HNoMS Svolvær (FY-359) - A requisitioned Norwegian whaler

Til_Dovre_Faller · August 24, 2024, 7:00pm

HNoMS SVOLVÆR (FY-359)

TYPE: Anti Submarine Whaler/Patrol vessel
BUILDING SITE: Smith’s Dock Co. Ltd. Middelsbrough, England
PREVIOUS NAME: KOS I
LAUNCHED: July 1929
REQUISITIONED: July 1940
IN COMMAND: 22 April 1940 to 1945
WAS OPERATIONAL FROM: 7 June 1941
OWNER: Hvalfangerselskapet Antarctic A/S, Tønsberg

ARMAMENT

Spoiler

1x 12 pounder QF HA
-Caliber in metric: 76.2mm
-Barrel length in calibers: L/45
-Placement: Bow
2x1 12.7mm Colt MG/52 Machinegun
-Placement: 1x on each side of the vessel, on each side of the chimney
-Cooling system: Water cooled
1x2 12.7mm Twin Vickers turret
-Placement: Aft, the “turret” placed above the depth charge racks
16x Type VII Depth Charges
-2x D/T Mk.II Throwers
-2x Racks
RADAR ASDIC Type 123A

TECHNICAL DATA
Displacement: 248 Gross tonnage
Lenght: 35.26 Meter
Width: 7.34 Meter
Depth: 3.90 Meter

MACHINERY
1x Triple Expansion steam eigne
Power: 887 Indicated Horse Powers
Speed: 11.5 Knots (21.29 km/h)
Bunkers: 92 Metric Tons of oil
Range: 2800 n. miles at 10 knots (18.52 Km/h)

CREW
Estimated crew: 26 Men

TIMELINE OF IMPORTANT EVENTS
5/1929: Built by Smith’s Dock Co. Ltd., Middlesbrough to the whaling company Kosmos A/S (Anders Jahre), Sandefjord - KOS I
1936: Sold to the Whaling company Antarctic A/S (Bruun & von der Lippe), Tønsberg - KOS I
1939/40: The Pelagos expedition in the Arctic Ocean.
8/7-1940: Commissioned in Norwegian naval service, as patrol vessel with Norwegian crew, new name FY-359 SVOLVÆR
1941: Command lifted on 22 April 1941. Placed in service with the Iceland Department.
1945: Command started on 1 January 1945.
1945: Returned to the owners on 3 June 1945 - KOS I
2/1952: Sold in to Whale Products PTY. Ltd, Brisbane Australia, name unchanged.
1963: Sold to Gurley Station Pty. Ltd., Brisbane. Converted to trawlers, name unchanged.
1964: Sold to Ta Hing Co. (Hong Kong?) Ltd., Brisbane.
1971: Intentionally sunk w/ Tangalooma, Queensland. (Het KOS I in all civil years).

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. KOS I/HNoMS Svolvær 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 throughout the war.

HNoMS Svolvær, EX KOS I was the first whaleboat in a series of 7 whaleboats that Norwegian Anders Jahre ordered at the same time as KOSMOS was ordered. KOS I was built at Smith’s Dock Co. Ltd, South Bank, Middlesbrough, England for the Whaling company Kosmos A/S (Anders Jahre), Sandefjord. The ship was launched on 23 April 1929 and completed in July of the same year. The price of the contract for these boats was £21,000 per vessel. The ship was put into capture for the newly built and newly started cookery DS/FIK KOSMOS for the season 1929/1930.

KOS I was sold to the Whaling Company Antarctic A/S (Bruun & von der Lippe), Tønsberg for NOK 200,000 in 1936, and kept its name and remained registered in Tønsberg. Will be captured on the coast of Australia with the ANGLO NORSE expedition in the summer. The capture began on 24/06 and ended on 04/09, this is where the picture you saw at the top of this article comes from!

The ship arrived at Walvis Bay on 18 March 1940 in South West Africa, where it was taken over by Notraship in July of the same year. The ship was then put into Norwegian/allied naval service as Svolvær with identification number FY-359 as a patrol vessel with a Norwegian crew from 8 July. The ship remained there until 2 September when it received travel orders from Halifax in Canada where it arrived on 16 September together with several other requisitioned whaleboats H.J. BULL, KOS II, KOS V and KOS V. They went on to Trinidad on 28 September where they arrived on 6 October and departed on 11 October, finally reaching Halifax on 20 October. Here they were prepared for war service. The command was raised on 22 April 1941 and was assigned to the Icelandic Department for escort and patrol duties.

The naval command of this ship was struck off on 1 January 1945, and returned to its original owner on 3 June. The ship was used as a whaler again for many years after, until in 1952 it was sold to Whale Products Pty. Ltd, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and imprisoned there. there it was used until 1961, and then in 1963 it was sold to Gurley Station Pty. Ltd, Brisbane. and converted to trawlers. in 1964 sold to Ta Hing Co. (Hong Kong) Ltd, Brisbane, in 1966 sold again to Tuna & Trawling Ltd Pty., Brisbane, only to suffer the fate of being deliberately sunk at Tangalooma, Queensland on 1 October 1971.

DRAWING OF THE LAYOUT & ARMAMENT OF THE VESSEL