Eidsvold class battleship
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| Eidsvold-class coastal battleship | |
|---|---|
 Sideview of the Eidvold class. Note heavy guns in the front and aft, with lighter guns in the superstructure and masts. |
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| Class Overview | |
| Class type: | Coastal battleship (panserskip) |
| Preceded by: | Tordenskjold-class |
| Succeeded by: | Bjørgvin-class |
| Ships of the line: | HNoMS Eidsvold, HNoMS Norge |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 4,233 tons |
| Length: | 94.60 m |
| Beam: | 15.70 m |
| Draft: | 5.40 m |
| Speed: | 17.2 knots (31.8 km/h) |
| Complement: | 270 |
| Power: | 4,500 shp (3,355.6 KW) |
| Drive: | Reciprocating steam engines |
| Fuel: | Coal |
| Armament: | 2 x 21 cm (8.26 inch) guns 6 x 15 cm (5.90 inch) guns 8 x 7.6 cm (3 inch) guns 4 x BR 4.7cm/50cal (3pdr) 2 x 45 cm (18 inch) submerged torpedo tubes |
| Armour | Belt:6 inches (17.78 cm) Bulkheads: Barbettes: Turrets:9 inch (20.32 cm) Decks: |
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The Eidsvold class was a class of coastal battleships (also referred to as coastal defence ship), two of which where built for the Royal Norwegian Navy in 1899 by Armstrong Whitworth. The class consisted of two ships, the HNoMS Eidsvold and HNoMS Norge. Locally they were referred to as panserskip (lit.: armoured ship).
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[edit] Description
Built as part of the general rearmament in the time leading up to the events in 1905, the two ships of the Eidsvold class remained, along with the slightly older Tordenskjold class, the backbone of the Norwegian Navy until the German invasion of Norway in 1940. Norge and Eidsvold were the largest vessels in the Norwegian Navy, displacing 4,233 tons and crewed by 270 men. It was intended to augment the Norwegian Panserskip fleet with the two ships of the Bjørgvin class, ordered in 1912, but both were confiscated by the British Navy at the outbreak of World War I.
The Eidsvold class carried a mixed armament, typical of coastal defense ships:
- Two 21 cm (8.26 inch) guns mounted in turrets fore and aft as the main armament
- Six 15 cm (5.90 inch) guns, mounted three on either side in casemates as the secondary armament
- Eight 7.60 cm (3 inch) guns, four mounted in the battery (two on either side) and the remaining four mounted fore and aft
- Four 4.7 cm (1.85 inch / 3 pdr) rapid-fire guns for use against torpedo boats
- Two submerged torpedo tubes
The Eidsvold class was armoured to withstand battle with ships of a similar class, but the underwater armour and internal partitoning were not designed to withstand torpedo hits, which caused both ships' demise:
- 6 inches (15.24 cm) of Krupp cemented armour in the belt.
- 9 inches (22.86 cm) of the same armour on the main gun turrets.
[edit] Ships in class
[edit] HNoMS Eidsvold
- Builder: Armstrong Whitworth
- Laid down:
- Launched: 1899
- Commissioned:
- Operations: Operation Weserübung
- Victories: None
- Fate: Sunk by German destroyer Wilhelm Heidkamp at Narvik on 9 April 1940
[edit] HNoMS Norge
- Builder: Armstrong Whitworth
- Laid down:
- Launched: 1899
- Commissioned:
- Operations: Operation Weserübung
- Victories: None
- Fate: Sunk by German destroyer Bernd von Arnim at Narvik on 9 April 1940
[edit] See also
- List of battleships
- List of World War II ships
- List of ship launches in 1899
- List of shipwrecks in 1940
[edit] References
- Panserskipet Norge, from the Norwegian Armed Forces Museums website, retrieved 9 December 2005
- Naval History via Flix: KNM Norge, retrieved 12 December 2005
| Norwegian coastal battleships |
| Tordenskjold class: Tordenskjold, Harald Haarfagre |
| Eidsvold class: Eidsvold, Norge |
| Bjørgvin class: Bjørgvin, Nidaros |
Battleships of the Royal Norwegian Navy |
