The ''Sauda'' class was a class of nine minesweepers and one

minehunter A minehunter is a naval vessel that seeks, detects, and destroys individual naval mines. Minesweepers, on the other hand, clear mined areas as a whole, without prior detection of mines. A vessel that combines both of these roles is known as a ...

in service for the Royal Norwegian Navy from 1953 to 1996. The class was designed at

Sparkman & Stephens Sparkman & Stephens is a naval architecture and yacht brokerage firm with offices in Newport, Rhode Island and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, USA. The firm performs design and engineering of new and existing vessels for pleasure, commercial, and milita ...

Inc., New York City, as an improvement of the (Norwegian Yard Mine Sweepers). Five of the vessels were built in the United States, three were built at Westermoen Båtbyggeri og Mek Verksted in

Mandal A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

, one at

Skaalurens Skibsbyggeri Skaaluren Skibsbyggeri A/S was a shipyard in Rosendal, Norway. One of Norway's prominent shipbuilders, it was founded in 1855. The yard was founded by Tørris Knudsen Nes (later Tørris Skaaluren) who built the first sloop. Through four generatio ...

in Rosendal and one at De Forenede Båtbyggerier in Risør. The class was fully financed by the US government as a part of the

Military Assistance Program The Mutual Defense Assistance Act was a United States Act of Congress signed by President Harry S. Truman on 6 October 1949. For US Foreign policy, it was the first U.S. military foreign aid legislation of the Cold War era, and initially to Euro ...

(MAP). Most of the vessels were named after Norwegian rivers:''Sira'', ''Tana'', ''Alta'', ''Ogna'', ''Vosso'', ''Glomma'', ''Tista'', ''Kvina'' and ''Utla''. Sauda is however a town, not a river. is the only vessel still in existence. She is a museum vessel owned by the

Royal Norwegian Navy Museum The Royal Norwegian Navy Museum (Norwegian: ''Marinemuseet'') is a museum documenting the history of the Royal Norwegian Navy. It is located at the former main naval base of Karljohansvern in Horten. The museum was founded by C.F. Klinck on 24 Au ...

but maintained and sailed by a dedicated friendship association. Some of the vessels were in service in the United States Navy and the

Royal Belgian Navy The Belgian Navy, officially the Belgian Naval Component ( nl, Marinecomponent; french: Composante marine; german: Marinekomponente ) of the Belgian Armed Forces, is the naval service of Belgium. History Early history The Belgian Navy wa ...

before entering Norwegian service.

Ships

* ''Sauda'' (M 311) was laid down as AMS-102 by the Hodgdon Brothers, Goudy and Stevens,

East Boothbay, Maine Boothbay is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,003 at the 2020 census. It includes the villages of Back Narrows, Dover, East Boothbay, Linekin, Oak Hill, Ocean Point, Spruce Shores, and Trevett. The Boothbay regi ...

, and completed on 23 July 1953. She was transferred to Norway on 25 August 1953. She was reclassified by U.S. Navy as Coastal Minesweeper MSC-102 on 7 February 1955. ''Sauda'' was decommissioned by the Norwegian Navy on 8 May 1981 and laid up. In 1987 the vessel was sold into civilian service. * ''Ogna'' was built by Westermoen Båtbyggeri og Mek Verksted,

, delivered on 5 March 1955, and decommissioned on 27 April 1979. She was sold into civilian service in 1987. * ''Vosso'' was built by

, Rosendal, delivered on 15 March 1955, and decommissioned on 8 July 1987. She was sold for scrapping in August 1992. * ''Tista'' was built by De Forenede båtbyggerier, Risør, delivered on 27 April 1955, and decommissioned on 15 August 1994. She was sold for scrapping in 1997. * ''Kvina'' was built by Westermoen Båtbyggeri og Mek Verksted, Mandal, delivered on 12 July 1955, and decommissioned on 24 March 1995. She was sold for scrapping in 1997. * ''Utla'' was built by Westermoen Båtbyggeri og Mek Verksted, Mandal, delivered on 15 November 1955, and decommissioned on 17 January 1990. She was sold for scrapping in 1997. * ''Sira'' was laid down as AMS-132 by the Hiltebrant Drydock Company of Kingston, New York, and reclassified by the U.S. Navy as Coastal Minesweeper MSC-132 on 7 February 1955. Completed on 14 November 1955 she was transferred to Norway on 28 November 1955. ''Sira'' was decommissioned on 23 May 1986 and laid up. She was sold for scrapping in August 1992. * ''Tana'' (M 313) was laid down as AMS-103 by the Hodgdon Brothers, Goudy and Stevens, East Boothbay, Maine, completed 22 September 1953 and transferred to Belgium as ''Roeselaere'' (M 914). Reclassified by U.S. Navy as Coastal Minesweeper MSC-103 on 7 February 1955, she was returned to U.S. custody in 1966 and then transferred to Norway. ''Tana'' was extensively refitted at the Båtservice AS shipyards at

between August 1976 and September 1977, and subsequently reclassified as a

. She was decommissioned on 24 October 1994 and put into reserve. The vessel was sold for scrapping in 1997. *''Alta'' (M 314) was laid down as AMS-104 by the Hodgdon Brothers, Goudy and Stevens, East Boothbay, Maine, completed on 30 October 1953 and transferred to Belgium as ''Arlon'' (M 915). Reclassified by the U.S. Navy as Coastal Minesweeper MSC-104 on 7 February 1955, she was returned to U.S. custody in 1966 and then transferred to Norway. ''Alta'' was decommissioned on 23 May 1996 and (ownership) was transferred to the

. To be operated, she was turned over to the Alta Society (Fartoylaget KNM Alta). The ship is still sailing and based in Oslo. * ''Glomma'' (M 317) was laid down as AMS-151 by the Hodgdon Brothers, Goudy and Stevens, East Boothbay, Maine, completed on 15 December 1953 and transferred to Belgium as ''Bastogne'' (M 313). Reclassified by the U.S. Navy as Coastal Minesweeper MSC-151 on 7 February 1955, she was returned to U.S. custody in 1966 and then transferred to Norway. ''Glomma'' was decommissioned on 24 September 1986 and laid up until August 1992 when it was sold for scrapping.

References

{{Adjutant class minesweeper Mine warfare vessel classes