The

minelayer A minelayer is any warship, submarine or military aircraft 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 installing controll ...

HNoMS ''Frøya'' was built for 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 ...

by the

naval shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...

Horten is a town and municipality in Vestfold in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway—located along the Oslofjord. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Horten. The municipality also includes the town of Åsgårdstrand an ...

during

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 ...

, with yard number 108. A fast ship for her time, she was kept in service until the

German invasion of Norway 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 **G ...

in 1940. At some point between her commissioning and 1940, a 76 mm gun was added to her armaments. ''Frøya'' was the first purpose-built minelayer commissioned into the RNoN.

Frøya and the invasion

At the time the Germans invaded Norway, ''Frøya'' was underway from

Finnmark Finnmark (; se, Finnmárku ; fkv, Finmarku; fi, Ruija ; russian: Финнмарк) was a county in the northern part of Norway, and it is scheduled to become a county again in 2024. On 1 January 2020, Finnmark was merged with the neighbouri ...

naval base 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 ...

, and on 8 April she anchored at

Brekstad Brekstad is a town in the municipality of Ørland in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located along the Trondheimsfjord at the entrance to the Stjørnfjorden. The town is located about south of the village of Uthaug and about west of the villag ...

harbour at

Ørland Ørland is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Fosen region. Ørland is located at the southwestern tip of the Fosen peninsula at the northern shore of the mouth of Trondheimsfjord where the Stjørnfjorden arm begins. ...

at the mouth of the

Trondheimsfjord The Trondheim Fjord or Trondheimsfjorden (), an inlet of the Norwegian Sea, is Norway's third-longest fjord at long. It is located in the west-central part of the country in Trøndelag county, and it stretches from the municipality of Ørland in ...

. Due to bad weather Captain T. Schrøder-Nielsen was reluctant to cross Hustadvika bay on with the ship's full load of mines and had sought shelter at Brekstad overnight. When, on the morning of 9 April, the German assault came, the crew of the ''Frøya'' observed the intruding German warships making their way to

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

. Trapped in the

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Ice ...

, the decision was made to move the minelayer into the nearby

Stjørnfjord The Stjørnfjord or Stjørnfjorden is an arm of Trondheimsfjorden that flows through the municipalities of Ørland and Indre Fosen in Trøndelag county, Norway. The long fjord stretches southwest from the mouth of the Nordelva river near the vil ...

. In the Stjørnfjord ''Frøya'' repeatedly came under attack from both land based

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

and

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

bombers. On 13 April Captain Schrøder-Nielsen decided all hope was lost and, refusing to let his ship fall into German hands, he ordered her scuttled. After removing some equipment and ''Frøya''s load of mines for possible later use the crew of ''Frøya'' rammed their ship at great speed ashore at Søtvika, opened the ship's valves and at 12:30 fired explosive charges, demolishing her. Shortly after being scuttled the wreck of ''Frøya'' was discovered by ''

Kapitänleutnant ''Kapitänleutnant'', short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( en, captain lieutenant) is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the German Bundeswehr. The rank is rated OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to Hauptmann in the Heer and ...

Wilhelm Rollmann Wilhelm Rollmann (5 August 1907 – 5 November 1943) was a German U-boat commander during World War II, in which he commanded the and . He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. He was killed in action in 1943, ...

of the . As the

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

captain believed her still to be salvageable for the Norwegians the submarine

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

ed ''Frøya'', blowing the

stern The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Ori ...

off the already wrecked minelayer.

The wreck today

After she was scuttled, it was still possible to explore the wreck. Even today enough remains to make ''Frøya'' an interesting wreck to dive on.

References

Literature

External links

Naval history via FLIX: ''Frøya''
retrieved 14 March 2006
HNoMS Frøya
Krigsseilerregisteret {{DEFAULTSORT:Froeya Maritime incidents in April 1940 Ships built in Horten Minelayers of the Royal Norwegian Navy World War II shipwrecks in the Norwegian Sea World War II minelayers of Norway 1916 ships Ships sunk with no fatalities Scuttled vessels Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II