The battleships ''Asbjørnsen'' and ''Moe'' were two fictitious ships that raised concern in the Swedish intelligence services at the time of the

dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden The dissolution of the union ( nb, unionsoppløsningen; nn, unionsoppløysinga; Landsmål: ''unionsuppløysingi''; sv, unionsupplösningen) between the kingdoms of Norway and Sweden under the House of Bernadotte, was set in motion by a resolu ...

in 1905. A Norwegian emigrant to Argentina, the wealthy businessman and diplomat Peter "Don Pedro" Christophersen, had negotiated with the government of Argentina to purchase two battleships. In the end, no deal was concluded, but the rumor disturbed the Swedes—and Prime Minister

Christian Michelsen Peter Christian Hersleb Kjerschow Michelsen (15 March 1857 – 29 June 1925), better known as Christian Michelsen, was a Norwegian shipping magnate and statesman. He was the first prime minister of independent Norway and Norway's 9th prime minis ...

declined to deny that the purchase had taken place. The non-existent battleships were christened the ''Asbjørnsen'' and ''Moe'' after the writers

Peter Christen Asbjørnsen Peter Christen Asbjørnsen (15 January 18125 January 1885) was a Norwegian writer and scholar. He and Jørgen Engebretsen Moe were collectors of Norwegian folklore. They were so closely united in their lives' work that their folk tale collections ...

and

Jørgen Moe Jørgen Engebretsen Moe (22 April 1813–27 March 1882) was a Norwegian folklorist, bishop, poet, and author. He is best known for the '' Norske Folkeeventyr'', a collection of Norwegian folk tales which he edited in collaboration with Pe ...

. The incident took place in the context of naval tensions between Norway and Sweden following Norwegian independence, which came to a head in the Admiral Conflict ( no, Admiralstriden). At the time, the

Royal Norwegian Navy The Royal Norwegian Navy ( no, Sjøforsvaret, , Sea defence) is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for naval operations of Norway. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 in mobilized state, ...

was more suitable for coastal defense, but the Swedish navy was much stronger. Norway's naval commanders wanted to demonstrate that Norway was capable of defending itself at sea but did not want to provoke Sweden into armed conflict. Commanding Admiral

Christian Sparre Christian Sparre (30 July 1859 – 4 November 1940) was a Norwegian Commanding Admiral and Member of Parliament. The mountain of Sparrefjellet at Spitsbergen is named after him. Christian Herman Sparre was born in Høland (now Aurskog-H� ...

and his chief of staff, Rear Admiral Jacob Børresen, strongly disagreed on the best strategy to pursue in the event of war with Sweden.Larsen, Stein Ugelvik. 1999. ''I krigens kjølvann: nye sider ved norsk krigshistorie og etterkrigstid''. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget, p. 164.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battleships Asbjornsen and Moe Norway–Sweden relations Abandoned military projects 1905 in Norway