Royal Norwegian Navy WW2 Destroyer Sleipner, Æger, Odin, Gyller, Tor, etc.

[LouCoatney]

These were compact but potentially powerful little ships. Only Sleipner escaped German capture in the surprise invasion of 9 April 1940. Æger was sunk after putting up heavy resistance, and the rest were captured and used as torpedo recovery vessels - returned to Norway after the war.

They had three Bofors 4" guns and two 21" torpedo tubes. According to our Office of Naval Intelligence and the definitive postwar book listing WW2 Norwegian warships, Gyller had four tubes, but I cannot find out in what configuration. I did do an image-bash suggesting a possible configuration on my www.coatneyhistory.com webpage having the captured ships' page from ONI 204, German Naval Vessels.

There is also my plan there for a 3-D cardstock model of the Sleipners, for anyone to print off and assemble.

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[crolick]

Hi LouCoatney,

What is the scale?
And do you have the final version?


All the best,
Andrzej

[LouCoatney]

I'll probably modify the model plan a bit more, Crolick. The torpedo tubes were on a lowered deck, aft the stack.

I've visited the Marinemuseet (naval museum) down at Horten, since I've gotten over here, last year, and even they don't have photos of Gyller's original torpedo tube configuration. Amazing. I wonder if there are any surviving crew members.

The prototype in the photo is at 1:300 scale. I'm also building one at 1:700 scale for wargame use, and you would not believe how small it looks in comparison with German ships, etc.

Maybe "coastal destroyer" would have been a better description of the class. They had long postwar lives in the Norwegian navy and NATO.

[warships]

GYLLER had two sets of torpedo tubes, the second one was placed between bridge and funnel. See attached photo.