HNoMS Tordenskjold

HNoMS Tordenskjold, known locally as Panserskipet Tordenskjold, was a Norwegian coastal defence ship. She, her sister ship, HNOMS Harald Haarfagre, and the slightly newer Eidsvold-class coastal defence ship were built as a part of the general rearmament in the time leading up to the events in 1905. Tordenskjold remained an important vessel in the Royal Norwegian Navy until she was considered unfit for war in the mid-1930s.

Description
Built at Elswick and nearly identical to her sister ship HNOMS Harald Haarfagre, Tordenskjold was named after Peter Wessel Tordenskjold, an eminent Norwegian naval hero in the service of the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway. Built as a typical pre-dreadnought battleship on a small scale, she carried guns of a wide range of calibers: two 8.2 in guns in barbettes, six 4.7 in, six 3 in, and six smaller quick-firing guns. The ship could manage a speed of over 17 kn. Protected by belt armor of 7 in thickness, the ship also featured gun barbettes with nearly 8 in of steel armor and an armored deck.

Service history and fate
A vital part of the Royal Norwegian Navy, Tordenskjold performed ordinary duties until 1918, when she was turned into a cadet ship. She performed well in this role, carrying out eighteen training cruises until considered "unfit for war" in the mid-1930s. After the German invasion of Norway, she was seized by the Germans and rebuilt as a floating flak battery with 10.5 cm AA guns and renamed Nymphe. In May, 1945 she was damaged by RAF aircraft at Svolvaer and beached. She was refloated later in the year. After the war Tordenskjold was used briefly as a floating barracks before she was sold for scrapping in 1948.



It was intended to augment the Norwegian coastal defence ship fleet with the two ships of the Bjørgvin-class coastal defence ship, ordered in 1912, but after these were confiscated by the Royal Navy at the outbreak of World War I the Tordenskjold class and the slightly newer, two ship Eidsvold-class coastal defence ship were forced to soldier on long after they were obsolete.

Today
Today the name KNM Tordenskjold is used on the Norwegian Naval Training Establishment (NORNAVTRAINEST) at Haakonsvern, Bergen.