Tordenskjold class coastal defence ship

Plans of panserskipet Tordenskjold. Note heavy guns in turrets fore and aft, and secondary armament in central battery.
Class overview
Operators:	Royal Norwegian Navy
Preceded by:	None
Succeeded by:	Eidsvold-class coastal defence ship
Built:	1897–1898
In commission:	1898–1948
Completed:	Tordenskjold Harald Haarfagre
Scrapped:	2
General characteristics
Type:	Coastal defence ship
Displacement:	3,858 long tons (3,920 t)
Length:	92.66 m (304 ft 0 in) oa 85.34 m (280 ft 0 in) pp
Beam:	14.78 m (48 ft 6 in)
Draught:	5.38 m (17 ft 8 in)
Installed power:	4,500 ihp (3,356 kW)
Propulsion:	2 × Coal-fired vertical triple-expansion steam engines, 3 horizontal boilers
Speed:	16.9 knots (31.3 km/h; 19.4 mph)
Complement:	245
Armament:	2 × 21 cm (8.3 in)/45 guns 6 × 12 cm (4.7 in)/45 guns 6 × 12-pounder (76 mm)/40 guns 6 × 1-pounder QF guns 2 × 45 cm (18 in) submerged torpedo tubes
Armour:	Harvey armor Belt : 7–4 in (178–102 mm) Turrets : 8–5 in (203–127 mm)

The Tordenskjold class of coastal defence ships was ordered by Norway as part as the general rearmament in the time leading up to the events in 1905 - when Norway broke out of the union with Sweden - the two ships in the class (Tordenskjold and Harald Haarfagre) remained the backbone (alongside the slightly newer Eidsvold class) of the Royal Norwegian Navy until they were considered 'unfit for war' in the mid-1930s.

Designed and built as typical pre-dreadnought battleships, although on a scale more suited to the fjords and narrow waters of Norway, the Tordenskjold class carried guns in a wide range of calibers:

The Tordenskjold class was armoured to withstand battle with ships of a similar class, but her protection system could not withstand attacks from heavier ships nor underwater attacks very well:

Both ships were phased out from active duty in the mid-1930s, and were used as training vessels. After the German invasion of Norway in 1940, they were taken by the Germans and turned into floating Flak batteries. After the war they were returned to the Royal Norwegian Navy and served as barracks for a short time before they were sold for scrapping.

Source

Plan view of Tordenskjold class coastal battleship. Note heavy guns in turrets on either end, secondary armament in central battery.

Side view of Tordenskjold class. Note heavy guns in turrets on either end, secondary armament in central battery, of particular interest is the light QF guns mounted on top of the turrets.

Photograph of
P/S Tordenskjold from 1900.

Models of the coastal defence cruisers Tordenskiold and Eidsvold. Eidvold in the rear.