Draug class Destroyer (1908)

Sjøforsvaret, 3 destroyer (1908-1912):
HNoMS Draug, Troll, Garm 1908-1954

The Draug class was the class of modern destroyers built for the Royal Norwegian Navy and since the experimental Valkyrjen commissioned on 17 May 1896. There were three ships: HnOms Draug, Troll and Garm, all built at the Karljohansvern, Orlogsstasjon. These were the also last Norwegian-constructed destroyers until the Ålesund class laid down in 1939. They served both in WW1 and WW2 and of course the momentous event was the Norwegian Campaign of April 1940 in which Garm was sunk. The other two remained in service until sold and BU postwar.

HnOms Valkyrien

The very First Norwegian Destroyer, at a time this navy counted only torpedo boats. Norway wanted to have a go at this type, but finances were lacking. Money was eventually collected by… a Norwegian female patriotic organisation. She was ordered in 1895 to Schichau, Elbing, and laid down in 1895, launched anc completed in 1896. No precise dates registered. She was called as a “divisional torpedo boat” as she was made of the model of the “D” class, but construction scheme was rather similar to Austrian torpedo cruisers. She was considered too slow when WWI broke out and relegated to training. Her service ended in 1920 and she was stricken and sol for BU in 1922.

Specs

Displacement was 375t normal and 415t fully loaded
She measured 58m between perpendicular and 59.4 metes overall for 7.42 meters in beam and 2.59 max in draught.
She was powered by two shafts VTE but fed by two Thornycroft boilers for a total output of 3,300 hp and 23 kts top speed.
For range they carried 88t coal for an endurance of 3,800 nm at 10 kts.
She was armed with two 3-in/40 Armstrong N guns and four 1-pdr (37mm/45 Hotchkiss) plus two 18-in torpedo tubes.
Complement was 59.

Development

hnoms draug

The existence of a single destroyer in the Norwegian Navy, which by 1900 seemed already obsolete due to her slow speed, inferior to many cruisers of the time, brought the realization that small torpedoed boats would not be enough to defend Norwegian waters, especially as tensions rose with Sweden, with many nationalists pushing to end the Kalmar Union. The naval staff also realized they had no suitable ship to escort their cruisers, HnOms Viking and Frithjof. With their limited speed and range, the existing torpedo boats would just not do. Since 1895, tension also rose with Germany, and led to a rapprochement with Britain instead.

So it was natural that the naval staff would approach the latter at least for inspiration, as the Government invested much meanwhile in MV Horten, completed by large private investments. This made it a more suitable shipyard for modern vessels, the problem was that Norway had no experience building destroyers. So a commission was sent to Britain to study the purchase of an existing design, to be later built in Norway. They settled on the Admiralty’s River class destroyers. They were the first to sport a true forecastle, and the first to test steam turbines, with the RN invested much in the design, and ordering 34 ships from many shipyards as its new standard, in stark contrast with the previous flushed-decked 27-30 knotters.

That was the basic design for the Norwegians, albeit it was estimated the British design was just too large for Norwegian needs, which needed a somewhat smaller vessel to be better at ease on the narrows of its fjords and for coastal operations. Back in Norway, Horten N Yd design office worked on the design, on its great lines, and it’s unclear if the Norwegian effectively purchased any plans or just created them in 1906. Requirements emphasised strong hulls and good seaworthiness. The River class were used to draw these base technical requirements resulting in a some sort of “stocky” analogue of the River class, with many specific features like the artillery arrangement and torpedo tubes, plus the four equally spaced funnels giving them a somewhat oulook of Swedish and Russian destroyers of the time.

They were all initially planned to have VTE engines, but Horten NyD could only build one ship at a time on its two usable slipways, having other ships in construciton, so it was understood, they will be build almost one after the other. So, HnOms Draug (the three ships were named after Nordic Legends creatures) was laid down first in 1907, launched on 18 March 1908 and completed in 1909. The next, HnOms Troll was laid down a year later in 1908, launched on 7 july 1910 and completed in April 1912. The third, Garm, was laid down last in 1912, after a very long delay, and so in betwen naval tech progressed in terms of propulsion, so it was planed to have her redesigned in 1911 to become the first Norwegian turbine-driven ship. She was thus launched on 25 May 1913 and completed as the war was close to breaking out in july 1914. They had little time to train together.

Design of the class

The Draug class destroyers looked aesthetically pleasing, but small and stocky. They measured 69.2 m (227.03 ft) overall, for a beam of 7.3 m (23.95 ft) and draught of 2.9 m (9.51 ft) and a displacement of 587t (578 long tons) normal, albeit Garm was 579t. The forecastle, supporting the first gun and bridge behind, was almost only 1/4 the overall lenght, with cutouts aft for the deck artillery, with two more further aft admiship on sponsons sides, and the last one on the quartedeck structure. The tubes were unusually placed, two either side of the funnels amidship, between the two side guns, and the last one close to the stern, axial.

The bridge was small and supported an open bridge, with canvas protection and top framing, with a platform aft for a searchlight with another on top of the aft platform on the quartedeck house. There were four funnels close together amidship and raked like the masts (taller, composed foremast with spotting top), bu the forefunnel was taller and closer to the forecastle cut than the others. These ships had no portholes for the lower deck forward, ony an upper line. They had the usual collision guard bars aft to protect the propellers. The poop was rounded and the stem had a slight slope.

Powerplant

Draug and Troll had vertical triple expansion steam engines on two shafts for a total of 7,500 horsepower (5,600 kW), Garm however was fitted with Germania direct steam turbines, and rated at 8,000 indicated horsepower (6,000 kW). But all diverged in speed: Draug reached 26.5 knots (49.1 km/h; 30.5 mph) on trials, Troll, 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph) and Garm, 27.4 knots (50.7 km/h). The Draug class were all coal-powered, with a capacity of 107 tonnes (105 long tons) for a range of 2,800 nautical miles at 10 knots.

Armament

6x 76 mm 3-in 76/40 Armstrong N QF Guns

BL QF 3-pdr Zimin (Max) Yang RenderYARD http://maxserver.personal.engin.umich.edu/

According to flixco (see src below) these were six BL 3-inches 40-cal 12pdr 12cwt QF in a PI star Single mount. Called the 76 mm/40 Armstrong mod.1897 specs are in research. Potentially Weight 2676 kg. Shells 6.016 kg HR, velocity 690 m/s, range 7900 m. Two in the axis at the same level and four on the main deck, sides sponsons, making for broadsides of four and three in chase and retreat.

3x 45 cm TTs

The torpedo model according to Flixco were 18-inches Mark VII, with another possibily they might have been Schwarzkopf 45 cm type. However the Mark VII is more coherent with the delivery of British guns, so here we go:
Introduced on the 1908 members of the Tribal class (1905) destroyers. Used by torpedo boats built before the First World War and destroyers. Used by RAF flying boats in the 1920s. This 1907 model had a warhead of 320 lb (150 kg) TNT. It was capable of 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) on 6,000–7,000 yd (5,500–6,400 m) or 41 knots (76 km/h; 47 mph) at 3,000 yd (2,700 m), thanks to its Wet-heater.

⚙ 1914 specifications
Displacement	587 t (578 long tons)
Dimensions	69.2 x 7.3 x 2.9 m (227.03 x 23.95 x 9.51 ft)
Propulsion	2 shafts VTE, 2 boilers*: 8,000 ihp (6,000 kW)
Speed	26.5 knots (49.08 km/h)
Range	105-107t coal, 2,800 nm at 10 kts
Armament	6× 76 mm (3 in) QF Guns, 3× 457 mm (18 in) TTs
Crew	76

*Garm: Germania Steam Turbines, 27 kts

Career of the Draug class “Jager”

King George VI inspecting the crew of the Norwegian destroyer HNoMS Draug at Portsmouth. (Info from Hansen, Ola Bøe (ed.): “Sjøkrigens skjebner – deres egne beretninger”, Sjømilitære Samfund ved Forlaget Norsk Tidsskrift for Sjøvesen, Gjøvik 2005 ISBN 82-92217-22-3 norsk p. 92-93)

“Garm” was ordered together with “Draug” and “Troll” built both because new destroyers were needed nd to replace the sole “Valkyrjen” which proved too slow for the task, keep foreign torpedo boats away from the coast, and doubling as torpedo boats. “Valkyrjen” had a top speed of 23 knots wheeras the Draug class managed 26.5 knots on trials while beinf according to some sources, much more maneuverable than “Valkyrjen”.

All three ships remained active though WW1, seeiing neutrality patrols, the interwar, many exercises, and they were still in commission until the Second World War, after being mothballed several years before 1939 as budget-cutting measure. As war was close, they were hastily returned to active service, Troll and Garm on 28 August, Draug on 5 September 1939. In poor condition, they needed much time to regain operational status and being recommissioned. After mobilisation, they were considered fit only for escort and guard service, but served with the 1st Destroyer Division, Bergen.

The crew of the Norwegian Motor Torpedo Boat MTB 56 lined up on board the destroyer HNoMS Draug immediately before their first mission on the coast of Norway. 13 october 1941. src http://www.knmskjold.org/norsk/mtbv.htm

On 8 April 1940, they were posted to the 2nd Naval District, in the south/mid-western part of the country. Draug was at Haugesund, Garm at Bergen, Troll at Måløy. and only the first had time to escape to Britain the following day rather than giving fight to the Kriegsmarine, which would have been futile, but she still spotted and fought German transports. Garm was sunk by the Luftwaffe off Bjordal, Sognefjord, on 26 April. Troll was also ordered to reach Shetland, but she was abandoned by her crew at Florø and captured on 18 May but kept berthed, used as condensor vessel and heating barge in Laksevaag until 1945, sold 1947 and BU. Meanwile, Draug resumed service with the RN, as a coastal escort vessel on the east coast until scrapped in 1944. The crew was employed on a more modern british destroyer.

Haugesund in 1934, where Draug was posted for a time.

HnOms Draug (1908)

During the First World War, “Draug” was deployed as a neutrality guard as her sisters. Interwar service is unknown as for her sisters. Draug, under the command of Captain Thore Horve, was on neutrality guard based in Haugesund on 9 April 1940. At the outbreak of war, “Draug” joined the fighting on the coast. “Draug” stopped the German cargo ship “Main” which was to support the German landing in Bergen, outside Haugesund on 9 April 1940. The commander of “Draug”, Captain Horve, decided to take both vessels to England. “Main” was sunk by its own crew during the crossing, and the crew from here, a total of 67 men, were taken on board “Draug”. In England, Draug was rebuilt, among other things the gunnery was upgraded to more contemporary standards, and one of the funnels was removed. “Draug” continued to serve as an escort vessel for convoys on the east coast of England, and was not scrapped until November 1943. Captain Horve was awarded the War Cross with Swords in 1942.

HnOms Troll (1910)

Shortly after the German invasion on 9 April 1940, “Troll” came into combat with German bombers in the Sognefjord, but emerged from the battle unscathed. “Troll” continued patrolling the Sognefjord and surrounding areas, and was in Florø on 3 May. The plan was to take the vessel to England, but this was not carried out. On 18 May, the vessel was taken over by the Germans, after two German armored trawlers had entered Florø. “Troll” was then towed to Bergen, arriving there on 20 May. The vessel briefly served for the German navy, and was later converted into a distillation vessel for the production of distilled water. “Troll” was taken over by the Norwegian navy again after the war, and in 1946 the ship was given the prefix KNM in front of its name. In 1949, KNM “Troll” was sold for scrapping.

HnOms Garm (1913)

At the outbreak of war, “Garm” was at Herdla, an island northwest of Bergen. “Garm” was ordered to try to head south towards Vatlestraumen to torpedo the German invasion force that was coming in from Korsfjorden in the south. The torpedo shot failed and “Garm” itself was fired upon so heavily by the German cruiser “Königsberg” that the ship’s commander chose to withdraw from the battle. “Garm” suffered no damage, but instead sailed to Askvold, where it arrived on the evening of 9 April. “Garm” was ordered into the Sognefjord, where it was sunk at its station outside Bjordal in the afternoon of 26 April 1940. German bombers dropped nearly 30 bombs from an altitude of around 500 metres on the destroyer, and one of the bombs hit “Garm” directly. This triggered a violent explosion, and the destroyer sank after a short time.