Thore Horve (6 October 1899 – 15 August 1990) was a Norwegian naval officer and businessperson. He is best known for his naval commands and efforts during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, for leading 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 ...

from 1946 to 1949 and in 1951, and for his work to compensate war sailors many years later.

Early life and career

He was born in

Hetland Hetland is a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until 1965 when it was dissolved. The municipality included the Stavanger Peninsula and the land surrounding both sides of the Gandsfjorden, but n ...

. He graduated from the

Norwegian Naval Academy The Royal Norwegian Naval Academy (RNoNA, ''Sjøkrigsskolen'' in Norwegian) is located at Laksevåg in Bergen. It was formally established 27 October 1817 in Frederiksvern. The institution educates officers for the Royal Norwegian Navy. History ...

in 1920, and served on various ships. In 1927 he married Bergljot Sollie (1903–1994), daughter of politician

Harald Bredo Sollie Harald Bredo Sollie (17 January 1871 – 1 March 1947) was a Norwegian jurist, naval officer and politician for the Conservative Party. Family Sollie was born in Horten to Hans Paulsen Sollie (1816–1900) and Bredine Andrea Løes (1833–1919) ...

World War II

When Nazi Germany attacked Norway in April 1940, setting off war, Lt. Cdr. Horve was the commander of HNoMS ''Draug''. During the night of 9 April, ''Draug'' was patrolling and watching shipping in the

Karmsund Karmsund is a strait located in Rogaland county, Norway. The long strait separates the island of Karmøy on the west and the mainland of Norway and island of Vestre Bokn in the east. The strait runs through the municipalities of Haugesund, Kar ...

. At about 0200hrs, Horve was notified that Oslofjord Fortress was engaging an unknown enemy force in the

Oslofjord The Oslofjord (, ; en, Oslo Fjord) is an inlet in the south-east of Norway, stretching from an imaginary line between the and lighthouses and down to in the south to Oslo in the north. It is part of the Skagerrak strait, connecting the Nor ...

, leading to the crew being ordered to full combat stations. At 0400hrs, an unknown ship, flying no national flag, was observed sailing northwards through the Karmsund. The ship refused to stop after both flares and warning shots had been fired and ''Draug'' had to give chase and capture the vessel. After leading the unknown ship into

Haugesund Haugesund () is a municipality on the North Sea in Rogaland county, Norway. While the population is greater in the neighboring Karmøy municipality, the main commercial and economic centre of the Haugaland region in northern Rogaland and southern ...

, its identity was found to be the 7,624 ton

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

vessel ''Main''. The two ships left Haugesund at about 0900hrs, but soon came under attack from a Luftwaffe bomber around off the Norwegian coast. The bombs, aimed at the ''Main'', missed but the German captain immediately scuttled his vessel and ordered his crew to abandon ship. Horve remained commander of ''Draug'' until 3 November 1941. He was also commander of HNoMS ''Sleipner'' from 28 June 1940 to December 1941. He subsequently had command of ''Glaisdale''. He worked in the Royal Norwegian Navy High Command in London from 1941 to 1942, headed the Norwegian MTB Flotilla in Shetland from 1943 to 1944, and worked again at the Navy High Command from 1944 to 1945 and the Navy Special Service (''Marinens Spesialtjeneste'') in 1945.

Post-war career

After the war ended in May 1945, Horve was chief of staff of the Navy Command of

Southern Norway Southern Norway ( no, Sørlandet; lit. "The Southland") is the geographical region (''landsdel'') along the Skagerrak coast of southern Norway. The region is an informal description since it does not have any governmental function. It roughl ...

briefly, and then head of the planning department of the Navy High Command. He reached the ranks of Counter Admiral in 1946 and Vice Admiral in 1947, and from 1946 to 1949 Horve headed the entire Royal Norwegian Navy. He then headed the Navy Command of

Northern Norway Northern Norway ( nb, Nord-Norge, , nn, Nord-Noreg; se, Davvi-Norga) is a geographical Regions of Norway, region of Norway, consisting of the two northernmost counties Nordland and Troms og Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainlan ...

from 1949 to 1951, and the Royal Norwegian Navy again in 1951. He resigned in the same year in protest of Defence Minister

Jens Christian Hauge Jens Christian Hauge (15 May 1915 – 30 October 2006) was a Norwegian who was leader within the World War II resistance—and one of the two incumbent Milorg Council members in May 1945. Njølstad p.125 He served as Minister of Defence from 19 ...

's political priorities, which Horve felt had given the Royal Norwegian Navy an inferior role within

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

(of which Norway was a founding member in 1949). Horve retired, working in the

kelp Kelps are large brown algae seaweeds that make up the order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genera. Despite its appearance, kelp is not a plant - it is a heterokont, a completely unrelated group of organisms. Kelp grows in "underwat ...

harvesting company Protan from 1951 to 1954. From 1954 he worked served as Commander of the Imperial Ethiopian Coastguard, pending the establishment of the

Imperial Ethiopian Navy The Ethiopian Navy (), known as the Imperial Ethiopian Navy until 1974, was a branch of the Ethiopian National Defense Force founded in 1955. It was disestablished in 1996 after the independence of Eritrea in 1991 left Ethiopia landlocked. The ...

, a project aided by the Norwegian state, but resigned in 1956. The reason was that the project did not go in the preferred direction. From 1961 to 1964 he was the CEO of Philips Norway. Also, in the 1960s Horve picked up the work to improve the treatment of Norwegian war sailors. The work had been started by sailors such as

Leif Vetlesen Leif Vetlesen (7 August 1921 – 18 May 2003) was a Norwegian sailor, political worker, organizational worker and writer. He was born in Oslo, Kristiania as a son of engineer Alf Vetlesen (1878–1963) and teacher Aagot Bugge (1881–1967). He was ...

, but stagnated. Horve's work for the war sailors bore fruits in that the

Parliament of Norway The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years bas ...

granted payments to crew in the merchant fleet

Nortraship The Norwegian Shipping and Trade Mission (Nortraship) was established in London in April 1940 to administer the Norwegian merchant fleet outside German-controlled areas. Nortraship operated some 1,000 vessels and was the largest shipping company ...

in 1972. To Horve's dismay naval sailors did not benefit. He was decorated with the following orders and decorations:

War Cross with Sword The War Cross with Sword (Norwegian Bokmål: ''Krigskorset med sverd, ''Norwegian Nynorsk: ''Krigskrossen med sverd'') is the highest ranking Norwegian gallantry decoration. It is awarded for extraordinary brave actions or extraordinary leadershi ...

1942 Commander with Star of the Order of St. Olav 1947. War Medal (Norway) Defence Medal 1940–1945 (Deltagermedaljen 9. april 1940 - 8. mai 1945) (Norway) Haakon VII 70th Anniversary Medal (Norway) Grand Cross of the Order of Dannebrog 6.10.1947 (Denmark) Grand Cross of the Order of the Star of Ethiopia (Ethiopia) Grand Officer of the Order of the Legion of Honour (France) War Cross (Croix de guerre) 1939-1945 (France) Commander of the Order of the Sword (Sweden) Commander of the Most Excellent of the Order British Empire (CBE) - military (United Kingdom) Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) (United Kingdom) Mention in Dispatches (MID) (United Kingdom) Officer of the Legion of Merit (USA) Horve died in August 1990 in Oslo, almost 91 years old.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Horve, Thore 1899 births 1990 deaths People from Stavanger Norwegian sailors Royal Norwegian Naval Academy alumni Royal Norwegian Navy personnel of World War II Norwegian expatriates in the United Kingdom Norwegian expatriates in Ethiopia Royal Norwegian Navy admirals 20th-century Norwegian businesspeople Recipients of the War Cross with Sword (Norway) Recipients of orders, decorations, and medals of Ethiopia