TYPE: Destroyer - “Torpedojager”
NAMES: 1936 Sleipner, 1940 Sleipner H48
CLASS: Sleipner klasse Torpedojager
BUILDING SITE: Marinens Hoververft, Horten - Norway
BUILDING NUMBER: 120
LAUNCHED: 07.05.1936
ARMAMENT 1936
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3x 105mm L/40 Bofors M II Cannons
Rounds per minute: 12 rpm
Reload time: 5 Seconds
Maximum range M II Variant: 17.000 Meter
-Armor: Armored shield, probably 3-5mm on sides and thicker front plate.
-Placements:
1x on the foredeck in front of wheelhouse/bridge
1x on the deck aft of the vessel
1x in front of the aft cannon above mounted on a a platform -
1x 40mm Bofors L/60 cannon
-Role: Anti air
-Placement: Just in front of the 102mm cannon’s platform
-Barrel length in caliber/metric: L/60 - 2.25 Meters
-Crew: 4
-Shell: 40 × 311 mm R
-Shell weight: 0.9 kg
-Caliber: 40 mm
-Action: Automatic extraction and integrated cam-operated recoil powered autoloader
-Breech: Vertical sliding wedge
-Carriage: 522 kg
-Elevation: −5°/+90°, 55°/s
-Traverse Full: 360°, 50°/s
-Rate of fire:
140 rounds/min at low elevation angles
120 rounds/min at high elevation angles
-Muzzle velocity: 850–880 m/s
-Maximum firing range: 7,160 m -
2x 12.7x99mm Colt MG/52 Machineguns
-Placements: 1x on each side of the vessel midships besides the Bofors 40mm cannon
-Cooling system: water cooled -
1x Double 53.3cm torpedo cannon
-Placement: aft of the chimney, in front of the bofors cannon
-Torpedo stowage: Unknown
-Torpedo:
Whitehead Model XV
-Dimensions: 53.34cm x 5,15 m
-Weight: Ca. 970 kg
-Warhead: 250 kg
-Speed & ranges:
-Range at 40 knots: 4.500-5.000m
-Range at 33 knots: 8.000-8.500m
The torpedo is very similar the Model XI. This has some Norwegian modifications that affects the air, the head of the torpedo is unusual -
Depth charges
Racks: 2x depth charge racks
Throwers: 4x depth charge throwers
-Placements:
1x thrower on each side of the vessel with the bofors cannon
4x in the aft if the vessel to be dropped, cant see any thrower
model and make uncertain, same with specs. judging from how they are seen from pictures they are probably some where between 50-100 kg
ARMAMENT 1940
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2x 4"/45 (10.2cm) QF MK.V Cannons
-Cannon mount: HA Mk.III
-Barrel length in caliber: L/45
-Placements:
1x replaced old 101.6 mm cannon on foredeck
1x Replaced the aft 102mm deck mounted cannon
-Gun Length oa: 4,770 m
-Bore Length: 4,572 m
-Rifling Length: 3,803 m
-Grooves: 0.94 x 6.86 mm
-Country: 3,117 mm
-Twist: Uniform RH 1 in 30
-Chamber Volume Fixed ammunition: 7,325 dm3
-Separate ammunition: 7,604 dm3
-Rate Of Fire: Mark V variants: 10 - 15 rounds per minute
-Weight of Complete Round: HE: 24.26 kg, SAP: 25.4 kg, Shrapnel: N/A
-Projectile Types and Weights: HE: 14.06 kg, SAP: 15.2 kg
-Bursting Charge HE: 0.82 kg
-Projectile Length: HE: 44.45 cm
-Muzzle Velocity: 728 - 805 mps
-Magazine capacity: Small ships: about 150 rounds, but this is a destroyer so it will most likely be much more -
1x 40mm Bofors L/60 cannon
-Role: Anti air
-Placement: Just in front of the 102mm cannon’s platform
-Barrel length in caliber/metric: L/60 - 2.25 Meters
-Crew: 4
-Shell: 40 × 311 mm R
-Shell weight: 0.9 kg
-Caliber: 40 mm
-Action: Automatic extraction and integrated cam-operated recoil powered autoloader
-Breech: Vertical sliding wedge
-Carriage: 522 kg
-Elevation: −5°/+90°, 55°/s
-Traverse Full: 360°, 50°/s
-Rate of fire:
140 rounds/min at low elevation angles
120 rounds/min at high elevation angles
-Muzzle velocity: 850–880 m/s
-Maximum firing range: 7,160 m -
2x 20mm Oerlikon cannons
-Placements:
1x Replaced the 3rd 101.6mm cannon on the aft platform
1x Seems to have been mounted in front of this again -
2x 12.7x99mm Colt MG/52 Machineguns
-Placements: 1x on each side of the vessel on the foredeck just above the “Sleipner” inscription on the foredeck.
-Cooling system: water cooled
This is quite different looking than the old MG/52 that were on the 1936 configuration. sadly, i personally can make out which machinegun this really is, it might even just be the magazine that is different, because it is much larger and rounder -
1x Double 53.3cm torpedo cannon
-Placement: aft of the chimney, in front of the bofors cannon
-Torpedo stowage: Unknown
-Torpedo:
Whitehead Model XV
-Dimensions: 53.34cm x 5,15 m
-Weight: Ca. 970 kg
-Warhead: 250 kg
-Speed & ranges:
-Range at 40 knots: 4.500-5.000m
-Range at 33 knots: 8.000-8.500m
The torpedo is very similar the Model XI. This has some Norwegian modifications that affects the air, the head of the torpedo is unusual -
Depth charges
Racks: 2x depth charge racks
Throwers: 4x depth charge throwers
-Placements:
1x thrower on each side of the vessel with the bofors cannon
4x in the aft if the vessel to be dropped, cant see any thrower
-model and make uncertain, same with specs. judging from how they are seen from pictures they are probably somewhere between 50-100 kg
AMMUNITION & CAPASITY (I don’t know what HA is, probably high explosives)
Per 11.11.1943 mentioned in the sourced report
4" S.A.P - 99x
4" H. A. - 199
4" H. A. Exercise - 58x
4" L. A. - Exercise 45x
4" STARSHELL - 48x
4" SMOKESHELL - 4x
40 MM - 1.863x
OERLIKON - 3.314x
COLT 12.7mm - 7.100x
This is probably not the max stowage, but it gives an idea at least, and it shows the ammo used, i also only wrote down this, there were information about lewis .303 guns, krag rifles and tommy guns, also hand grenades.
TECHNICAL DATA
Displacement: 735 Metric tons
Length: 74.30 Meter
Width: 7.75 Meter
Depth: 4.15 Meter
MACHINERY
2x De Laval Geared turbines
2x Shafts
Power: 1.200 AHP
Speed: 32 knots (59.26 Km/h)
Bunkers: 100 Metric tons of Oil
Range: 3.500n. miles at 15 knots (27.78 Km/h)
CREW
Estimated crew: The crew varied between 75-83 Men during the voyages
ARMOR
Hull material: Special steel “Spesialstål”
Aluminum and light metal were used in the bridge, mast and outer chimney, partly also in the decoration and in the bulkhead of the cabin
1942: protection against mines
TIMELINE OF IMPORTANT EVENTS
1940: Participated in the battles in Romsdalen on 9 April.
1940: Shot down a German plane that crashed near Nordvik in Romsdalen on 22 April.
1940: Arrived in Shetland. Repaired, partially refurnished and modernized. given pennant No. H 48.
1940: Escort duty as anti-aircraft ship on the east coast of Great Britain.
1944: In circulation at Buntisland in the Forthfjorden due to manpower shortage.
1944: Command cancelled.
1945: Sailed to Norway.
1946: Pennant no. L 01.
1948: Converted to a frigate and renamed KNM Sleipner.
1950: Pennant No. F 300 (NATO)
1959: Decommissioned and sold for scrapping at Broderende Anda, Stavanger.
HISTORY
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Background
In Norway, in the interwar period, there was very little willingness to invest money in defence, and there was a lot of back and forth about both the use of money and the type of vessels that should now be built or bought to replace the aging Draug class destroyers that had been built before 1 world war. The politicians wanted smaller and less expensive vessels such as canoes and torpedo boats to be procured, while the navy believed that far more powerful vessels were needed. The 11 vessels that were launched up to 1929 were in their own right just the realization of construction plans from the weapons program during the First World War. But they were only able to launch the minesweeper HNoMS Olav Tryggvason and the surveillance ship HNoMS Fridtjof Nansen. The rear gun for the Sleipner class was then also a draft from the Navy for a 1,000 tonne fighter, which was ordered to be reduced to around 700 tonnes fully equipped. Unfortunately, this affected the armouring, seaworthiness and radius of action, it was also mentioned several times during the war and measures were taken to reduce the weight of the ship when there were major problems with stability. And when the Storting decided in March 1933 to build the first ship of this class, it was simply named “Large Torpedo Boat”. The crew was then also only 75 men. In order to achieve the greatest possible strength with the least possible weight, it was built with a longship frame system, except fore and aft. Some special steel with much greater strength was also used. The cabin bulkhead and superstructure were built in aluminum and the hull was built with a single bottom. It received two sets of steam turbines and three oil-fired water tube boilers for artificial draft. It thus had a maximum speed of 32 knots.
With 3x 105mm cannons, 1x 40mm cannon, two sinking mine launchers on the side and ranges behind and a double torpedo cannon, the ship was on a long way to end destroyer. Construction was added to the Navy’s main shipyard in Horten and Sleipner was launched on 7 May 1936. The exact background for when the other five vessels, in what became the Sleipner class, was adopted is unknown.
Wartime
After the outbreak of the Winter War, Sleipner became part of the established Finnmark department. ONE evening in mid-March 1940, Sleipner was lying at Vadsø when a Sami woman came aboard the ship to look at it. she talked her way into the officers’ mess where she was offered a cup of coffee and got her own bag to take home. while she sat there she predicted that there would be war and discord, that the Sleipner would get a lot of pain from the sky and that it would leave the country and be gone for several years. As a thank you for the coffee, the boss was given a small Sami doll with a promise that as long as it stayed on board, the vessel would be fine.
On 8 April, Sleipners lay at Hustadvika and directed ship traffic clear of the minefield the British claimed they had laid there. Via radio, they got a handle on the German attack on Norway, and the next day, together with the torpedo boats Trygg and Sild, they were sent to defend the entrance to Romsdalsfjorden, because the railway in Åndalsnes was an important hub for both Germans and British. and it was here, during a few hectic days, that Sleipner became known as an unfathomable ghost ship. although it was often well camouflaged, close to rock walls and the like with bushes and branches all over the ship, it was repeatedly exposed to air attacks, which was also observed by people on land. The worst was the night of 24 April, when 11 German planes dropped a total of 45 bombs without even damaging the ship. On the contrary, there were Sleipners who shot down or damaged one German plane. The next day, when Ålesund and Molde had also been bombed, the ship’s commander decided that they should go with the ship to Lerwick, and they arrived safely there on 26 April.
Here the ship had a workshop stay, where it was also partly rebuilt and had part of the armament replaced, then with 2 4" cannons, and 2 Oerlikon cannons in addition to much else that I have listed under armament. The ship was 29 June 1940 stationed in the Forthfjorden outside Edinburgh where it was subordinated to the British naval commander in Rosyth. The first task was patrol duty in the Forthfjorden, as part of the defense of the mine-swept channel that led into Rosyth and Leith. In the summer of 1940, German aircraft from bases in Norway to attack allied merchant ships, and due to its now relatively good anti-aircraft reinforcement, Sleipner was deployed to protect these merchant ships on 2 November 1940 while it was at anchor, it was cleaned by the British trawler Olympia, and until April 1941 it lay. in the workshop to repair the damage. From 1941 to 1943, the Sleipner served as an escort vessel for the Allied merchant ships on the east side of Great Britain.
During one of the many air raids on 30 April outside Aberdeen, the Germans believed that they had sunk Sleipner. This was not true, and it was HMS Erne, one of the other escort vessels they had sunk. on 31 January 1943, the Sleipner suffered engine failure, some problems with the condensers and when it came out of the workshop afterwards it was assigned the task of escorting coastal convoys out to the main convoys on the east coast. Although it was not so exposed to hostilities, it was clear that the hard war service had taken its toll on both ship and crew. It had been involved in 156 convoys and 404 days at sea. Later it was reported that the top barrel had then only been 20 knots with fuel added, which corresponded to 28 knots, and from June to October 1943 minor alterations were made to the ship such as the bridge arrangement. From 21 October 1943 to 25 February 1944, Sleipner lay in Scapa Flow to train the crew, but was interrupted by another small workshop stay. at this time, norway had taken over new ships, and due to the lack of crews, the commander in chief decided that Sleipners should be put into storage and the crew should be transferred to a new ship.
Fate
When Sleipner returned to Norway after the war, it was therefore both very rusty and worn, and it therefore went straight to anchor in Horten. Here, some small conversions of Sleipners were evidently made, in relation to the plans to turn the Sleipner class into frigates, but unfortunately the Sleipner was too tired and it was mostly left lying in buoy.
The Sleipner class consisted of, HNoMS Sleipner (1936), HNoMS Æger (1936), HNoMS Gyller (1938), HNoMS Balder (1939), HNoMS Odin (1939) & HNoMS Tor (1939). The armament varied a bit between those vessels. HNoMS Odin, were among other things equipped a 20mm Oerlikon cannon instead of the 40mm L/60 Bofors that the other vessels of the class were equipped.
IN GAME
This is as mentioned a old design, and due to the requirements regarding weight, it had problems with the stability. But it is very light, has a decent top speed of 59.2 Km/h, both refits has satisfying armament that works well against both air and surface targets so i would believe this would be a very nice vessel to play.
IMAGES OF THE CONSTRUCTION & LAUNCH OF THE VESSEL
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DESCRIPTION AND IMAGES OF THE 1936 & 1940 Configuration
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1936 Configuration
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Armament
3x 105mm L/40 Bofors M II Cannons
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-1x was placed on the front deck, this like all the other cannons had an armored shield.
-1x was placed in the aft of the vessel on the main deck
-1x was placed just in front of that cannon on a platform higher up.
PICTURES OF THE CANNONS ON SLEIPNER
1x 40mm Bofors L/60 cannon
Spoiler
-this was placed in the middle of the ship, in between the torpedo cannon and the platform mounted cannon
PICTURES OF THE CANNONS ON SLEIPNER
2x 12.7x99mm Colt MG/52 Machineguns
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-1x was placed on each side of the vessel, on the main deck, same area where the bofors cannon is mounted
PICTURES OF THE CANNONS ON SLEIPNER
1x Double 53.3cm torpedo cannon
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-Placed in the middle of the vessel below the chimney
PICTURES OF THE CANNONS ON SLEIPNER
Depth charges
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Depth charge throwers that are located on both sides of the vessel besides the torp cannon and bofors
uncertain bout these, but the image is taken on sleipner in 1941.
Its really hard to see, but each vessel had 4x depth charges to be dropped in the rear as seen here, but i personally cant see any racks or throwers there. it is very likely that the racks are stored under deck inside the vessel. and brought up when needed.
Other details
The “Sleipner” inscription on the sides of the vessel
The “Sleipner” inscription on the aft of the vessel
1940 Configuration
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2x 4"/45 (10.2cm) QF MK.V Cannons
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replaced the aft cannon and the one on the foredeck
PICTURES OF THE CANNONS ON SLEIPNER
1x 40mm Bofors L/60 cannon
same place as before
2x 20mm Oerlikon cannons
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replaced one 105mm cannon in the rear, the 2nd on top.
PICTURES OF THE CANNONS ON SLEIPNER
2x 12.7x99mm Colt MG/52 Machineguns
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moved to the foredeck, 1x on each side
notice the change of the magazine
1x Double 53.3cm torpedo cannon
same place as before
Depth charges
same place as before
CAMOUFLAGE - (This was only painted on HNoMS Sleipner in this class)
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ALBUM
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Every image in this folder is of the HNoMS Sleipner, but a couple images of for example the depth charge thrower that are similar over all the vessels in this class is included.
HNoMS Sleipner — ImgBB
SOURCES
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Redirecting…
Norske Marinefartøy – Bodoni Forlag
Leselystig 39: Modeller som forteller – Norsk Marinehistorie | Polar Coordinate
ALL images are lended from
DigitaltMuseum
Torpedoes
Whitehead og andre norskbygde torpedoer - Kystfort
4"/45 (10.2cm) QF MK.V Cannons specs
Britain 4"/45 (10.2 cm) QF Mark V and Mark XV - NavWeaps
Verification of the 3x 105mm L/40 Bofors M II Cannons, it is here listed used on the sistership Æger, and it should be the same cannons on Sleipner.
Nasjonalbiblioteket
Primary sources
Skanna materiale: Forsvaret, Sjøforsvarets overkommando, AV/RA-RAFA-2035/D/Dc/L0193: --, 1940-1951, s. 12 - Skanna arkiver - Arkivverket
Nasjonalbiblioteket
- Yes
- No
