HNoMS Tyr (1887)

HNoMS "Tyr" was a gunboat built for the Royal Norwegian Navy at Karljohansverns Verft Naval Yard in Horten. She was laid down in 1884 and launched in 1887 with build number 67. [Horten municipal archive of local history: [http://www.lokalhistoriskarkiv.no/arkivet/historiske_sider/horten_verft/byggenummer Build numbers at Horten Yard] no icon] "Tyr" was one of a class of two gunboats - the other ship in her class being HNoMS "Gor". "Gor" and "Tyr" can be seen as improved Vale class gunboats, of 290 tons instead of the 250 tons standard for that class.

The main gun was a staggering 7.8m meters long, [ [http://navalhistory.flixco.info/H/288146x53535/8330/a0.htm Naval History on the GR 10.2in 26cm 30cal Krupp gun] ] or about a quarter of the length of the whole vessel. In addition she was armed with three smaller, automatic guns for closer ranges.

Shortly before World War I, "Tyr" was rebuilt as a minelayer. During this rebuild, the heavy gun was replaced with a more modern 12 cm breech loader, and one of the 37 mm guns was replaced with a more potent 76 mm gun. After the heavy gun and ammunition were removed, she could carry 55 mines.

"Tyr" was kept in service until the German invasion in 1940.

Name

She was named after Týr - the god of single combat and heroic glory in Norse mythology.

Tyr and the invasion

Mining the Bergen approaches

On 9 April 1940, the commander of Lerøy guard district, Captain F. Ulstrup, received a message informing him that German warships had forced their way past the small Lerøy Fort on their way towards Bergen. Captain Ulstrup immediately boarded "Tyr" and sailed out to mine the Lerøyosen approaches to the south-western Norwegian city. At 0130 hrs the Norwegian minelayer began mining the stretch of water between Lerøy island and Sotra, putting out seven mines right before the German invasion flotilla arrived at Lerøyosen. Making good her escape "Tyr" placed another sixteen mines in the Vatlestraumen approaches north of Bergen.Berg 1995: 27] [Abelsen 1986: 135]

Due to a built-in time delay the Lerøyosen mines were not active when the German warships passed over them. As the supply fleet of the German forces in the Bergen area started coming into Lerøyosen late in the evening, however, the mines were ready.

Effect of the "Tyr"'s mines

The first ship to hit the mines was the 4,297 ton supply ship _de. "Sao Paulo", [ [http://www.wlb-stuttgart.de/seekrieg/40-04.htm#11-1304 Naval war 1940] de icon] [http://www.skipsforlis.no/omtalteforlisbok2.asp Shipwrecks off Bergen] no icon] [ [http://chrito.users1.50megs.com/handelsmarine/verlustliste8.htm Losses of the German merchant navy: Q-R-S] de icon] which sank with great loss of both lives and war materiel at 2300 hrs, 9 April. As the mine barrier had now been discovered the Kriegsmarine needed to sweep the Lerøyosen but had no dedicated minesweepers in the area. In an improvised reaction to the mines the invaders sent out the naval trawlers "Schiff 9" and "Cremon", together with two of the depot ship "Karl Peters"'s launches. In the evening of 10 April the improvised minesweeper force entered the mine barrier and began clearing the mines. At 19.25 hrs "Schiff 9" struck a mine and went down in between one and two minutes. As the "Cremon" tried to rescue survivors she too blew up at 19.30 hours together with one of the two launches.

On 27 April the German 8.500 ton merchant ship "Liege" was sunk by one of the mines and yet another German vessel went down after hitting a mine in mid May 1940. All in all the Germans lost three supply ships, two naval trawlers and a launch sunk by mines laid by "Tyr".Abelsen 1986: 136]

Guarding the southern sea lane

After laying her mines "Tyr" resumed guarding the southern sea lane to Bergen and soon met up with German naval forces. Off the island of Skorpo she had a clash with an e-boat, without either vessel being hit. "Tyr" then withdrew behind the cover of Forstrøno island, but was chased down by a further three German e-boats. After a brief fight "Tyr" drove the enemy ships off, damaging one of the German vessels severely with a 37 mm shell.

Into the Hardangerfjord, change of command

Later in the campaign, 16 April, "Tyr" moved to Uskedal in Ytre Hardangerfjord, where her captain became the commander of the newly created Hardangerfjord naval district. The second-in-command, Sub-Lieutenant K. Sandnæs, took over the minelayer. While in the Hardangerfjord she took part in the Battle of Uskedal in the early hours of 20 April.

"Tyr" in the Battle of Uskedal

From her anchorage south of Uskedal "Tyr" first damaged an e-boat and then put a large hole with her 12 cm main gun into the armed trawler "Schiff 18" right below the waterline, forcing her to be beached to avoid sinking. At 05.30 a.m. the battle turned against the Norwegians as another trawler, "Schiff 221" landed more troops at Trones which advanced on Uskedal from a new direction. All the while during the battle the "Tyr" was providing naval gunfire support from her position in the Storsund midway between Uskedal and Herøysund, bombarding the Germans with high explosive shells. Even though she came under heavy machine gun fire from German troops, "Tyr" helped the Norwegian land forces hold their ground until taken by surprise by the sudden arrival of the German artillery training ship "Bremse". Fire from the larger enemy ship forced "Tyr" to back out the fight and go to the docks in Uskedal. After a short while at anchor "Tyr" was ordered back into the fight to help the torpedo boat "Stegg" that was fighting the "Bremse". Once "Tyr" returned to the battle she again gained the attention of the German warship and was forced to take cover in a small bay at Skorpo. As sub-lieutenant Sandnæs now considered the battle as hopeless he ordered his crew ashore to rest, also sending small arms and ammunition on land. Sandnæs started preparations to scuttle his ship with explosives, but before he could carry out his intentions two Schnellboots entered the bay and boarded "Tyr". Before long "Schiff 221" arrived and took "Tyr" in tow. Before afternoon Tyr was on her way back to Bergen with a German crew.

German service during the invasion

ognefjord with "Uller"

In German hands the Tyr was first used together with fellow captured Norwegian minelayer HNoMS "Uller" in a plan by Admiral Schrader to mine the entrance to the Sognefjord on 30 April. Together the two ships could carry 80 mines and quite effectively block in the Norwegian naval forces in the country's longest fjord. However, the Norwegian forces in the fjord had a very effective system of look-outs and guard ships. Before the two minelayers even had entered Sognefjord they were attacked by two of the Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service's M.F.11 biplane patrol aircraft. The seaplanes dropped nine bombs at the two minelayers, failing to damage either of the ships but wounding three sailors on "Uller" with shrapnel. Having escaped damage in this attack the minelayers continued north and started laying mines at the entrance to the Sognefjord. In the early hours of 1 May the Norwegians threw another seaplane attack against the German mining operation. A single Norwegian Heinkel He 115 made two dive bombing attacks on the "Tyr" and "Uller", dropping one 250 kg bomb and four 50 kg bombs on the fiercely resisting ships. None of the bombs were direct hits, but one hit very close and damaged the side of the "Uller", causing sea water to flood into her. "Uller" had to be beached on Losneøy island and thereafter scuttled by the only slightly damaged "Tyr".Fact|date=May 2008

Ambush

After scuttling "Uller" the "Tyr" abandoned her mining mission and retreated southwards to Bergen, carrying the crew of the "Uller" with her. Norwegian scouts were however still following her. Before the minelayer got back to base she was ambushed in the Fålefotsundet narrows between Hisøy and the mainland by the crew of a Norwegian guard boat that had been stalking her since leaving the Sognefjord. The crew had taken up positions on both sides of the narrows and opened a harrowing fire on the minelayer as she passed through. As "Tyr" was shot up with intense machine gun fire the German crew replied with her 12 cm main gun and automatic weapons without hitting any in the ambush force. The fire fight continued until "Tyr" had passed through the narrows and got out of range of the Norwegians' light weaponry, making it back to Bergen. "Tyr" saw no further service during the Norwegian Campaign.

Post Norwegian Campaign service

After the Fålefotsundet ambush "Tyr" took no further part in the Norwegian Campaign. What the Germans used the minesweeper for after that is unknown.

After World War II, "Tyr" was returned to the Royal Norwegian Navy, and sold into civilian service. Her first rebuild was in 1946 when she converted to a heavy lift steamship. In 1949 she was sold to Br. Wilhelmsen A/S and rebuilt as a car ferry, being renamed "Bjørn West" in 1951 and was used as such by different companies for many years. In May 1986 she was rebuilt at Karmøy, this time as a heavy-transport ship. Later she was sold to a salmon farm company and as of 2006 was still in existence as a floating storage vessel.

ee also

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

Footnotes

Literature

* Abelsen, Frank: "Norwegian naval ships 1939-1945", Sem & Stenersen AS, Oslo 1986 ISBN 82-7046-050-8 en icon/no icon
*, Oslo 1997 ISBN 82-993545-2-8 no icon
* no icon

External links

* [http://www.fjordfaehren.de/no_f/tyr1887.htm Fjordvessels] (Photos show Tyr as a car ferry and as a storage vessel) de icon
* [http://navalhistory.flixco.info/H/288122x53056/8330/a0.htm Naval history via Flix: "Gor"] , retrieved 1 March 2006
* [http://hem.fyristorg.com/robertm/norge/Norw_navy_ships.html Ships of the Norwegian navy] , retrieved 1 March 2006