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Royal Norwegian Navy

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Military of Norway
Components
Army
Navy
(Coast Guard)
Air Force
Home Guard
Cyber Defence Force
Ranks
Norwegian military ranks
Bugle calls
Bugle calls of the Norwegian Army
Armed Forces equipment
Army equipment
Naval ships (active)
Norwegian military aircraft
Norwegian State and Navy Flag
Norwegian State and Navy Flag
Royal Norwegian Navy Emblem
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 (9, 450 if mobilized) and 27 vessels, including 3 frigates, 6 submarines, 8 (14) patrol boats, 3 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 KongeligVakttjeneste 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.

One of goals of the Royal Norwegian Navy is to be the most advanced navy in the world by 2010[citation needed], and is therefore undergoing a prosses of changing most of their old vessels with never and better vessels! one example is the new norwegian designed vessels of the Fridtjoph Nansen class Frigate's.

Bases

Main article: List of Royal Norwegian Navy bases

The Royal Norwegian Navy has several bases:

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

Mine Branch

Submarine Branch

The submarine fleet consists of several Ula class submarines.

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:

Logistics Branch

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

Coast Guard units and vessels

A Norwegian Navy Seaman in his parade uniform, the hat bearing the KNM Harald Haarfagre insignia.
  • Royal Norwegian Naval Basic Training Establishment, KNM Harald Haarfagre, Stavanger
  • Royal Norwegian Navy Officer Candidate School, Horten and Bergen
  • Royal Norwegian Naval Academy, Laksevåg, Bergen
  • Royal Norwegian Naval Training Establishment, KNM Tordenskjold, Haakonsvern, Bergen

Fact sheet from Department of Defense

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

Source

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