Royal Norwegian Navy

Norwegian State and Navy Flag

Royal Norwegian Navy Emblem

The Royal Norwegian Navy (often abbreviated as RNoN) is the branch of the Norwegian Defence Force responsible for naval operations. As of 2006, the Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (4,500 if mobilized) and 27 vessels, including 3 frigates, 6 submarines, 8 patrol boats, 2 minesweepers, 4 minehunters, 1 mine detection vessel, 1 support vessel and 2 training vessels. The Navy also includes the Coast Guard.

In Norwegian, Royal Norwegian Navy vessels are given the ship prefix "KNM," short for Kongelig Norsk Marine (Royal Norwegian Navy). In English, they are given the prefix "HNoMS", short for "His/Her Norwegian Majesty's Ship". Coast Guard vessels are given the prefix "KV" for KystVakt in Norwegian and "NoCGV" for Norwegian Coast Guard Vessel in English.

History

The history of the Norwegian navy is long, and goes back to the leidang which was first established by King Håkon the Good on Gulating in 955.

During most of the union between Norway and Denmark the two countries had a common fleet. This fleet was established by King Hans in 1509. A large proportion of the crew and officers were Norwegian. In 1709 there were about 15 000 personnel enrolled in the common fleet; of these 10 000 were Norwegian. When Tordenskjold carried out his famous raid at Dynekil in 1716 more than 80 percent of the sailors and 90 percent of the soldiers in his force were Norwegian.

The modern, separate Royal Norwegian Navy was founded on April 12, 1814 by Prince Christian Fredrik. The first commander of the navy was Captain Thomas Fasting. April 1, 1815 the navy's leadership was reorganized into a navy ministry, and Fasting became the first navy minister.

Norway retained its independent armed forces, including the navy, during the union with Sweden . During most of the union the navy was subjected to low funding, even though there were ambitious plans to expand it. In the late 19th century the fleet was increased to defend a possible independent Norway from her Swedish neighbours.

Norway was neutral during World War I, but the navy was mobilized to protect Norway's neutrality. Norway's neutrality was sorely tested - the nation's merchant fleet suffered heavy casualties to German U-Boats and commerce raiders.

World War II began for the Royal Norwegian Navy on April 8, 1940, when the German torpedo boat Albatross attacked the guard ship HNoMS Pol III. In the opening hours of the battle of Narvik, the old coastal-defense battleships ("panserskip") Eidsvold and Norge, both built before 1905 and hopelessly obsolete, attempted to put up a fight against the invading German warships; both were torpedoed and sunk. The German invasion fleet heading for Oslo was significantly delayed when Oscarsborg fortress opened fire with its' two old 280mm guns, followed by the 150mm guns on Kopås on the eastern side of the Drøbak strait. The 280mm guns inflicted heavy damage on the German cruiser Blücher, which was subsequently sunk by torpedoes fired from a land based torpedo battery. The Blücher sank with over 1000 casualties among its crew and the soldiers it carried. The German invasion fleet - believing Blücher had struck a mine - retreated south and called for air strikes on the fortress. This delay allowed the King of Norway and the Royal family, as well as the government, to escape captivity.

On June 7 1940 13 ships, five airplanes and 500 men from the Royal Norwegian Navy followed the King to Great Britain and continued the fight from bases there until the war ended.

Ten ships and 1000 men from the Royal Norwegian Navy participated in the invasion of Normandy in 1944.

During the war the navy operated 118 ships, at the end of the war the navy had 58 ships and 7 500 men in service. The navy lost 27 ships and about 650 men in World War II.

The navy had its own air force from 1912 to 1944.

The building of a new fleet in the 1960s was made possible with substantial economic support from the United States. During the cold war, the Royal Norwegian Navy was optimized for sea denial in coastal waters, in order to make an invasion from the sea as difficult and costly as possible. With that mission in mind, the navy consisted of a large number of small vessels and up to 15 small diesel-electric submarines. The Royal Norwegian Navy is now replacing those vessels with a smaller number of larger and more capable vessels.

The Royal Norwegian Navy Museum is dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the Navy's history.

Bases

The Royal Norwegian Navy has several bases:
* Haakonsvern, Bergen (main base for the navy).
* Ramsund, between the towns of Harstad and Narvik (special operations/Naval Ranger Command)
* Trondenes fort, Harstad (Coastal Ranger Command)
* Olavsvern, Tromsø (auxiliary base)
* Sortland (Coast Guard Squadron North)
* Karljohansvern, Horten (training facility)

Organization

The Navy is organized into the Fleet, the Coast Guard, and the Naval Schools. The Fleet consists of:
* Fleet Chief Staff,
* the Frigate Branch (Fregattvåpenet),
* Submarine Branch (Ubåtvåpenet),
* MTB Branch (MTB-våpenet),
* Mine Branch (Minevåpenet)
* Naval Ranger Branch (Marinens jegervåpen)
* Logistics Branch (''Logistikkvåpenet).

Units and vessels

Navy Jack

The Fridtjof Nansen

Fleet units and vessels (present)

Frigate Branch

*Fridtjof Nansen class frigate Five vessels under construction.
**Fridtjof Nansen Launched June 3, 2004. Commissioned April 5 2006.
*Oslo class frigate (1964)
** Bergen (F301) (currently in the process of being decomissioned)
** Trondheim (F302)
** Narvik (F304)
* Support vessels:
** Horten (A350), training vessel
** Reinøysund (L4502), support vessel (former landing vessel)
** Rotsund (L4505), support vessel (former landing vessel)
* Royal yacht:
** Norge (A553)

Mine Branch

*1st Mine Clearing Squadron
** Oksøy class mine hunter (1994)
*** Oksøy M340
*** Karmøy M341
*** Måløy M342
*** Hinnøy M343
** Alta class mine sweeper (1996):
*** Alta M350
*** Otra M351
*** Rauma M352
*** Orkla M353 (Ship sunk on 19.11.2002)
*** Glomma M354
* Minesweeper/minelayer:
** Tyr (N50), discovered wreck of U-735 in 1999
* Mine Clearance Command (divers)

Submarine Branch

The submarine fleet consists of several Ula class submarines.
* 1st Submarine Squadron (Diesel-electric Ula class submarines)::* Ula (S300):* Utsira (S301):* Utstein (S302) :* Utvær (S303):* Uthaug (S304):* Uredd (S305)

MTB Branch

The Coastal Warfare fleet consists of several Hauk class patrol boats, and one brand new Skjold class missile patrol boat.
* Missile Torpedo Boat Command
** Missile Patrol Boat (Skjold class):
*** Skjold (P960)
** 21st Missile Torpedo Boat Squadron (Hauk class):
*** Tjeld (P989)
*** Stegg (P994)
*** Ravn (P996)
*** Geir (P998)
** 22nd Missile Torpedo Boat Squadron (Hauk class):
*** Terne (P988)
*** Jo (P992)
*** Gribb (P997)
*** Erle (P999)'
** Out of service:
*** Hauk (P986)
*** Ørn (P987)
*** Teist (P991)
*** Skarv (P990)
*** Lom (P993)
*** Falk (P995)
** Support vessel:
*** Valkyrien (A535)

Naval Ranger Branch

* Norwegian Naval Special Operations Commando (Naval Ranger Command)
* Coastal Ranger Command
* Norwegian Mine Diver Command

Logistics Branch

In the process of establishing a "logistics on keel" system.

Coast Guard units and vessels

* Coast Guard Squadron North (home base is Sortland, North Norway)
** Svalbard
** Nordkapp class
*** Nordkapp
*** Senja
*** Andenes
** Harstad
** Thorsteinson
** Sjøveien
** Nysleppen
** Barentshav
** Åhav
** Kongsøy
** Stålbas
* Coast Guard Squadron South (home base is Haakonsvern, near Bergen)
** Ålesund
** Eigun
** Lafjord
** Titran
** Garsøy
** Agder
** Tromsø
* Future vessels
** 5 ST-610 patrol vessels ordered
** KV Barentshav ordered

Naval schools

A Norwegian Navy Seeman in his parade uniform, the hat bearing the HNoMS Harald Haarfagre insignia.

* Royal Norwegian Naval Basic Training Establishment, HNoMS Harald Haarfagre, Stavanger
* Royal Norwegian Navy Officer Candidate School, Horten and Bergen
* Royal Norwegian Naval Academy, Laksevåg, Bergen
* Royal Norwegian Naval Training Establishment, HNoMS Tordenskjold, Haakonsvern, Bergen

Fact sheet from Department of Defense

Navy vessels (future)

The Norwegian Navy is undergoing a major modernization project to reinforce its position as a modern and competent fleet. Some of these projects are the construction of 5 new Fridtjof Nansen class Aegis frigates, 6 new Skjold class patrol boats and numerous upgradings of existing models and vessels. The plans are scheduled to be completed by 2010, by which time Norway will have some of the most advanced vessels of their class in the world.
* Frigates:
** Fridtjof Nansen (F310). Launched June 3, 2004. Commissioned April 5 2006.
** Roald Amundsen (F311). Expected commissioning 2006.
** Otto Sverdrup (F312). Expected commissioning 2007.
** Helge Ingstad (F313). Expected commissioning 2008.
** Thor Heyerdahl (F314). Expected commissioning 2009.
* Missile Patrol Boats:
** Storm (P961)
** Skudd (P962)
** Steil (P963)
** Glimt (P964)
** Gnist (P965)

See also

List of Royal Norwegian Navy ships.

External links

* Facts & Figures: The Royal Norwegian Navy (Norwegian Defence - Official Website)
*Befalsbladet 1/2004
*Royal Norwegian Navy history page
*Another Royal Norwegian Navy History page (norwegian)
*Royal Norwegian Navy Museum web page
*Royal Norwegian Navy Museum web page at mil.no

Source

*Fakta om Forsvaret 2006, issued January 2006 by the Ministry of Defense, ISBN 978-82-7924-0580-7