HNoMS Hitra
Encyclopedia
The HNoMS
Hitra is a Royal Norwegian Navy
submarine chaser
that saw action during World War II
. She is named after the Norwegian
island of Hitra
.
for the United States Navy
. She was laid down on 22 September 1942 by the Fisher Boat Works of Detroit and launched on 31 March 1943. She was commissioned into the US Navy as USS SC-718 on 25 May 1943.
In August 1943 US Admiral Harold R. Stark
, commander of US Naval Forces Europe, ordered SC-718 and two other SC-class subchasers - SC-683 and SC-1061 - to be transferred to Britain. Stationed in Miami at the time, the three subchasers received top secret orders to report to Brooklyn Navy Yard
where they were to await further orders. When they arrived at the Naval Yard, the vessels' commanders were ordered to warn their crews to observe strict silence about their movements and were told that the three ships had been picked for a "special purpose".
The three subchasers were hoisted aboard three Liberty Ships and secured as deck cargo, SC-718 being carried by the Liberty Ship SS Willard Hall, and preparations made to transport them and their crews to an undisclosed location. It was only when the ships were under way that the crews were told that they were bound for Belfast
.
The ships arrived in Belfast in early October 1943, where the three subchasers were lifted back into the water, and on 14 October the three ships sailed up the Firth of Clyde
to the US Naval base at Rosneath
, where a group of exiled Norwegian sailors of the Shetland Bus
organisation were awaiting the vessels' arrival. It was not until the three ships moored that their US crews finally learned that the purpose of their journey was to train the Norwegians in the operation of the subchasers' equipment, and that upon completion of the training they were to hand their ships over to Norwegian command. The training lasted just a week, then the transfer of command was completed.
After assuming command at Rosneath, the Norwegian crews sailed their new vessels first to Derry
, and then to Scalloway
in Shetland, where they completed their fitting-out.
The subchasers' depth charge
racks, Mousetrap
anti-submarine rocket launchers, and K-gun depth charge projectors were removed, and an additional set of davits were installed so that each ship could carry two boats, whose motors were equipped with specially muffled exhausts for ultra-quiet running. They also removed one of the Oerlikon 20 mm cannon
from amidships and installed a 2-pounder gun
aft and two cal .50 machine guns on the flying bridge. The ships were christened Hitra (SC-718), Hessa (SC-683), and Vigra (SC-1061).
The Hitra and her sister vessels superseded the famous fleet of civilian fishing boats that had formerly run naval operations between Shetland and Norway. During the final two years of World War II the three ships performed a total of 114 missions to occupied Norway, and apart from one incident when a Canadian aircraft fired on Hessa, the voyages were uneventful and there were no casualties.
Late in the war an observer from Admiral Stark's office wrote:
duties until 1953. All three submarine chasers were mothballed at Marvika and formally decommissioned in 1959.
She seemingly ended her days in Karlskrona
, Sweden
when she sank after someone had opened the bottom valves. It was not until 1981, when the Soviet submarine U 137 (Whiskey on the rocks) ran aground, that S. Moen, the director of the Royal Norwegian Navy Museum
in Horten
saw the abandoned Hitra in a newspaper image. Subsequently, she was raised and shipped back to Norway, where she was restored to her original condition in 1983-1987.
Today, while still under naval command, the Hitra is a museum ship
home ported at Haakonsvern
, Bergen
, touring the Norwegian coast in the summer months.
Royal Norwegian Navy
The Royal Norwegian Navy is the branch of the Norwegian Defence Force responsible for naval operations. , the RNoN consists of approximately 3,700 personnel and 70 vessels, including 5 heavy frigates, 6 submarines, 14 patrol boats, 4 minesweepers, 4 minehunters, 1 mine detection vessel, 4 support...
Hitra is a Royal Norwegian Navy
Royal Norwegian Navy
The Royal Norwegian Navy is the branch of the Norwegian Defence Force responsible for naval operations. , the RNoN consists of approximately 3,700 personnel and 70 vessels, including 5 heavy frigates, 6 submarines, 14 patrol boats, 4 minesweepers, 4 minehunters, 1 mine detection vessel, 4 support...
submarine chaser
Submarine chaser
A submarine chaser is a small and fast naval vessel specially intended for anti-submarine warfare. Although similar vessels were designed and used by many nations, this designation was most famously used by ships built by the United States of America...
that saw action during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. She is named after the Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
island of Hitra
Hitra
Hitra is a municipality and an island in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. The municipality covers the island of Hitra and several smaller islands, and is part of the Fosen region...
.
Wartime service
The Hitra was originally built as a SC-497 class submarine chaserSC-497 class submarine chaser
The SC-497 class submarine chasers were a class of 438 submarine chasers built primarily for the United States Navy from 1941-1944. The SC-497s were based on the experimental submarine chaser, USS SC-453. Production began in 1941 and continued until they were succeeded by the SC-1466 class...
for the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. She was laid down on 22 September 1942 by the Fisher Boat Works of Detroit and launched on 31 March 1943. She was commissioned into the US Navy as USS SC-718 on 25 May 1943.
In August 1943 US Admiral Harold R. Stark
Harold Rainsford Stark
Harold Rainsford Stark served as an officer in the United States Navy during World War I and World War II. Stark was the US Navy's 8th Chief of Naval Operations, from August 1, 1939 to 26 March 1942....
, commander of US Naval Forces Europe, ordered SC-718 and two other SC-class subchasers - SC-683 and SC-1061 - to be transferred to Britain. Stationed in Miami at the time, the three subchasers received top secret orders to report to Brooklyn Navy Yard
Brooklyn Navy Yard
The United States Navy Yard, New York–better known as the Brooklyn Navy Yard or the New York Naval Shipyard –was an American shipyard located in Brooklyn, northeast of the Battery on the East River in Wallabout Basin, a semicircular bend of the river across from Corlear's Hook in Manhattan...
where they were to await further orders. When they arrived at the Naval Yard, the vessels' commanders were ordered to warn their crews to observe strict silence about their movements and were told that the three ships had been picked for a "special purpose".
The three subchasers were hoisted aboard three Liberty Ships and secured as deck cargo, SC-718 being carried by the Liberty Ship SS Willard Hall, and preparations made to transport them and their crews to an undisclosed location. It was only when the ships were under way that the crews were told that they were bound for Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
.
The ships arrived in Belfast in early October 1943, where the three subchasers were lifted back into the water, and on 14 October the three ships sailed up the Firth of Clyde
Firth of Clyde
The Firth of Clyde forms a large area of coastal water, sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre peninsula which encloses the outer firth in Argyll and Ayrshire, Scotland. The Kilbrannan Sound is a large arm of the Firth of Clyde, separating the Kintyre Peninsula from the Isle of Arran.At...
to the US Naval base at Rosneath
Rosneath
Rosneath is a village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It sits on the western shore of the Gare Loch near to the tip of the Rosneath peninsula which projects south to the Firth of Clyde between the Gare Loch and Loch Long to the west, and about 2 miles from the village of Kilcreggan which is sited...
, where a group of exiled Norwegian sailors of the Shetland Bus
Shetland bus
The Shetland Bus was the nickname of a clandestine special operations group that made a permanent link between Shetland, Scotland, and German-occupied Norway from 1941 until the German occupation ended on 8 May 1945. From mid-1942 the official name of the group was "Norwegian Naval Independent Unit"...
organisation were awaiting the vessels' arrival. It was not until the three ships moored that their US crews finally learned that the purpose of their journey was to train the Norwegians in the operation of the subchasers' equipment, and that upon completion of the training they were to hand their ships over to Norwegian command. The training lasted just a week, then the transfer of command was completed.
After assuming command at Rosneath, the Norwegian crews sailed their new vessels first to Derry
Derry
Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...
, and then to Scalloway
Scalloway
Scalloway is the largest settlement on the North Atlantic coast of Mainland, Shetland with a population of approximately 812, at the 2001 census...
in Shetland, where they completed their fitting-out.
The subchasers' depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
racks, Mousetrap
Mousetrap (weapon)
Mousetrap was an anti-submarine rocket used mainly during the Second World War by the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard. Its development was begun in 1941 as a replacement for Hedgehog, a British-made projector, which was the first ahead-throwing ASW weapon...
anti-submarine rocket launchers, and K-gun depth charge projectors were removed, and an additional set of davits were installed so that each ship could carry two boats, whose motors were equipped with specially muffled exhausts for ultra-quiet running. They also removed one of the Oerlikon 20 mm cannon
Oerlikon 20 mm cannon
The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original design by Reinhold Becker of Germany, very early in World War I, and widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others...
from amidships and installed a 2-pounder gun
QF 2 pounder naval gun
The 2-pounder gun, officially designated the QF 2-pounder and universally known as the pom-pom, was a 1.575 inch British autocannon, used famously as an anti-aircraft gun by the Royal Navy. The name came from the sound that the original models make when firing...
aft and two cal .50 machine guns on the flying bridge. The ships were christened Hitra (SC-718), Hessa (SC-683), and Vigra (SC-1061).
The Hitra and her sister vessels superseded the famous fleet of civilian fishing boats that had formerly run naval operations between Shetland and Norway. During the final two years of World War II the three ships performed a total of 114 missions to occupied Norway, and apart from one incident when a Canadian aircraft fired on Hessa, the voyages were uneventful and there were no casualties.
Late in the war an observer from Admiral Stark's office wrote:
Postwar
After the war the Hitra performed coast guardNorwegian Coast Guard
The Norwegian Coast Guard, or Kystvakten in Norwegian, is a military force and part of the Royal Norwegian Navy, but has separate vessels, many of which are purpose-built. All coast guard vessels have the prefix KV. Four of these vessels are capable of embarking one or more helicopters...
duties until 1953. All three submarine chasers were mothballed at Marvika and formally decommissioned in 1959.
She seemingly ended her days in Karlskrona
Karlskrona
Karlskrona is a locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with 35,212 inhabitants in 2010. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only baroque city and is host to Sweden's only remaining naval base and the headquarters of the...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
when she sank after someone had opened the bottom valves. It was not until 1981, when the Soviet submarine U 137 (Whiskey on the rocks) ran aground, that S. Moen, the director of the Royal Norwegian Navy Museum
Royal Norwegian Navy Museum
The Royal Norwegian Navy Museum is a museum documenting the history of the Royal Norwegian Navy. It is located at the former main naval base of Karljohansvern in Horten. The museum was founded by C.F. Klinck on 24 August 1853...
in Horten
Horten
is a town and municipality in Vestfold county, Norway—located along the Oslofjord. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Horten. The municipality also includes the villages of Borre, Åsgårdstrand, Skoppum, and Nykirke....
saw the abandoned Hitra in a newspaper image. Subsequently, she was raised and shipped back to Norway, where she was restored to her original condition in 1983-1987.
Today, while still under naval command, the Hitra is a museum ship
Museum ship
A museum ship, or sometimes memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public, for educational or memorial purposes...
home ported at Haakonsvern
Haakonsvern
Haakonsvern is the main base of the Royal Norwegian Navy and the largest naval base in the Nordic area. The base is located at Mathopen within Bergen municipality, about 15 km south-west of the city centre...
, Bergen
Bergen
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....
, touring the Norwegian coast in the summer months.