HNoMS Eidsvold

Eidsvold in 1905
History
Norway
Name:	Eidsvold
Namesake:	Town of Eidsvold
Builder:	Armstrong Whitworth at Newcastle on Tyne
Laid down:	1899
Launched:	14 June 1900
Commissioned:	1901
Fate:	Sunk 9 April 1940 in Narvik Harbour, Norway
Service record
Commanders:	Captain Odd Isaachsen Willoch (1940)
Operations:	Battle of Narvik
General characteristics
Class and type:	Eidsvold-class
Displacement:	4,233 tons (standard)
Length:	94.60 m (310.37 ft)
Beam:	15.70 m (51.51 ft)
Draft:	5.40 m (17.72 ft)
Propulsion:	steam engines with 4,500 hp(3,355.65 kW)
Speed:	17.2 knots (31.85 km/h)
Complement:	270 fully crewed, reduced to 228 in 1940, just 183 aboard when sunk
Armament:	2 × 21 cm (8.26 inch) guns 6 × 15 cm (5.90 inch) guns 6 × 7.6 cm (3 inch) guns Torpedo tubes AA Armament: 2 × 76 mm AA guns 2 × 20 mm Oerlikon guns 2 × 12.7 mm Colt anti-aircraft machine guns 4 × 7.92 mm Colt anti-aircraft machine guns
Aircraft carried:	none

HNoMS Eidsvold was a coastal defence ship and the lead ship of her class, serving in the Royal Norwegian Navy. Built by Armstrong Whitworth at Newcastle on Tyne in 1899, she was obsolete when sunk by German torpedoes in Narvik harbour on 9 April 1940 during the German invasion of Norway (Operation Weserübung).

Eidsvold was built as part of the general rearmament in the time leading up to the political events in 1905, and remained, along with her sister ship Norge, the backbone of the Royal Norwegian Navy for just over 40 years. She was named after the town of Eidsvold, the site of the drafting and signing of the Norwegian Constitution on 17 May 1814. Considered to be quite powerful ships for their time, with two 21 cm (8.26 inch) guns as their main armament, they were soon outclassed by the new Dreadnought battleships. They were armoured to withstand battle with ships of a similar class to their own, with 6 inches (15.24 cm) of Krupp cemented armour in the belt and 9 inches (22.86 cm) of the same armour on her two turrets. Eidsvold and Norge were the largest vessels in the Royal Norwegian Navy at 4,233 tons gross and crews of up to 270 men.

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

...
Wikipedia