HNoMS Stegg

The last of the "Trygg" class of Royal Norwegian Navy torpedo boats was HNoMS "Stegg". Her sister ships were HNoMS "Trygg" and HNoMS "Snøgg". The Trygg class vessels were the only additions to the Norwegian fleet of torpedo boats between the First and the Second World Wars. At the outbreak of World War II the Trygg class was mobilised together with eight 2. class and six 1. class torpedo boats.

"Stegg" was constructed at Horten Naval shipyard and had build number 111. [Horten municipal archive of local history: [http://www.lokalhistoriskarkiv.no/arkivet/historiske_sider/horten_verft/byggenummer Build numbers at Horten Yard] no icon]

Name

She was named after the Stegg, the Norwegian term for the male grouse.

World War Two

"Stegg" captures two German merchants

The Stegg had a brief and intense period of service in the Norwegian Campaign after the German invasion of Norway. When the invasion came on 9 April 1940 she was anchored at Skudeneshavn and commanded by Lieutenant H. M. Hansen. She entered the Hardangerfjord on 10 April 1940 and quickly captured two German merchant ships; first the 5,295 ton "Cläre Hugo Stinnes" [ [http://www.poseidon-schiffahrts-archiv.eu/2-Koenigsberg/Stinnes/Stinnes-Schiffe/S07-Claere-Hugo/S07-ClaereHugo.html MS "Cläre Hugo Stinnes I"] de icon] on 12 April 1940 and then the 6,567 ton iron ore laden "Afrika" [Bakkevig, Erik: [http://www.skipsforlis.no/omtalteforlisbok2.asp Shipwrecks off Bergen] no icon] five days later. Together with the 1. class torpedo boat HNoMS "Sæl" "Stegg" escorted the "Afrika" to the port of Odda the same day she was captured. [Hegland & Lilleheim 1998: 57] The German crews were held as POWs by Norwegian land forces.

"Cläre Hugo Stinnes" was used by the Norwegian forces from 14 April as the depot ship of the Hardangerfjord naval air group in Eidfjord. [ [http://www.groenli.com/publications/og.html Norwegian naval aviation in 1940 website] no icon] The two captured ships were later to become the centres of battles at Kinsarvik ("Cläre Hugo Stinnes") and Ulvik ("Afrika"). "Afrika", having been captured on her way from Narvik to Germany, ended up being scuttled by her Norwegian captors in the heat of battle at Ulvik, [Divenorway.com: [http://www.divenorway.com/bergen.htm Wrecks in Western Norway - SS "Afrika"] ] while "Cläre Hugo Stinnes" survived an unsuccessful Kriegsmarine attempted recapture at Kinsarvik and was eventually released with her crew on 2 May 1940 as the resistance in southern Norway collapsed. On her way to Bergen the "Cläre Hugo Stinnes" was attacked by the RN submarine HMS "Trident" and damaged by gunfire.

Final battle

The end for "Stegg" came on 20 April 1940 as she was anchored at Herøysund. In the morning the artillery training ship "Bremse" and the armed whaler "Schiff 221" blocked the "Stegg" in the fjord and attacked her. Early on in the engagement two 57 mm shells from "Schiff 221" hit "Stegg" in the bow, set her ablaze and caused water to start flooding the small torpedo boat. The heavier shells of the "Bremse" meanwhile failed to find their target and the burning "Stegg" returned fire against the "Schiff 221", hitting the whaler twice with her 76 mm main gun. However, for "Stegg" the war was over, as the fire on board got out of control and her crew had to abandon ship. Soon the fire reached the "Stegg"'s torpedoes and ammunition hold and the ship went up in a large explosion. The entire bow of the ship disappeared and the "Stegg" sank slowly to the bottom of the fjord. The crew got away without serious injuries, despite being bombarded by the two German warships as they fled inland.

References

Literature

* Abelsen, Frank: "Norwegian naval ships 1939-1945", Sem & Stenersen AS, Oslo 1986 ISBN 82-7046-050-8 en icon/no icon
* no icon
* ISBN 82-994738-1-0

ee also

* List of World War II ships of less than 1000 tons
* List of shipwrecks in 1940