With the growing threat of another European war, Norway decided to update its antiquated fleet. Neutrality had worked in World War I, but the Germans had learned from that how their fleet could be confined to the North Sea, unless they did have control of Norway, and there were a few realists in Norway's parliament and navy who realized that.

Although classed as a "destroyer" -- and probably meeting that definition by World War I standards -- the Sleipner class was very small for their time at only 237', with only 3 Bofors 4" guns and 2 21" torpedo tubes. (Gyller is supposed to have had 4, and I'm trying to find out where the other mount was positioned.) They were nonetheless considered very well designed and armed for their compact size.

Nazi Germany's surprise attack on Denmark and Norway in April 1940 caught Norway's navy at anchor. However, Sleipner managed to get to sea and participated in the capture of a German freighter and armed trawler. Sistership Aegir was not so lucky, being bombed and beached, a total loss. After returning from a sortie, sisterships Gyller and Odin were captured at their dock upon the overrunning of Kristiansand and served in the German Kriegsmarine for the rest of the war: hence the class's appearance in ONI 202 ... and here. (They survived the war and were returned to Norway afterwards.)

Later during the war, Sleipner smuggled arms and resistance fighters into Norway and became famous as an "unsinkable ship." See also my "2-D models" of the ship under that section on my webpage.

And could this have been Gyller's configuration with the extra torpedo tubes, does anyone know?

Photos of my prototype 3-D cardstock model of Sleipner at 1:300

And there is now a A FREE cardstock paper model ship plan of the Sleipner class WW2 Norwegian destroyers here on my webpage.

Now would you like to return to my home page or the main drawings page?

20Sep10