HNoMS Namsos - Worlds largest whaler, armed for use as Patrol vessel

Til_Dovre_Faller · July 17, 2024, 9:29pm

PATRULJEBÅT NAMSOS (4-325)

TYPE: Whale-boat/patrol vessel
BUILT AT: Fredrikstad mekaniske verksted, Fredikstad, Norway
LAUNCHED: September 1935
HOIST COMMAND: 1.January 1941 (Requisitioned for the Norwegian Navy 07.1940)
IN COMMAND FROM: 01.1941 to 1946
PREVIOUS NAME: H. J. Bull
KNOWN FOR: Previously Worlds largest and most powerful whale-boat

ARMAMENT

Spoiler

1x 4"/40 (10.2 cm) QF Mark XII
-Length in caliber: L/40
-Gun Length oa: 4,232 metres
-Bore Length: 4,064 metres
Projectile Length:
-Lighter complete round: 91.1 cm
-Heavier complete round: 93.4 cm
-Propellant Charge: 2.1 kg NF059
-Muzzle velocity: 571 mps
-Range with 15.9 Kilogram High Explosive shell: 20 degrees elevation - 9,560 Meter
-Gun recoil: 91 Centimeter
-Rate of Fire: about 13 rounds per minute
-Gun weight: 1,318 kilogram
-Placement: Bow

1x 37 Millimeter HighAltitude MI
-Placement: aft, as seen in the picture
Couldn’t find specs about this model, but i believe it is a American cannon used by the British, and supplied to Norway.

4x 12.7 Millimeter Colt MG/52
-Water cooled
-Placement: each side of the vessel and on each side of the brigde/house
unknown ammunition

2x .303 Colt Marlin machineguns

52x Type Mk.VII 500 Pound Heavy depth charges
-2x Throwers
-2x Depth charge racks
-Mass: 90 kilogram
-Filling weight: 130 kilogram TNT

Adic: Type 123 Trawler

TECHNICAL DATA
Displacement: 569 Metric Tons
Lenght: 46.02 Meter
Width: 9.35 Meter
Depth: 5.15 Meter

MACHINERY
1- FMV steam engine (2HT-2LT)
Power: 2200 Indicated Horse Power
Speed: 14-16 Knots (25.92-29.63 km/h)
Bunkers: 350 Metric Tons of oil
Range: 7500 n. miles at 10 knots (18.52 Km/h)

CREW
Estimated crew: 36 Men

TIMELINE OF IMPORTANT EVENTS
1935: Built at Fredrikstad mech. Workshop, Fredrikstad for Anders Jahres shipping company, Sandefjord - H. J. BULL
1940: The Kosmos expedition in the Arctic Ocean.
1940: Requisitioned in July for use in the Norwegian Navy as a new name, NAMSOS
1941: Command lifted on 1 January.
1941: Served at the Iceland Department from 13 March 1941 to 16 May 1945
1946: Command lifted on 1 January.
1946: Delivered back to the shipping company in January and fitted out, renamed - H. J. Bull.
1946: Imprisoned again. Carried out hunting from Hestnes whaling station at Hitra in 1946
1959: Sold to Union Whaling, Durban, S. Africa. Renamed A. E. LARSEN. It was the oldest whaleboat in the fleet when it was sold.
1962: Taken out of captivity.
1964: Hewn in South Africa.

HISTORY

During the summer of 1940 the Norwegian navy seized 16 Norwegian whaling boats in South Africa. they were taken to Halifax in Canada for conversion into patrol vessels. the whaleboats proved to be in such poor condition that extensive repair work had to be started at the same time as the rebuilding. 7 of these whaleboats were therefore sent to Great Britain for conversion to minesweepers, and the rest were converted to patrol vessels. Namsos (ex H. J. Bull) was one of those that was converted into a patrol vessel, and which you will hear about here.

I would like to suggest a whale boat that was Requisitioned by the Norwegian navy after the german invasion of Norway. This vessel was armed and used as a patrol vessel troughout the war.

In September 1935, a whaleboat was delivered from the shipyard at Fredrikstad to Anders Jahre. This was the first whaleboat built in Norway with two boilers and the vessel was unusually large for the time, it was actually the largest whaling ship in the world in its time! The boat was built with direct fishing and long expeditions in mind. When the boat was delivered it was given the name H.J. Bull which it had until some time after the outbreak of war and the German invasion of Norway in 1940, until it was incorporated into the Norwegian Navy in the late summer of 1940 and was renamed “Namsos”. It was then outfitted for use as a patrol boat, it got a 102mm cannon, 4x 12.7mm mg52 machine guns, 2x .303 machine guns, a 37mm High Altitude MI and 2 rows of 2 sick mine launchers and room for 52x Type Mk.VII 500 Pound heavy depth charges.

She served as such until 1946, when she was renamed again to her old name and returned to service as a whaling boat with her lead owner and was used every season until 1957 when she was sold to Union Whaling in Durban in the autumn of 1957 and was renamed A.E Larsen. it was later decommissioned in 1962 and scrapped in South Africa.

IN GAME

This vessel is slow both in speed and maneuverability, but the armament is quite decent and with weapons that were quite modern at that time. i believe the depth charges is really helpful in combat.

H. J. Bull/Namsos at the dock, underside, propeller an everything can be seen!