HDMS Langeland (1808)

The brig HDMS ''Langeland'', launched in late 1808 and fitted out in 1809, was one of four brigs transferred to Norwegian ports from Denmark on 1 January 1810. From Norway she escorted Danish cargoes or harried enemy (British) merchant shipping. She took part in a successful cruise to the North Cape along with the brig ''Lougen'' in 1810 and was later taken into the fledgling Norwegian navy after the 1814 Treaty of Kiel. She was sold into merchant service in 1827.

Danish service

During the summer of 1809, three British gun brigs - the brig-sloop (18), brig (16), and gun-brig (14), operated in the far northern waters of Norway. They briefly occupied - after one failed attempt – the small town and sheltered harbour of Hammerfest near North Cape.

Senior Lieutenant Thomas Joachim Lütken was captain of the ''Langeland'' from 1809 to 1814.I 1810 four brigs were transferred to Norwegian ports.

In the spring of 1810 the two Danish-Norwegian brigs , under the command of Captain J. N. Müller and ''Langeland'' sailed from Fredericksværn and reached Hammerfest on the 28 June where they joined with three gun-schooners - ''Nornen'', ''Valkyren'' and ''Axel Thorsen'', each of which was armed with a 24-pounder gun fore and aft. The Dano-Norwegians hoped to find the expected British force in the waters of North Cape, for which there were few and poor charts, and no pilotage instructions. However, American merchant ships warned ''Nightingale'' and ''Gallant'' (''Snake'' had already left), of the enemy presence and they disappeared – apparently to Greenland to escort a convoy of British whalers. With the British gone, the coastal trade with Russia blossomed and a final convoy of the year was escorted into Trondheim., including 11 merchant ships.

Norwegian Service

The Treaty of Kiel in January 1814 separated Norway from Denmark, leaving Norway with a navy of seven brigs (one of which was laid up) and a number of smaller craft. A number of naval officers refused to accept service in the new Norwegian navy until released by the Danish king to whom they had sworn loyalty. Those who joined the Norwegian navy were eventually struck off the Danish lists. Many others obeyed Danish orders and returned to Denmark. Lütken, of the ''Langeland'', was briefly arrested when he refused to hand over the ship to the newly constituted Norwegian State.

The ''Lolland'', which was larger than the other brigs in the new Norwegian Navy, became the command ship of the Norwegian navy’s brig squadron, whose primary mission was to escort food convoys from Jutland, protecting them from Swedish depredations. However, after a short war, Norway and Sweden united, forming a union that lasted until 1905.

*''Lolland'' (Captain Ole Christopher Budde);
* (Senior Lieutenant J. Lund);
*''Allart'' (Senior Lieutenant S. Lous);
*''Langeland'' (Junior Lieutenant Løvenskiold);
*''Alsen'' (Junior Lieutenant Bendz); and
*''Kiel'' (Junior Lieutenant Petersen).

Fate

In 1827, ''Langeland'' was decommissioned and sold into the merchant navy.

Notes

Citations

References

*Individual record cards in Danish for ships of the Danish Royal Navy can sometimes be found on the internet
link here
but not this ship! (April 2019). The Danish Naval Museum is buildin
a new website
at which details, drawings and models may be available. For individual ships already listed, which includes earlier ships of this name but does not yet include this ''Langeland'', se


*T. A. Topsøe-Jensen og Emil Marquard (1935) “Officerer i den dansk-norske Søetat 1660-1814 og den danske Søetat 1814-1932“.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Langeland (1808)
Brigs of the Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy
Ships designed by Ernst Wilhelm Stibolt
1808 ships
1814 in Norway
Ships built in Kiel
Ships of the Royal Norwegian Navy