Vale class gunship

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Vale-class gunship
Vale class gunship. Note shield protecting RLM gun, and small overall size
Class Overview
Class type:	Gunship, later rebuilt to minelayers
Preceded by:
Succeeded by:	Gor class
Ships of the line:	Vale, Brage, Nor, Uller and Vidar
General Characteristics
Displacement:	260 tons
Length:	28 m (92 feet)
Beam:
Draft:
Speed:	8.5 knots ( km/h)
Complement:	41 (31 after rebuild)
Power:	220 shp ( KW)
Drive:	Reciprocating steam engines
Fuel:	Coal
Armament:	As built: 1 x 26,67 cm (10.5 inch) RML gun 1 x 1pdr (37 mm / 1.46 inch) automatic^[1] gun 2 x 1pdr (37 mm / 1.46 inch) revolver (light automatic^[2] gun After rebuild: 1 x 12 cm (4.72 inch) gun Either 3 x 37 mm (1.46 inch) guns Or 1 x 47 mm ( inch) and 2 x 37 mm (1.46 inch) guns Mines
Armour	Belt: Bulkheads: Barbettes: Turrets: Decks: Conning tower:

The Vale-class was a class of five gunships built for the Royal Norwegian Navy between 1874 and 1878. Small, nimble vessels, they were armed with a single large caliber muzzleloading gun for offencive purposes and several small, quick firing guns for self defence.

[edit] Service history and fate

A Vale class gunboat rebuilt as minelayer. Note twin minerails and smaller main gun on foredeck.

Shortly before World War I, the five vessels were rebuilt as minelayers. During this rebuild, the heavy muzzleloading gun was replaced with a more modern 12 cm breachloader, and on Nor and Vidar one of the 37 mm guns was replaced with a more potent 47 mm gun. Since the heavy gun and ammunition was removed, these diminutive vessels could carry a useful number of mines.

All vessels were kept in service until the German invation in 1940 and with the exception of Uller, which was sunk by the Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service after capture by the Germans, they all spent the remainder of the war in German hands.

After World War II the vessels were returned to the Royal Norwegian Army, and scrapped over the course of the next few years.