HNoMS ''Eidsvold'' was a
coastal defence ship and the lead ship of
her class, serving in 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, 3 ...
. Built by
Armstrong Whitworth at
Newcastle on Tyne in 1899, she was obsolete when sunk by German torpedoes in
Narvik
( se, Áhkanjárga) is the third-largest municipality in Nordland county, Norway, by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Narvik. Some of the notable villages in the municipality include Ankenesstranda, Ball ...
harbour on 9 April 1940 during the German invasion of Norway (
Operation Weserübung).
Description
![Eidsvold launch card June 14th 1900](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Eidsvold_launch_card_June_14th_1900.jpg)
''Eidsvold'' was built as part of the general rearmament in the time leading up to the political events in
1905
As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia (Shostakovich's 11th Symphony i ...
, and remained, along with her sister ship
''Norge'', the backbone of the Royal Norwegian Navy for just over 40 years. She was named after the town of
Eidsvold, the site of the drafting and signing of the
Norwegian Constitution on 17 May 1814. Considered to be quite powerful ships for their time, with two 21 cm (8.26 inch) guns as their main armament, they were soon outclassed by the new
Dreadnought battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...
s. They were armoured to withstand battle with ships of a similar class to their own, with 6 inches (15.24 cm) of
Krupp
The Krupp family (see pronunciation), a prominent 400-year-old German dynasty from Essen, is notable for its production of steel, artillery, ammunition and other armaments. The family business, known as Friedrich Krupp AG (Friedrich Krup ...
cemented armour
Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or fr ...
in the belt and 9 inches (22.86 cm) of the same armour on her two turrets. ''Eidsvold'' and ''Norge'' were the largest vessels in the Royal Norwegian Navy at 4,233 tons gross and crews of up to 270 men.
It was intended to augment the Norwegian coastal defence ship fleet with the two ships of the
''Bjørgvin''-class, ordered in 1912, but after these were compulsorily purchased by the British
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
at the outbreak of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the ''Eidsvold''-class and the older, two ship strong,
''Tordenskjold''-class was forced to soldier on long after they were obsolete.
First and final battle
In the morning of 9 April 1940, German forces entered Narvik harbour under cover of fog and heavy snow. Despite the weather, they were spotted by Norwegian vessels, which promptly reported the sighting and alerted ''Eidsvold'' and ''Norge''. Aboard both ships steps were taken to prepare for combat. The guns were loaded with live ammunition and life preservers issued to the crew. Around 04:15 in the morning, the Germans spotted ''Eidsvold''. Captain
Odd Isaachsen Willoch aboard ''Eidsvold'' immediately ordered to signal the leading German destroyer with an
Aldis lamp, and when the Germans failed to respond to the signal, he ordered a warning shot placed before their bow while he flew a
two flag signal, ordering the destroyer to halt.
Since the Germans had orders to occupy Norway peacefully if at all possible, the
German destroyer ''Wilhelm Heidkamp'' stopped, and signalled ''Eidsvold'' that it would send an officer to negotiate. From a distance of about 200 metres, a small launch ferried Korvettenkapitän Gerlach over to ''Eidsvold''. Gerlach and a signalman were received on the aft deck of ''Eidsvold'' by the second in command, and were taken to the bridge to speak to Captain Willoch. At the same time, the gun crews aboard ''Eidsvold'' kept the German destroyer in their sights, both the 21 cm guns and the 15 cm guns. Due to the short distance, the trajectory of the shells would have been flat, making it hard not to hit the thinly armoured vessel.
![HNoMS Eidsvold crew member uniform, Narvik](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/HNoMS_Eidsvold_crew_member_uniform%2C_Narvik.jpg)
At the bridge, Gerlach tried to convince Willoch that the Germans had arrived as friends and that Willoch should surrender his ship peacefully. Willoch countered by pointing out that he was bound by duty to resist, but did ask for a ten-minute break to consider the matter. However, instead of considering surrender, Willoch used this time to contact his superiors, as well as the captain of ''Norge'', informing them of his intent to attack the German forces. While this was going on, another German destroyer had crossed behind ''Eidsvold'' and took up a position from the vessel, ready to fire her torpedoes.
Gerlach tried once again to convince Willoch to surrender, but was turned down a second time. As he left the deck of ''Eidsvold'', he fired a red flare, indicating that the Norwegians wished to fight. At this point, Captain Willoch hurried towards the bridge, while shouting ''"På plass ved kanonene. Nå skal vi slåss, gutter!"'' ("Man the guns. We're gonna fight, boys!"). ''Eidsvold'' turned towards the closest destroyer and accelerated, while the battery commander ordered the port battery (three 15 cm guns) to open fire. However, the Germans – afraid ''Eidsvold'' might ram the destroyer – fired four torpedoes at the old coastal defence ship.
Two or three of the torpedoes hit before the port guns could fire, according to Norwegian sources: one under the rear turret, one midship and one in the bow. It is likely that the torpedoes ignited one of the magazines aboard, because ''Eidsvold'' was blown in two and sunk in seconds, propellers still turning. Only six of the crew were rescued, while 175 died in the freezing water.
The wreck
Some remains of ''Eidsvold'' lie in shallow waters at the entrance to Narvik harbour. Mostly salvaged in situ, only minor remains are left of the ship.
PS Eidsvold
at Skovheim.org, retrieved 2 January 2007
Notes
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Eidsvold
Eidsvold-class coastal defence ships
Ships built on the River Tyne
1900 ships
World War II coastal defence ships of Norway
Maritime incidents in April 1940
World War II shipwrecks in the Norwegian Sea
Naval magazine explosions