 hrs. 9 April. As the mine barrier had now been discovered the Kriegsmarine had to sweep the Lerøyosen but had no dedicated minesweepers in the area. In an improvised reaction to the mines the invaders sent out the vessels Schiff 9 and Cremon, together with two of the depot ship Karl Peters' launches. In the evening of 10 April the ad hoc minesweeper force entered the mine barrier and began their hazardous task. The results were, however, very disheartening for the Germans as the Schiff 9 hit a mine at 19.25 hours and went down in between one and two minutes. As the Cremon tried to rescue survivors she too blew up at 19.30 hours together with one of the two launches.
April 27 the German 8.500 ton merchant ship Liege was sunk by one of Tyr's mines and yet another German vessel went down after hitting a mine in mid May 1940. All in all the Germans lost three supply ships, two merchant vessels and a launch sunk by Tyr's mines.
[edit] Guarding the southern sea lane
After laying her mines Tyr resumed guarding the southern sea lane to Bergen and soon met up with German naval forces. Off the island of Skorpo she had a clash with an e-boat, without either vessel being hit. Tyr then withdrew behind the cover of Forstrøno island, but was chased down by a further three German e-boats. After a brief fight Tyr drove the enemy ships off, damaging one of the German vessels severly.
[edit] Into the Hardangerfjord, change of command
Later in the campaign, 16 April, Tyr moved to Uskedal in Ytre Hardangerfjord, second lieutenant where her captain became the commander of the newly created Hardangerfjord naval district. The second-in-command, Sub-Lieutenant K. Sandnæs, took over the minelayer. While in the Hardangerfjord she took part in the Battle of Uskedal in the early hours of 20 April.
[edit] Tyr in the Battle of Uskedal
From her anchorage south of Uskedal Tyr first damaged an e-boat and then put a large hole with her 12 cm main gun into the armed trawler Schiff 18 right below the waterline, forcing her to be beached to avoid sinking. At 05.30 a.m. the battle turned against the Norwegians as another trawler, Schiff 221 landed more troops at Trones which advanced on Uskedal from a new direction. All the while during the battle the Tyr was providing naval gunfire support from its position in the Storsund midway between Uskedal and Herøysund, bombarding the Germans with High Explosive shells. Even though she came under heavy machine gun fire from German troops Tyr helped the Norwegian land forces hold their ground until taken by surprise by the sudden arrival of the German artillery training ship Bremse. Fire from the larger enemy ship forced Tyr the back out the fight and go to the docks in Uskedal. After a short while at anchor Tyr was ordered back into the fight to help the torpedo boat Stegg that was fighting the Bremse. once the Tyr reentered the battle she again gained the attention of the German warship and was driven to take cover in a small bay at Skorpo. As sub-lieutenant Sandnæs now considered the battle as hopeless he ordered his crew ashore to rest, also sending small arms and ammunition on land. Sandnæs started preparations to scuttle his ship with explosives, but before he could carry out his intentions two e-boats raced into the bay and boarded the Tyr. Before long Schiff 221 arrived and took Tyr in tow. Before the afternoon had begun Tyr was on her way back to Bergen with a German crew.
[edit] German service during the invasion
[edit] Sognefjord with Uller
In German hands the Tyr was first used together with fellow captured Norwegian minelayer HNoMS Uller in a plan by Admiral Schrader to mine the entrance to the Sognefjord on 30 April. Together the two ships could carry 80 mines and quite effectively block in the Norwegian naval forces in the country's longest fjord. However, the Norwegian forces in the fjord had a very effective system of look-outs and guard ships. Before the two minelayers even had entered Sognefjord they were attacked by two of the Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service's MF.11 biplane patrol aircraft. The seaplanes dropped nine bombs at the two minelayers, failing in damaging either of the ships but wounding three sailors on Uller with shrapnel. Having escaped damage in this attack the minelayers continued north and started laying mines at the entrance to the Sognefjord. In the early hours of 1 May the Norwegians trew another seaplane attack against the German mining operation. A single Norwegian Heinkel He 115 made two dive bombing attacks on the Tyr and Uller, dropping one 250 kg bomb and four 50 kg bombs on the fiercely resisting ships. None of the bombs were direct hits, but one hit very close and damaged the side of the Uller, causing sea water to flood into her. Uller had to be beached on Losneøy island and thereafter scuttled by the only slightly damaged Tyr.
[edit] Ambush
After scuttling Uller the Tyr abandoned her mining mission and retreated southwards to Bergen, carrying the crew of the Uller with her. Norwegian scouts were however still following her. Before the minelayer got back to base she was ambushed in the Fålefotsundet narrows between Hisøy and the mainland by the crew of a Norwegian guard boat that had beenn stalking her since leaving the Sognefjord. The crew had taken up positions on both sides of the narrows and opened a harrowing fire on the minelayer as she passed through. As Tyr was shot up with intense machine gun fire the German crew replyed with her 12 cm main gun and automatic weapons without hitting any in the ambush force. The firefight continued until Tyr had passed through the narrows and got out of range of the Norwegians' light weaponry, making it back to Bergen. Tyr saw no further service during the Norwegian Campaign.
[edit] Post Norwegian Campaign service
After the Fålefotsundet ambush Tyr took no further part in the Norwegian Campaign. What the Germans used the minesweeper for after that is unknown.
For the rest of the war Tyr was in German service.
After World War II, Tyr was returned to the Royal Norwegian Navy, and sold into civilian service. Her first rebuild was in 1946 when she converted to a heavylift steamship. In 1949 she was sold to Br. Wilhelmsen A/S and rebuilt as a car ferry, being renamed "Bjørn West" in 1951 and was used as such by different companies for many years. In May 1986 she was rebuilt at Karmøy, this time as a heavy-transport ship. Later it was sold to a salmon farm company and today (2006) she is still in existence as a floating storage vessel.
The vessel was built at the Naval Yard at Horten, and had the yard number 64.
[edit] Name
She was named after Týr - the god of single combat and heroic glory in Norse mythology.
[edit] See also
[edit] Literature
- Abelsen, Frank: "Norwegian naval ships 1939-1945", Sem & Stenersen AS, Oslo 1986 ISBN 82-7046-050-9
- Hauge, Andreas: "Kampene i Norge 1940", Krigshistorisk Forlag AS, Sandefjord 1995
[edit] References
- Fjordvessels (Photos show Tyr as a car ferry and as a storage vessel)
- Naval history via Flix: KNM Gor, retrieved 1 Mar 2006
- Byggenummer ved Horten verft, retrieved 1 Mar 2006
- Ships of the Norwegian navy, retrieved 1 Mar 2006
| Norwegian gunships |
| 1. class: |
| Ellida, Sleipner, Viking and Frithjof |
| 2. class: |
| Vale class: Vale, Brage, Nor, Uller and Vidar |
| Gor class: Gor and Tyr |
| Æger |
Gunships of the Royal Norwegian Navy |
