HNoMS Nor (1878)

The HNoMS "Nor" was a "Vale" class gunboat built for the Royal Norwegian Navy at Horten Naval Yard in 1878. She was one of a class of five gunboats - the other ships in the class was "Vale", "Brage", "Uller" and "Vidar".

"Nor" was, in addition to the heavy, muzzleloading main gun, armed with a small 'Quick Fire' gun and an early automatic gun, similar to the Gatling gun.

Later "Nor" and her sister ships was rebuilt as minelayers, and she served in this role when the Germans invaded in 1940. During the Norwegian campaign she served mainly in Sognefjorden. She was captured by German forces on 14 April 1940, and returned to Norway after the war.

The vessel was built at the Naval Yard at Horten, and had the yard number 57.

After being decommissioned in 1945 the ship was sold to a civilian company in 1949, converted to a salvage ship/tug and renamed "Flatholm". [Abelsen, Frank: "Norwegian naval ships 1939-1945", Sem & Stenersen AS, Oslo 1986, ISBN 82-7046-050-8 en icon/no icon ]

Name

The "Nor" was named after the legendary Norse ancestral hero Nór who according to the Orkneyinga saga and the Hversu Noregr byggðist (both found in the medieval Icelandic Flateyjarbók) founded Norway together with his brother Gor.

ee also

* List of World War II ships of less than 1000 tons

Footnotes

External links

* [http://navalhistory.flixco.info/G/288023x9/8330/a0.htm Naval history via Flix: KNM Vale] , retrieved 27 Feb 2006
* [http://www.lokalhistoriskarkiv.no/arkivet/historiske_sider/horten_verft/byggenummer Byggenummer ved Horten verft] , retrieved 27 Feb 2006
* [http://hem.fyristorg.com/robertm/norge/Norw_navy_ships.html Ships of the Norwegian navy] , retrieved 27 Feb 2006