The ''Gor'' class was a class of two Rendel (or "flat-iron") gunboats built for the

Royal Norwegian Navy The Royal Norwegian Navy () is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for navy, naval operations of Norway, including those of the Norwegian Coast Guard. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 i ...

between 1884 and 1887. Small, nimble

vessels Vessel(s) or the Vessel may refer to: Biology *Blood vessel, a part of the circulatory system and function to transport blood throughout the body *Lymphatic vessel, a thin walled, valved structure that carries lymph *Vessel element, a narrow wat ...

, they were armed with a single large-caliber gun for offensive purposes and several small, quick-firing guns for self-defense. The main gun was large for such a small craft, roughly a quarter of the length of the whole vessel, and of the same caliber as heavy

battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...

guns of the same era. The ''Gor'' class was likely built in the belief that the ships would be able to inflict serious damage to an opposing battleship.

Service history and fate

Shortly before the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, both vessels were rebuilt as

minelayer A minelayer is any warship, submarine, military aircraft or land vehicle deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for ins ...

s. During this reconstruction, the heavy, large-caliber gun was replaced with a more modern 12 cm breech-loader, and one of the 37 mm guns was replaced with a more potent 57 mm (''Tyr'') or 76 mm (''Gor'') gun. With the heavy gun and

ammunition Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of oth ...

removed, these diminutive vessels could carry a useful number of mines. Both vessels were kept in service until the German invasion in 1940, and both fell into German hands for the remainder of the war. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the vessels were returned to the Royal Norwegian Navy, and subsequently decommissioned.

References

External links

Naval history via Flix: KNM Gor
retrieved 1 March 2006
Byggenummer ved Horten verft
retrieved 1 March 2006

retrieved 1 March 2006 {{Norwegian gunships Gunboat classes