TYPE: Minesweeper
BUILDING SITE: Weaver, Orange, USA
CLASS: Vinstra class minesweeper
NAMES:
1943-1945: USS YMS 247
1945-1952: KNM NYMS 247
1952-1962: KNM VINSTRA M317
LAUNCHED: 1943
HOIST NORWEGIAN COMMAND: 18 May 1945
ARMAMENT
1x 76mm cannon
2x 20mm Oerlicon cannons
2x 7.6mm machineguns
18x depth charges
TECHNICAL DATA
Displacement: 260 Metric Tons
Lenght: 45.3 Meter
Width: 8.3 Meter
Depth: 2.4 Meter
MACHINERY
2x General Motors, Mod 8 268A
Power: 1.000 BHP
Speed: 14 Knots (25.92 km/h)
CREW
Estimated crew: 32 Men
ARMOR
Hull material: Wooden
TIMELINE OF IMPORTANT EVENTS
1943: Launched in 1943
1945: Hoist Norwegian command the 18th of May
1945: Taken over under the conditions of the loan and the lease agreement
1945: Renamed “KNM NYMS 247”
1948: Formally taken over by Norway
1952: Was renamed KNM VINSTRA with pennant number M317 on 6 June
1959: Command deleted
1962: German research vessel, New name H.C Orsted
HISTORY
“NYMS” means “Norwegian Yard Mine Sweeper”
When the Government, in Tromsø on 3 June, decided to give up fighting in Norway, the remaining Norwegian naval vessels were ordered to Great Britain. Norway built up a new fleet here, mainly consisting of warships that were lent to Norway in accordance with the military agreement with the British. With a Norwegian crew, but subject to allied operational command, this force made a significant war effort. One of the least noticed, but in terms of scope, the largest parts of this effort was the cairn that was carried out by Norwegian minesweepers. The bulk of these were not actual warships, but Norwegian trawlers and whaleboats that were requisitioned and converted into minesweepers. Already among the first ships to come over in June 1940 were six requisitioned guard vessels that were converted into minesweepers. Together with two further converted ships, they operated as the 1st Minesweeper Division on the east side of Scotland. The main station for the Norwegian minesweepers was Dundee and the primary task was to keep the convoy channel from Aberdeen to the entrance of the Forthfjord, the combined sailing routes from this channel, free of mines. During the war, these swept between 2-300 mines. Later, seven of 16 requisitioned whaleboats from South Africa, most from Kosmos, were also converted into minesweepers. They formed minesweeper divisions based in Plymouth and Falmouth. There were even more.
The Vinstra class
As early as the spring of 1941, the Americans had also developed a new type of minesweeper, and after they themselves joined the war, a total of 561 of these were built, most of them completely identical. With its 136 feet and 32-man crew, it was a relatively small ship. It had limited engine capacity and was primarily intended to be used close to the coast, among other things as security for its own landing operations. In the same way as with the British MMS class, wooden hulls were used here for the first time to dedicated minesweepers, which would later prove beneficial. Compared to the MMS class, they had both higher speed and better maneuverability. They also had all three main types of sweep on board. The equipment was a standard US 3"/502 piece 20 mm Oerlikon. The class was designated YMS, where Yen stands for “yard”. The intention was also that they were to be built at a large number of small shipyards around the coast. As many as 35 small shipyards were involved in the construction, and due to the standardization the construction time was reduced to just over three months. Under the lend-lease agreement, 136 of them were built for the British, who then called them BYMS, where the B stood for “british”. The boats operated close to their own coast and in offensive operations in the Pacific. In March 1945, we first took over four units, which were assembled in the 3rd Minesweeper Division, based in Cherbourg on the French side of the Channel. Because they were Norwegian, they were given the name NYMS, with the original number at the back. From here engaged in minesweeping in the Channel during the day and patrol duty at night.
On 7 May 1945, they were on their way from Plymouth to the naval base in the Scottish town of Rosyth, when NYMS 382 was torpedoed by the German submarine U 1023, at Lyme Bay on the English side of the Channel. The German submarine commander had reportedly not received the order that hostilities should cease, and he thus registered his first infamous sinking during the war. Of the crew, 22 perished, while the others were picked up by NYMS 379 and 381. In May 1945, we then took over four more vessels of the same class. These managed to participate in the mine clearance in the Channel before going to Norway in the autumn. Formally, the eight NYMS were finally bought by Norway in 1948. They were then given Norwegian names, and they were retained in the structure until the early 1960s.
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