HNoMS Draug

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Plan of Draug class destroyer
Draug at some point before WW2. Note QF guns in blisters along the side to allow forward fire.
Career (Norway) Norwegian State Flag
Name: Draug
Builder: The Royal Norwegian Navy's shipyard at Horten
Launched: 18 March 1908
Commissioned: 1908
Decommissioned: 19 November 1943
Fate: Sold for scrapping in 1944
General characteristics
Class and type: Draug class
Displacement: 578 tons standard [1]
Length: 69.2 metres (227.03 ft)
Beam: 7.3 metres (23.95 ft)
Draft: 2.9 metres (9.51 ft)
Propulsion: Triple expansion steam engine with 7500 hp
Speed: 27 knots (50.00 km/h)
Complement: 76 men
Armament: 6 × 7.6 cm (3 inch) guns
1 × 12,7 mm Colt
anti-aircraft machine gun
3 × trainable 45 cm torpedo tubes

The destroyer HNoMS Draug, known locally as Torpedojager Draug (lit.: torpedohunter), was the lead ship of the three-ship Draug class of destroyers built for the Royal Norwegian Navy in the years 1908-1913. She was built at the Royal Norwegian Navy's shipyard at Horten with build number 103.[2] The four-stacked destroyer was kept in service long after she was obsolete, and took part in the defence of Norway after the German invasion in 1940.

Contents

[edit] Name

She was named after the Draugr - a sinister, malevolent being of Nordic origin and often connected with mariners and the sea.

[edit] Reactivation for neutrality protection duties

Draug in the pre-WWII years
Draug in the pre-WWII years

When the Second World War broke out T/J Draug had, as had her sister ships HNoMS Troll and HNoMS Garm, been mothballed for a number of years as part of pre-war savings on the Norwegian military budget. With the outbreak of war the three Draug class vessels were reactivated in order to take part in guarding Norwegian neutrality on September 5, 1939. When the reactivation order came, it took well over a month for workers to find and repair all the cracks and leaks in the ship's steam boilers and make her seaworthy again. The tiny destroyers of the Draug class were not considered fit for possible combat operations and were only meant to perform escort and guard duties.

[edit] Draug and the invasion

The port of Haugesund prior to World War II.
The port of Haugesund prior to World War II.

The beginning of April 1940 saw Draug part of the 2nd Naval District's 1st destroyer division,[3] covering an area roughly the same as the Vestlandet and Trøndelag regions. She was based in the small south western port of Haugesund and carrying out escort missions along the western coast. The day before the invasion, on April 8 Draug escorted the 7,369 ton German merchant vessel Seattle,[4] a ship that would be sunk outside Kristiansand the next day, when she got caught in the crossfire between the German invasion fleet and Norwegian coastal artillery at Odderøya Fort. The crew of the Seattle was captured by Norwegian troops and held as POWs until freed by the advancing invasion force on April 10.[4] As she was finishing her escort mission, Draug received orders from the Norwegian Naval Command to return at full speed to Haugesund and refuel her coal stores. When Draug arrived in Haugesund at about 1500 hours, the ships' commander, Captain (later Vice Admiral) Thore Horve, was told of the German naval advance through Danish waters and of the sinking of the 5,261 ton clandestine German troop transport Rio de Janeiro[5] by the Polish submarine Orzeł outside the southern port of Lillesand.

Shortly after receiving this information, Captain Horve had a personal telephone conversation with Admiral Carsten Tank-Nielsen, the commander of the Royal Norwegian Navy, who told him that he had ordered the navy's ships in Bergen to open fire at any and all foreign warships that might try to force their way into that port. The admiral gave him permission to use his own judgment in the coming hours. The conversation left Horve in no doubt that war was coming and he therefore ordered his ship to be made ready for war, guards to be posted and all lights on the ship and in the harbour area to be blacked out.

[edit] The Main

During the night of April 9, Draug was patrolling and watching shipping in the Karmsund. At about 2 am, Horve was notified that Oslofjord Fortress was engaging an unknown enemy force in the Oslofjord, leading to the crew being ordered to full combat stations. At 4 am, an unknown ship, flying no national flag, was observed sailing northwards through the Karmsund. The ship refused to stop after both flares and warning shots had been fired and Draug had to give chase and capture the vessel. After leading the unknown ship into Haugesund, its identity was found to be the 7,624 ton German vessel Main,[6] with papers claiming she was carrying a cargo of 7000 tons of coke to Bergen. When Draug's second-in-command, lieutenant Østervold, tried to inspect the cargo, however, he was refused by the German captain, all entrances to the cargo hold also being blocked off to make a proper search impossible. In response, the inspecting officer decided to take the ship under arrest and sealed the radio room.[7]

While Østervold was attempting to inspect the Main's cargo, Captain Horve had a telephone conversation with Captain Aarstad at the Navy Command at Marineholmen in Bergen. Aarstad informed him that he had been taken prisoner and could not give Horve any orders. Soon after the conversation, a Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service M.F. 11 patrol bomber seaplane landed in the harbour and its pilot reported that German ships, U-boats and aircraft were in the area and that the city of Stavanger had most likely been occupied.[7]

Horve decided to take the enemy ship as a prize and bring it to a British port. Since Draug had almost no anti-aircraft weapons to speak of, and the skies were full of enemy aircraft, the destroyer could do little good by remaining where she was. He ignored an order from Naval Command to go to the Hardangerfjord and block German naval forces from gaining access to that fjord. As Horve knew that the Naval Command headquarters in Bergen had been captured by the German invaders, he assumed that the order was false, although it later turned out it was not. When ordered to steer his ship towards Britain, the captain of the Main refused, only yielding after the Norwegian warship fired several warning shots and threatened to torpedo him.[7]

[edit] To the UK

After the two ships had left Haugesund at about 9 am on April 9, they soon came under attack from a Luftwaffe bomber around 40 nautical miles (74 km) off the Norwegian coast. The bombs, aimed at the Main, missed but the German captain immediately scuttled his vessel and ordered his crew to abandon ship. As the order came very suddenly the evacuation was carried out with some panic, the boatswain drowning in the process. After picking up the German sailors Draug fired eight to ten rounds into the waterline of the scuttled merchantman to ensure that she would sink.[7]

Now carrying sixty-seven German sailors along as POWs in addition to her own crew of seventy-two,[7] Draug sped away towards Sullom Voe in the Shetland Islands. By the next morning she was met by three of the Royal Navy's Tribal-class destroyers. One of the British ships, the HMS Sikh followed Draug into Sullom Voe, arriving at 1800 hrs, where the German POWs were handed over to British authorities. Thereafter Draug sailed to Scapa Flow, arriving at 1000 hrs on 11 April.[8][9]

After arriving in the UK, many members of Draug's crew were transferred to Royal Navy ships and would serve aboard them during the remainder of the Norwegian Campaign.[10] Draug's second-in-command, Lieutenant Østervold served as a liaison officer aboard the British light cruiser HMS Manchester during the April-May 1940 Namsos landings in Mid-Norway.[11] The Chief Engineer on board, Kapteinløytnant (Lieutenant) B. M. Frimannslund, was left in command of the ship with 10-20 technical staff remaining to do maintenance work.[8]

[edit] Service in Britain

Draug at Scapa Flow in 1940, with new AA armament.
Draug at Scapa Flow in 1940, with new AA armament.

For the rest of her war service, Draug escorted coastal convoys and provided local defense in the south of England. The Draug's aft 76 mm gun was removed and replaced with a 3" anti-aircraft cannon, and a number of anti-aircraft machine guns were installed.[12]

[edit] MTB mothership

The first role of the Draug in the UK was to serve as mother ship in Portsmouth for the newest additions to the Royal Norwegian Navy, the two motor torpedo boats MTB 5 and MTB 6, until 5 August 1940. These two boats had been ordered before the invasion of Norway, but was only handed over in May 1940, well after the German landings.

[edit] Guard destroyer

The crew being inspected by the British king, George VI at Portsmouth in May 1940.
The crew being inspected by the British king, George VI at Portsmouth in May 1940.

During the critical autumn of 1940, when a German invasion of Britain seemed inevitable, the antiquated destroyer was deployed as a Guard Destroyer to Lowestoft[13] from 6 August to 27 October 1940 (Pennant No. H.28). In this role, she relatively often used her newly installed anti-aircraft weapons during air raids. Draug was the direct target of German bombers twice during this time, but escaped damage.

Between November 1940 and early 1941, Draug was rearmed, rebuilt and modernised at the shipyard in Grimsby. Amongst the changes made, her bridge was reconstructed and the fore funnel removed, probably to reduce the weight on the deck.[13][12]

[edit] Convoy escort

After the initial invasion scare had passed, the Draug spent most of her time up until April 1942 escorting coastal convoys off the coast of Southern England.

[edit] Towing mtbs

The crew of MTB 56 lined up on board Draug
The crew of MTB 56 lined up on board Draug

In addition to her coastal duties, Draug also carried out more unusual operations, such as towing Norwegian motor torpedo boats to and from the coast of southern Norway. This greatly increased the range of the small MTBs, thus allowing them to carry out attacks on German-controlled convoys in the occupied homeland. The first attack made by a Norwegian MTB in Norwegian waters happened on 3 October 1941, when MTB 56 was towed into position by Draug and proceeded to torpedo and sink off Kyrholmen the escorted 3,015 ton Norwegian tanker M/T Borgny of Oslo,[14][15] which had been requisitioned by the Germans and was carrying 3,500 tons of aviation fuel for the Luftwaffe in Norway. After the successful attack MTB 56 dodged shells from both the escorts and a coastal battery at Korsneset and met Draug the next morning to be towed back to Lerwick on Shetland.[16][17] Fourteen Norwegian sailors died on the Borgny, which was escorted by two German naval vessels at the time of the attack.[18]

[edit] Depot ship and on loan to the RN

From April 1942 until her decommissioning 5 February 1943, Draug was used as a depot ship in Port Edgar for personnel of the Royal Norwegian Navy.

Even though officially decommissioned from the Royal Norwegian Navy, the Draug continued serving the allied cause. From 5 February to 2 September, she was on loan to the Royal Navy for special exercises and trials. The final decommissioning came on 19 November 1943 and she was sold for scrap in 1944.

[edit] Wartime C.O.s

[edit] Other RNoN ship called Draug

From 1956 to 1964, the Royal Norwegian Navy had a River class frigate called HNoMS Draug (ex. HCMS Penetang).

[edit] See also

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Abelsen 1986: 26
  2. ^ Horten municipal archive for local history: Build numbers at Horten naval yard (Norwegian)
  3. ^ Administrative Order of Battle Royal Norwegian Navy (English)
  4. ^ a b Wreck diving website on the Seattle (Norwegian)/(English)
  5. ^ Losses of the German merchant navy on the Rio de Janeiro (German)
  6. ^ Losses of the German merchant navy on the Main (German)
  7. ^ a b c d e Hansen 2005: 63
  8. ^ a b Alvsaker, Guttorm: T/J Draug (Norwegian)
  9. ^ Hansen 2005: 64
  10. ^ Hansen 2005: 90
  11. ^ Hansen 2005: 91
  12. ^ a b Abelsen 1986: 17
  13. ^ a b Hansen 2005: 93
  14. ^ Warsailors.com: M/T Borgny (English)
  15. ^ Norwegian ship loss website (Norwegian)
  16. ^ Berg 1997: 102
  17. ^ Hansen 2005: 98-99
  18. ^ Sivertsen 2001: 213

[edit] Bibliography

  • Abelsen, Frank: Norwegian naval ships 1939-1945, Sem & Stenersen AS, Oslo 1986 ISBN 82-7046-050-8 (Norwegian)&(English)
  • Berg, Ole F.: I skjærgården og på havet - Marinens krig 8. april 1940 - 8. mai 1945, Marinens Krigsveteranforening, Oslo 1997 ISBN 82-993545-2-8 (Norwegian)
  • Hansen, Ola Bøe (ed.): Sjøkrigens skjebner - deres egne beretninger, Sjømilitære Samfund ved Forlaget Norsk Tidsskrift for Sjøvesen, Gjøvik 2005 ISBN 82-92217-22-3 (Norwegian)
  • Sivertsen, Svein Carl (ed.): Sjøforsvaret dag for dag 1814-2000, Sjømilitære Samfund ved Norsk Tidsskrift for Sjøvesen, Hundvåg 2001 ISBN 82-92217-03-7 (Norwegian)

[edit] External links

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Norwegian destroyers
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Destroyers of the Royal Norwegian Navy