'HNoMS ''Heimdal''' was a Norwegian warship built at
Akers Mek. verksted in
Kristiania in 1892 with build number 137. Through her life ''Heimdal'' would see a diverse service. She was built for the
union king Oscar II as a
royal yacht. Throughout her life she served in numerous roles; as a royal yacht (1892-1905, 1905-1908), command ship (1905),
[2] offshore patrol vessel (1908-1940), headquarters and depot ship (1940-1943), accommodation ship (1945-1946) and civilian cargo ship (1946-1947).
[3]
Royal yacht ''Heimdal''
Heimdal's perhaps greatest moments of glory came after the
dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden when she was chosen as the royal yacht of the recently elected
Haakon VII - the first modern
king of Norway.
Bringing the new royal family to Oslo
Michelsen greets King Haakon and prince Olav as they arrive in Norway on the ''Heimdal''
When the new royal family arrived at Drøbak sound in the
Oslofjord 25 November 1905 on their way to their new country they transferred from the
Danish royal yacht
Dannebrog, which had brought them from
Copenhagen, on to ''Heimdal'' for the last stretch to
Oslo. It was when Haakon,
Maud and
Olav stepped off ''Heimdal'' at Vippetangen wharf near
Akershus fortress to be greeted by prime minister
Christian Michelsen that the Norwegian people got their first chance to see their new royals. After the royal had disembarked the prime minister held a short welcome speech.
[4]
Coronation journey
King Haakon VII and Queen Maud of Norway.
They were photographed wearing their coronation crowns and robes in 1906.
The first substantial journey the royal family took in Norway was their journey to
Trondheim for the
coronation of the royal couple in
Nidaros Cathedral 22 June, 1906. They were brought to the city by ''Heimdal'', disembarking at
Brattøra.
[5]
Continued service as the royal yacht
Although being transferred back her old naval duties in 1908, ''Heimdal'' continued to transport the royals around Norway from time to time. Amongst these trips was that in 1916 when the King went to visit
Molde shortly after its great fire in 1916.
[6]
Fishery protection
When Norway introduced regulated protection of the fisheries within her economic zone ''Heimdal'' carried out the first ever sortie of a Norwegian fishery protection vessel. She also became the first Norwegian ship to apprehend a ship for illegal fishing when she on 11 March 1911 stopped and took under arrest the British
trawler ''Lord Roberts'' off the coast of
Finnmark.
[7]
The Second World War
Heimdal saw service in
World War II, first in the
Norwegian campaign, then in administrative and depot functions in the
United Kingdom.
Norwegian campaign
At the outbreak of war between Norway and
Nazi Germany with the
German invasion of Norway ''Heimdal'' was posted to the 3. naval district's fisheries protection service in
North Norway and based out of
Narvik[8]. Luckily for the ship she was out at sea when the invasion struck and thus avoided the fate that befell many of the other RNoN ship that were caught in port and captured by the invaders.
Escorting troopships
During the two months of fighting ''Heimdal'' was based at
Karlsøy[9], serving as a guard ship and escorting
troopships carrying Norwegian soldiers from the
Tromsø area down to the
Narvik front. On 17 April she escorted first the
steamers ''Prins Olav'' and ''Ariadne'' and later the day the
Hurtigruten ships ''Dronning Maud'' and ''Kong Haakon''
[10]. In this she helped bring forward the troops that were to give the Germans their first serious, if temporary, land defeat of the war.
Carrying the King once again
After evacuating their headquarter in Molde on 30 April the king and his entourage was moved north on the
Royal Navy cruiser
HMS ''Glasgow'' to
Rystraumen in
Troms where he boarded his old ship ''Heimdal'' once again. ''Heimdal'' brought the King and his people to Tromsø, from where they moved to
Målselv where they remained until leaving for the
UK on 7 June.
''Heimdal'' in the UK
After the capitulation of mainland Norway ''Heimdal'' was one of the thirteen Royal Norwegian Navy vessels that made it to the United Kingdom and could continue the struggle against
Nazi Germany. Being a quite slow ship ''Heimdal'' made it to
Lerwick,
Shetland 14 June, 1940 and transferred to the Norwegian
Rosyth naval section on 30 June.
UK service
Being a very old ship the undermanned Royal Norwegian Navy in exile did not use ''Heimdal'' for any operational duties and put her to use as the headquarters and depot ship for its Rosyth section. She served in this function until being deactivated and
laid up at
Burntisland,
Scotland 29 October 1943.
Wartime C.O.s
★ Captain S. Johnsen:
8 April 1940 -
20 December 1940
★ Lieutenant Ragnar F. Christiansen:
20 December 1940 -
6 March 1941
★ Lieutenant Thomas Jacobsen:
20 April 1941 -
29 April 1941
★ Lieutenant Commander Aimar Sørensen:
5 January 1943 -
1 February 1943
★ Lieutenant Commander Trygve Lind:
28 February 1943 -
17 December 1944
★ Lieutenant Commander Harald Voltersvik:
18 December 1944 -
12 May 1945
Peace and shipwreck
After
VE day ''Heimdal'' was reactivated and sailed back home to Norway in May 1945. There she was used as an accommodation ship until sold off to civilian interests in 1946, renamed ''Rovena'' and converted to a cargo vessel. It was in this guise that she sank off
Iceland 18 August, 1947.
Name
She was named after
Heimdall - the guardian of the gods who will blow the
Gjallarhorn if danger approaches
Asgard.
Footnotes
1. Royal Norwegian Sailor's Association website
2. Oslo Military Society website
3. Abelsen 1986: p. 209, 213, 286-287
4. Sogn og Fjordane county archives on the new king of Norway
5. The coronation festivities in 1906
6. Molde town museum website
7. The Royal Norwegian Navy in the month of March
8. Administrative order of the Royal Norwegian Navy's third district, 8 April 1940
9. History of Karlsøy website
10. Hurtigruten ship ''Dronning Maud'' website
Literature
Abelsen, Frank: ''Norwegian naval ships 1939-1945'', Sem & Stenersen AS, Oslo 1986, ISBN 82-7046-050-9 /
See also
★
List of World War II ships of less than 1000 tons
العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
Español
