Special K

Posted on by Leave a comment

Official period caption. “8 December 1962. Capt. Richard A. Jones with Vietnamese Eagle Force troops he advises.”

Photo by Richard Tregaskis. From the Richard Tregaskis Collection (COLL/566) at the Archives Branch, Marine Corps History Division.

Note Capt. Jones’ weapon of choice, the humble Kulsprutepistol m/45, AKA the Carl Gustaf M/45, AKA the Swedish K.

A handy little 9mm sub gun designed by Gunnar Johansson for Swedish forces in WWII as the country’s answer to the STEN and MP40, the Swedes made something like 300,000 of them during the Cold War for issue not only to the military but also for security and police forces– with the latter even having a select-fire version to accommodate launching tear gas grenades.

The Swedish K M/45 used the same bayonet as the country’s Mausers

Swedish UN soldier during the Congo Crisis, 1961. Photo by Åke Sandberg. Note the K gun and FN MAG at the ready.

Swedish Terrängbil m42 KP in UN service during the Congo Crisis 1960s. Note the Swedish trooper with a Carl Gustav K gun M45 and a local gendarme with a Belgian Vigneron submachine gun

It was such a hit with American advisors in Southeast Asia in the early 1960s that S&W had to pick up domestic production of it as the S&W Model 76 after the Swedes placed it under embargo to the U.S.

Soldier training at MACVSOG Recondo School Vietnam with a Swedish K SMG sporting ERDL “Leaf” camo

Special Forces legend Capt. Larry Thorne (Lauri Törni), who died in 1965 when his CH-34 went down with a recon detachment near the Ho Chi Mein Trail when his body was recovered by a joint Finnish-American team in 1999, was able to help confirm his remains from the fact that his K gun was found at the wreck site.

Only removed from Stockholm’s inventory in 2007, it was produced legally in Egypt by Maadi in the 1960s, and in unlicensed garage-built variants in South America and the Middle East, where it is just commonly known as the Port Said…and are still seeing use in combat.

Storis to Return, Zumwalt Floats, Arkansas Launches

Posted on by One comment

U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Storis during the run for a short-cut Northwest Passage prepares to send helicopters aloft on ice reconnaissance before proceeding eastward through Amundsen Gulf to Dolphin and Union Straits, Canadian Northwest Territory (July 23, 1957). 26-G-5782

The name USCGC Storis is one of the most hallowed to the Coast Guard.

Commissioned in 1942, the heavily-armed 230-foot icebreaker earned her chops in the “Weather War” against the Germans in Greenland, later became the first U.S. vessel to circumnavigate the North American continent after she cleared the Northwest Passage, and stood watch over Alaska– supporting the DEW Line and rebuffing Soviet interlopers during the Cold War. Once it thawed, she became the first foreign warship to visit the Russian Pacific Fleet bastion of Petropavlovsk since 1854.

Only narrowly escaping preservation as a museum ship following her decommissioning in 2007, the service has apparently bestowed the name on a much less noble successor.

Rather than holding out to name one of the big new Polar Security Cutters currently under construction, the USCG is apparently renaming the third-hand 360-foot oilfield support vessel Aiviq as USCGC Storis (WAGB-21), as detailed by images coming from Tampa Ship LLC in Florida, where she is undergoing a rushed conversion before entering federal service sometime in 2026.

Icebreaker Aiviq is now in USCG Icebreaker Red and carries the name Storis on its transom. (Source: GCaptain)

Icebreaker Aiviq is now in USCG Icebreaker Red and carries the name Storis on its transom. (Source: GCaptain)

The Coast Guard intends to permanently homeport the vessel in Juneau, Alaska, a departure from its longstanding tradition of basing icebreakers in Seattle.

China trembles. 

Meanwhile, in DDG-1000 news…

Some 16 months after arriving in Pascagoula, and with her original twin 155mm Advanced Gun Systems replaced with 12 new Conventional Prompt Strike missile tubes, USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) undocked on 6 December and returned to the water of the Pascagoula River.

Zumwalt undocking, 6 December 2024, Pascagoula, HII photo

Zumwalt undocking, 6 December 2024, Pascagoula, HII photo

She will now undergo testing in the Gulf of Mexico before returning to the fleet and the (hopeful) IOC of her new hypersonic boost-glide weapon system.

Keep in mind that Zumwalt was laid down in 2011 and commissioned eight years ago, so it will be nice to finally see her with a set of teeth…eventually.

A deeper dive by Alex Hollings. 

Welcome Back, Razorback!

The 27th Virginia-class submarine, the future USS Arkansas (SSN 800), was christened Saturday at Newport News.

USS Arkansas was christened on the 83rd anniversary of Pearl Harbor. HII photo

It is a great name and it’s nice to see it on the NVR again, after a 26-year absence.

When commissioned, likely in 2026, the advanced Block IV boat will be the fifth warship to carry the name of The Natural State including the mighty Wyoming-class battleship (BB-33) and a Virginia-class nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser (CGN-41).

Of note, BB-33 was at anchor in Casco Bay on the sleepy Sunday morning of 7 December 1941, part of the Atlantic Neutrality Patrol, a task that spared her a spot on Battleship Row in Pearl that day.

She would be in the gunline off Normandy.

Opening the Attack Painting, Watercolor on Paper; by Dwight C. Shepler; 1944 D-Day. Arkansas is in the foreground, and French cruisers George Leygues and Montcalm are in the background. NHHC 88-199-ew

Once her work was done in Europe, she of course returned to the Pacific to support the landings at Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

Navy Husky on Ice

Posted on by Leave a comment

Official caption: Field technicians with the Arctic Submarine Laboratory prepare to remove ice from the Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Hampton (SSN-767) at Ice Camp Whale on the Beaufort Sea, Arctic Ocean, during Operation Ice Camp in March 2024.

USN Photo 240308-N-JO245-1316A Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Justin Yarborough

One of the dwindling 688is left in operation, Hampton was commissioned in 1993 and is part of SubRon 11 out of San Diego.

Besides the Husqvarna seen above, the Navy and Coast Guard have often used four-legged huskies for work in the polar regions, such as in the Great Alaska Overland Expedition in 1897, the Northeast Greenland Sledge Patrol during WWII, and Operation Deep Freeze.

For reference, Task Force 43 in the 1955-56 Deep Freeze expedition had no less than 28 such dogs as part of the crew– which sometimes required some extra fresh meat, harvested from local sources.

Period caption: “Ensign David E. Baker adjusts the sled harness of an Eskimo Husky on the training grounds for Antarctic-bound dogs at Wonalancet, New Hampshire, in addition to comfortable sled harness, the dogs will be rigged with “shoes” to protect their feet from the ice when they begin their trail rescue work in the land of the South Pole. They are part of Operation Deepfreeze and will sail in ships of Task Force 43.” Photograph released October 10, 1955. 330-PS-7528 (USN 681173):

The Brown Water Navy’s 81mm Mortar Mark 2

Posted on by Leave a comment

In a recent Warship Wednesday (Coast Guard Ron Three) we touched on the use of the 81mm mortar in two fixed emplacements behind the main 5-inch gun mount on a series of USCG cutters that deployed to Vietnam between 1967 and 1972.

The 81mm mortar was mounted on either side of the No. 1 (5-inch) mount, seen here on USCGC Campbell in 1967.

Developed by the Navy and Coast Guard in two different models (Mark 2 Mod 0 and Mark 2 Mod 1) in the early 1960s, the thought behind such mounts was that they could be used for illumination quicker and easier than shooting star shells from the main gun (which also could conceivably leave the main gun slow to switch gears from lofting illum shells to hitting surface/shore targets with HE).

Plus, the mortars could be used for near-shore naval gunfire support as well.

Campbell’s mortar team “hanging an 81” ashore

These mortars were also used extensively by the USCG’s 26 82-foot Point class cutters as part of CGRON One during the war, typically piggybacked with an M2 air-cooled Browning .50 cal BMG.

Rel. No. 6135: USCGC POINT LOMAS FIRED AT SUSPECTED VIET CONG CAVE HIDEOUT: An 81mm mortar shell fired from the 82-foot U.S. Coast Guard Cutter POINT LOMAS (WPB-82321) shatters rocks over the entrance to a suspected Viet Cong cave hideout along a beach in a Viet Cong controlled area near Danang. Rounds from a .50 caliber machine gun, mounted piggyback on the mortar gun also were fired into the cave. Commanding the POINT LOMAS is Lieutenant Keith D. Ripley, USCG of Baltimore, Md. The 82-footer was stationed at Port Aransas, Texas, before reporting for duty with Coast Guard Squadron One’s Division 12, based at Danang, Vietnam, in July 1965. 

The Navy also heavily used them on just about everything that moved that was smaller than 165 feet in length, as detailed by Bob Stoner GMCM (SW) Ret. over at Warboats.org.

Navy 50-foot coastal patrol craft (PCF); Navy 75-foot fast patrol boats (PTF, “Nasty”-class); Navy 95-foot fast patrol boats (PTF, “Osprey”-class); Navy 164-foot patrol gunboats (PG, “Ashville“-class); miscellaneous riverine craft which were mostly converted LCM-6 landing craft: MON (monitor); CCB (command and control boat); Zippo (flame thrower boat); ASPB (assault support patrol boat); HSSC (heavy SEAL support craft); and advanced tactical support bases such as SEA FLOAT/SOLID ANCHOR (Nam Can) and BREEZY COVE (Song Ong Doc).

Cam Ranh Bay, Republic of Vietnam. Gunner’s Mate Second Class Robert Phalen, left, and another crewmember of Fast Coastal Patrol Craft 42 (PCF 42) prepare to fire an 81mm Mortar while on patrol, 18 October 1968. 428-GX-K60314

South Vietnam. Engineman Second Class McCune drops a projectile into a mortar on the deck of the fast coastal patrol craft (PCF-3) of Coast Division 11 as Boatswain’s Mate First Class Byerly stands by to fire on the Viet Cong unit position. Photographed by F. L. Lawson, 17 July 1967. 428GX-K40159

GMCM Stoner:

The mortar itself is mounted on a very robust tripod and uses clamps to control traverse and elevation angles. Unless fitted with NO FIRE zone mechanical stops, the mortar has 360 degrees of traverse and -30 degrees of depression, and +71.5 degrees of elevation. Its rate of fire is 18 rounds/minute at 45 degrees elevation in DROP FIRE mode and 10 rounds/minute in TRIGGER FIRE mode. Sights for the mortar are attached to the left side of the elevation arc. The weight of the Mk 2 Mod 0 was 593 pounds; the weight increased to 677 pounds in the Mk 2 Mod 1 (with machine gun). The range of the 81mm (direct) was 1,000+ yards; (high angle, indirect) was 3,940 yards. The maximum effective range of the .50 Browning machine gun was 2,000 yards; the maximum range was 7,440 yards.

From the 1966 manual, OP 1743, of the Mark 2 Mod 0:

Post-Vietnam, the Navy’s nascent riverine and littoral capability transitioned to Boat Support Units which later changed their name to become Coastal River Squadrons, then later the Special Boat Squadrons and SBTs, with some Mark 2s remaining in service, especially in reserve outfits, into the mid-1980s.

Likewise, the USCG kept their Mark 2s on stateside cutters– both on small 82- and 95-footers as well as high endurance 255-to-378-foot cutters– into the early 1980s.

USCGC Cape Jellison (WPB-95317) getting some time in off Seward Alaska in the early 1980s with their 81/.50 cal mount

Getting Raffica with the Beretta 93R

Posted on by Leave a comment

Beretta has been in the firearms-making business for nearly 500 years in the Gardone Val Trompia region and, while we visited the amazing complex, we were asked what three guns we would like to shoot in the company’s on-site shooting range, located inside a mountain. Because Beretta.

Our choice was easy: the classic Cold War-era PM12 “Spaghetti Uzi” submachine gun, the exciting new NARP rifle, and the elusive 93R machine pistol.

If you are pure of heart and wish hard enough, dreams can come true. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

While we’ll get into the first two later, let’s go ahead and get into the 93R.

The 93R in its most basic form. Note the folding handguard and extended compensated barrel. The frame-mounted two-position select fire lever (with three dots denoting its 3-round burst) is above the grip. The safety button is behind it.

Select-fire, with options for a three-round burst or single shots, the “R” in its model designation stands for “Raffica,” which roughly translates into “gust” or “flurry.” To help control this zippy 9mm with its 700 round-per-minute cyclic rate of fire, the frame has a hinged metal forward grip and an extended barrel with compensator cuts. Beretta marketed the pistol with an extended 20-round magazine to feed the brass-chewing little beast, which would allow for six bursts of three rounds and a seventh of two.

The company produced (and continues to develop) several generations of submachine guns, and a similar select-fire pistol had already preceded the 93R. The M951R was adopted by several Italian special forces and police units in the 1960s.

The M951R, which was a select-fire variant of the Beretta M1951. Note the folding foregrip. Whereas the M1951 is a single-stack 1950s forerunner of the Beretta 92, the M951R (again, with the Raffica) was a select-fire great uncle to the 93R.

From one of Beretta’s period brochures on the 93R, emphasizing the gun could be fired both with and without its stock. Ideally, a uniformed officer could carry the pistol with a standard 15-round flush-fit mag inserted, with a spare 20 or 30-rounder and folding detachable stock carried in belt pouches. (Photo: Beretta)

To see the gun in action and read the rest of this, check out my column at Guns.com.

Research: China’s Maritime Gray Zone

Posted on by Leave a comment

Rand has an interesting 157-page report, Understanding and Countering China’s Maritime Gray Zone Operations, currently available online for your reading pleasure.

From the report:

China’s gray zone operations involve layering different forces, including the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), China Coast Guard (CCG), and People’s Armed Forces Maritime Militia (PAFMM), to overwhelm opponents and make U.S. or allied responses difficult. China also adopts approaches like gradual escalation to slowly advance its interests and avoid triggering a strong response.

China employs various tactics to achieve its goals in the gray zone, including violating territorial airspace and EEZs, harassment, illegal fishing, and ramming. The PAFMM is a crucial tool in China’s gray zone arsenal. These militia vessels are civilian-looking but can be used for military purposes. Their ambiguity makes it difficult for other countries to respond forcefully. The CCG is another essential tool, with a growing fleet of heavily armed and capable ships. CCG assets can be used to intimidate rivals and enforce China’s territorial claims without resorting to military force. The PLAN is less frequently involved in gray zone operations but serves as a backup if the situation escalates.

Download here.

Yuletide CBI Warhawks, Complete with Cranberry

Posted on by Leave a comment

Official wartime caption: “While still on alert duty, S/Sgt. J.A. Muller, Cpl. John W. Coleman, and Cpl. L.B. Thomas of the 16th Fighter Squadron, 51st Fighter Group, consume their Christmas Dinner on the field at a base ‘Somewhere In China,’ 25 December 1942.”

At the time of this image, the 16th was flying out of Zhanyi, China, and had a detachment in Yunnanyi.

U.S. Air Force Number 74184AC, NARA 342-FH-3A02359-74184AC

Constituted as 16th Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor) on 20 November 1940, the “Flying Wall” flew Curtiss P-40 Warhawks from the beginning. Deployed to the CBI in March 1942 as part of the Tenth Air Force, the squadron operated from India’s Assam Valley before moving into KMT-controlled China in October 1943 as part of the Fourteenth Air Force.

The squadron defended the Chinese end of the “Hump” route and harassed Japanese shipping in the Red River delta of Indochina, then later supported KMT ground forces in the 1944 drive along the Salween River.

Reequipped with P-51D Mustangs in 1945, they eventually returned to India and was inactivated on 13 December 1945. They earned four campaign streamers for WWII: New Guinea; India-Burma; China Defensive; and China Offensive.

Post-war, they were reactivated for Korea where they flew first P-80s then F-86s. They then served as an interceptor squadron with F-102s before switching to the F-4 Phantom in 1965. Since 1979, they have been operating F-16s and have been based at Nellis AFB, Nevada as the 16th Weapons Squadron (“Tomahawks”) since 2003.

The Gun Glock Should Have Made

Posted on by 2 comments

For the neat 30-year span between 1988, when the Glock 19 was introduced, and 2018 when the SIG P365 appeared, the 7.36-inch long, 4-inch barreled, 15+1 shot, 24-ounce unloaded G19 was the magic box of dimensions that every pistol maker chased.

Today, we have the new Springfield Armory Echelon 4.0C, which is 7.25 inches long with a 4-inch barrel, uses 15+1/18+1 magazines, and is 24 ounces, unloaded.

Unlike Glock, the Echelon has a chassis system that can be swapped around multiple grip modules of varying size and color and has a far better and more adaptable optics mounting system than Glock’s MOS plates.

Plus, it’s reliable, has ambi controls, a decent trigger, and much better sights.

The Echelon 4.0C could offer a good multi-purpose pistol for either home defense, especially with a good weapon-mounted light, or carry.

Full review in my column over at Guns.com.

Warship Wednesday Dec. 4, 2024: Danish E-Boat Days

Posted on by One comment

Here at LSOZI, we take off every Wednesday to look at the old steam/diesel navies of the 1833-1954 period and will profile a different ship each week. These ships have a life, a tale all their own, which sometimes takes them to the strangest places.- Christopher Eger

If you enjoy my always ad-free Warship Wednesday content, you can support it by buying me a cup of joe at https://buymeacoffee.com/lsozi

Warship Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024: Danish E-Boat Days

Foto: Tøjhusmuseet

Above we see a great Royal Danish Navy recruiting poster from 1951 by Aage Rasmussen. Reading roughly, “A healthy life. A future – become a naval officer,” it shows a well-dressed lieutenant in the Danish RN style uniform, complete with Marineglas 6×30 binos produced by Carl Zeiss.

You may find the planing torpedo boat– the hull number, P558, makes it Musvaagen— in the poster’s foreground familiar. We’ll get into that.

The Danish TB Saga

Denmark loved fast torpedo boats probably longer than any other naval force in history, fielding no less than 108 of them between 1879 and 2000.

Danish torpedoer Hajen, first of her type in service to the King of Denmark

As we have touched on with a past Warship Wednesday (“A Tough Little Wolf”) which focused on the Great War-era Søridderen and Tumleren classes, the country had 17 such TBs on hand going into 1914.

The green-painted Tumleren class torpedo boat Vindhunden aside the anchored panserskibet coastal defense ship Peder Skram at Østre Mole. Commissioned in 1911, Vindhunden and her class would be retired by 1935. (Aarhus Stadsarkiv)

Danish Tumleren class torpedo boat Vindhunden in Aarhus Harbour between 1919 and 1924, note the cutlass worn, likely by the crew’s bosun. There is just so much I love about this image from the dirty whites and flatcaps to the drying kapok life jackets and the grimy snipe catching a smoke. (Aarhus Stadsarkiv)

During WWI, the country managed to construct 10 further vessels of the 126-foot Springeren class, the last two of which were finished in 1919. This allowed the country, interbellum, to retire elderly boats left over from the late 19th Century.

June 1927. Three Great War-era Springeren-class TBs in Aarhus harbor including Søhunden (Nr.7), Narhvalen (Nr.5), and Havhesten (Nr.6), June 1927 at the Østre Mole. At the time, Søhunden was under the command of HKH Kronprins Frederik, the Danish heir. (Photo: Aarhus Stadsarkiv)

By 1929, six big (195-foot) and well-armed Dragen/Glenten-class torpedo boats began entering service, which gave enough breathing room to the Danish admiralty to finally put the last of their pre-1914 TBs (the six members of the Søridderen and Tumleren classes) to pasture, and downgrade the Springeren-class to fast mine warfare vessels (capable of both laying and sweeping).

Danish Torpedobåden Dragen T1 overhead. Capable ships of 335 tons, the Dragen/Glenten-class torpedo boats carried two deck guns, two bow-mounted 17.7-inch tubes, and 4 or 6 further 17.7-inch tubes on turnstiles.

Danish torpedo practice 1939 Torpedobåd affyrer skud i Aarhus Bugten.

Danish Torpedobåden Dragen (T1). THM-12146

Danish Mandskab, Torpedosektionen Dragen class in background 1937-38 THM-6114

Danish Aarhus Harbour, torpedo boats T1 Dragen, T2 Hvalen, and T3 Laxen are located at the Quay 1939, iced in

Danish torpedo boat T3 Laxen in Aarhus Bay in the autumn of 1939

Aarhus, Denmark, Torpedo boats T2 Hvalen, T5 Høgen, and T4 Glenten, 1939. Note the six chemical smoke cylinders on the stern and twin 75-foot mine rails on each boat.

Then came WWII.

Denmark entered the conflict in 1939 the same way it had in the First World War, as a neutral. To enforce this neutrality on the sea, she had the aforementioned Dragen/Glenten TBs in her fleet– balancing several small gunboats, 10 fast minesweepers (the old Springeren-class TBs, sans torpedoes), four submarines, the training cruiser (artilleriskib) Niels Juel, and the old bathtub battleship (kystforsvarsskib) Peder Skram.

Ordered not to resist when the Germans blitzkrieged through the country in April 1940, and then largely disarmed, the Danish Navy was further humiliated by its government and ordered to “lease” their beautiful Dragen/Glentens to the occupier in February 1941. The Kriegsmarine used them as U-boat support ships and torpedo retrievers, numbered TFA1 through TFA6.

One, TFA3 (ex-Dragen) was lost to a mine, while the other five were in condemned condition by the end of the war.

Wrecked former Danish torpedo boats, the Dragon class, photographed in Flensburg harbor after Donau’s explosion, 14 June 1945. A4= “ex-Glenten”, 5= “ex-Hvalen, 6= “ex-Laxen” THM-6979

Post-war, the Danish Navy, which had committed ritual scuttling in 1943 to escape German capture, only had a single torpedo boat left, Havkatten, a circa 1920 member of the Springeren class had been able to escape to Sweden and returned home in 1945 as the flagship of the Free Danish Brigade’s 133-member flotilla (Den Danske Flotille).

Officially rerated in the 1930s as a minesweeper, Havkatten only had a single 17.7-inch torpedo tube still mounted in her bow– but no torpedoes!

The torpedo boat Havkatten, which escaped to Sweden on 29 August 1943, returns to Copenhagen on 11 May 1945. Her 27-member crew at this point manned two 57mm AAA guns and a 40mm Bofors. FHM22287

Besides Havkatten, the Danish flotilla at VE Day only contained three small 80-foot coastal mine boats (MS 1, MS 7, and MS29), each with a 12-man crew and armed with a 20mm cannon, nine even smaller coast guard launches with 5-man crews, and the 41-foot motor launch Fandango, with the latter types only armed with small caliber machine guns.

Schnellboote Solution!

Looking to get back into the TB business after WWII, the easiest way to pull this off was for the Danes to get reparations in the form of former Kriegsmarine Schnellboote, or E and S-boats in Allied parlance.

The Danes had the hulk of one, S116, on hand already in 1945.

As chronicled by Die Schnellboote Seite, beginning in early 1947, OMGUS, the U.S. occupation government in Germany, authorized the sale of 10 scratch-and-dent German E-boats collected at Bremerhaven for $80,000. With that also came whatever 21-inch torpedoes and parts could be scrounged.

S64 in Kriegsmarine service with the panther emblem of 4. Schnellbootflottille. Post-war, she was the Norwegian Lyn and then the Danish Stormfuglen

Hejren (P566) ex-S117, in Danish green livery.

Copenhagen kept reaching out concerning similar boats and obtained four more from U.S. stores in 1948, and another four from the British.

In 1951, the Danes picked up six E-boats from Norway, where they had been in coastal service.

Ultimately, the Danes would own no less than 22 former German E-boats and eventually get 18 of them working.

The first operational, appropriately dubbed Glenten (T51), formerly the Kriegsmarine’s S306, entered service in July 1947, and those that followed are typically known as the Glenten class in Denmark even though the boats came from several slightly different German classes. Meanwhile, in English-speaking sources, these are often broken down by former German sub-classes: Glenten/T51/S170, Gribben/T52/S38, and Havørnen/T53/S139.

See table:

German Number

German class, builder

Entered Service

Seized By

Norwegian Name

Danish Name

Entered Danish Service

Danish Number

S15

S14 Lürssen

27 February 1937

USN

N/A

(Cannibalized)

(1947)

T46

S115

S109 Schlichting

30 May 1942

UK

N/A

(Cannibalized)

(1947)

 

S116

S109 Schlichting

4 July 1942

Denmark

N/A

(Cannibalized)

(1945)

 

S122

S26 Schlichting

21 February 1943

UK

N/A

(Cannibalized)

(1947)

 

S306

S151 Lürssen

Incomplete

USN

N/A

Glenten

07/31/1947

P551 (T51)

S107

S26 Schlichting

6 July 1941

USN

N/A

Gribben

04/15/1948

P552 (T52)

S216

S151 Lürssen

27 December 1944

USN

N/A

Havoarnen

11/19/1948

P553 (T53)

S133

S26 Schlichting 

31 December 1943

USN

N/A

Hærfuglen

03/21/1949

P554 (T54)

S206

S151 Lürssen

31 August 1944

 

USN

N/A

Hoegen

03/28/1949

P555 (T55)

S127

S26 Schlichting 

10 July 1943

USN

N/A

Isfuglen

07/08/1949

P556 (T56)

S305

S301 Lürssen

29 March 1945

USN

N/A

Jagtfalken

07/08/1949

P557 (T57)

S79

S26 Lürssen

27 June 1942

Norway

N/A

Musvaagen

07/15/1950

P558 (T58)

S196

S171

Lürssen

3 July 1944

UK

N/A

Raagen

11/01/1949

P559 (T59)

S97

S26 Lürssen

25 March 1943

USN

N/A

Ravnen

01/10/1953

P560 (T60)

S207

S171

Lürssen

19 September 1944

UK

N/A

Skaden

10/07/1950

P561 (T61)

S64

S26 Lürssen

2 November 1941

USN

Lyn (1947)

Stormfuglen

10/08/1953

P562

S303

S301 Lürssen

24 February 1945

USN

E2, Brann

Taarnfalken

05/12/1952

P563

S85

S26 Lürssen

7 December 1942

USN

Storm

Tranen

11/03/1955

P564

S302

S301 Lürssen

12 February 1945

USN

E1, Blink

Falken

02/07/1953

P565

S117

S109 Schlichting

8 August 1942

USN

B97, Tross

Hejren

01/05/1956

P566

S195

S171

Lürssen

10 July 1944

USN

E3, Kjekk

Lommen

04/21/1955

P567

S68

S26 Lürssen

1 July 1942

 

USN

N/A

Viben

11/03/1955

P568 (T62)

By late 1954, the fleet reached its zenith, with 15 former German E-boats in active service, a full decade after WWII ended.

Danish Glenten class Schnellbooten. Note the boat to the right has been retrofitted with a U.S. 40mm L60. THM-24118

Havørnen (P-553, ex-S216), Danish Glentenklassen Schnellboote. THM-24131

Jagtfalken (P-557, ex-S79) Danish Glentenklassen Schnellboote. THM-24132

Musvaagen (P-558, ex-S79) first in a nest of Danish Glentenklassen E-boats.THM-24137

Same as above, with Musvaagen’s name plainly visible on the deck house. Note the forward 20mm cannon mounts and starboard torpedo tube hatch.THM-24145

Isfuglen (P-556) outboard of a group of Danish Glentenklassen S-boats. THM-24129

As acquired by the Danes, most of these boats had two 21-inch forward torpedo tubes- the first time the Danish Navy went with such large fish– with two torps loaded and room for a reload, giving them the capability to carry four torps. War-surplus German G7 straight runners were used.

Torpedo fired by Danish Glentenklassen Schnellboote. THM-24148

Deck-mounted armament at first typically consisted of anywhere from two to five 20mm/65 Flak C30/C38s. The guns were classified as the Mk M/39 LvSa in Danish service. The boats also had some capability to run a few mines and/or depth charges on stern racks.

2 cm Flugabwehrkanone 38 Danish Glentenklassen Schnellboote. Note the American M1 helmets. THM-24157

2 cm Flugabwehrkanone 38 Danish Glentenklassen Schnellboote E-boat S-boat THM-24156

2 cm Flugabwehrkanone 38 Danish Glentenklassen Schnellboote. THM-24150

With all the E-boats running 114 feet in length on similar hulls, the force was all powered by a trio of Daimler-Benz diesels, albeit in three different variants across the classes. Even the slower models could still touch 38 knots at a full clip, at least for the length of a couple of attack runs, while the zestier of the herd could log 45. Their range was typically 700 miles, more than enough to cover the narrow Kattegat and Skagerrak straits. 

One of three 3,000 hp Daimler-Benz MB518 diesels on a Danish Glentenklassen Schnellboote. Other models included 2,500 hp MB511s or 2,000 hp MB501s. THM-24154

By 1951, with NATO standardization, the Danish E-boats started landing their German-made flak guns in favor of, first, a single 40mm/60 Mk M/36 Bofors aft, and then by late 1955 an improved new Swedish-made 40mm/70 Bofors SAK 315 single (M/48 LvSa in Danish service) as well a U.S. supplied 20 mm/70 Mark 7 Oerlikon (Mk M/42 LvSa) forward.

40mm Bofors L60 on Danish Glenten class Schnellboote. THM-24121

March 1957. 40mm Bofors L70. Danish boats mounted these on the stern and had a 20mm single forward in the “zero gravity” area near the bow. Note the U.S. M1 helmets. Aarhus Archive. 

Likewise, they received a small surface search radar and NATO pennant numbers, transitioning from the Danish T series (e.g. T54) to the NATO P series (e.g. P554).

In Danish service, these craft typically had 22 member crews including two officers, two petty officers, and 18 ratings.

Gangway guard for a Danish Glentenklassen Schnellboote. Note the M1 Garand rifle (adopted as the M/50 GarandGevær). THM-24141

In Danish service, boats were originally in a grey/green livery but the country did experiment with a flash white scheme as well.

4 September 1953. The MTB tender HMDS Hjælperen (A563) in Aarhus Harbor together with six motor torpedo boats, all former S-boats. Note that four are painted flash white and two are grey/green. Note the forward mounts have been landed (Photo: Aarhus Stadsarkiv)

Glenten (P551, ex S306) with the experimental flash white scheme

Our subjects were augmented in service by 10 brand-new Danish-built Flyvefisken and Falken-class vessels, which were constructed at Copenhagen based on a scaled-up 118-foot version of the German design they had been working with since 1945.

12 August 1959, Danish torpedo boats motortorpedobåde in the harbor off Vejerboden. Five Danish motor torpedo boats: Sværdfisken (P505), Flyvefisken (P500), Glenten (P551), and Falken (P565). The boats are part of a large NATO squadron of 69 ships that docked in Aarhus Harbour. Of note, Sværdfisken and Flyvefisken, despite their lower pennant numbers and appearance, are actually brand-new TBs commissioned in 1955, built at Orlogsværftets, København as an ode to the German E-boats. Note their stern 40mm L70s and surface search radar fits. (Photo: Aarhus Stadsarkiv)

The first to be decommissioned by the Danes, Hærfuglen (ex-S133), Isfuglen (ex-S127), and Musvaagen (ex-S79) were all early boats with smaller diesels and were pulled from service in November 1954. Speed was everything with these boats, after all.

By 1960, the Danes still had 11 left in service. Via the 1960-61 Janes:

However, all things fast eventually run out of time, and by September 1965, the last, Viben (ex-S68), was withdrawn, capping some 20 years of E-boat fun under the Dannebrog.

November 1957 Motortorpedobåde entering Aarhus (Base). (Photo: Aarhus Stadsarkiv)

Epilogue

None of the Danish-operated E-boats survive. 

Supplemented by the newer Flyvefisken and Falken-class near-sisters, they were replaced by a half-dozen of the Soloven (British Vosper Brave-Ferocity type). Short boats at just 98 feet, they carried four torpedo tubes and could reach a paint-peeling 50 knots.

Danish Soloven (Sea Lion) Class Vosper Brave SØHUNDEN (P514).

Finally, in 1974 the Danish Navy introduced their penultimate torpedo boat, the 10 ships of the Willemoes class. Sleek 139-footers running on Rolls-Royce Proteus gas turbines, they could make 40 knots and carry a combination of Harpoon AShW missiles, up to six torpedo tubes for modern wire-guided torpedoes, and a 76mm OTO Melera.

Danish Willemoes klassen torpedo missile boats

The Willemoes would remain in service until 2000.

The end of an era.

Ships are more than steel
and wood
And heart of burning coal,
For those who sail upon
them know
That some ships have a
soul.

If you liked this column, please consider joining the International Naval Research Organization (INRO), Publishers of Warship International

They are possibly one of the best sources of naval study, images, and fellowship you can find. http://www.warship.org/membership.htm

The International Naval Research Organization is a non-profit corporation dedicated to the encouragement of the study of naval vessels and their histories, principally in the era of iron and steel warships (about 1860 to date). Its purpose is to provide information and a means of contact for those interested in warships.

With more than 50 years of scholarship, Warship International, the written tome of the INRO has published hundreds of articles, most of which are unique in their sweep and subject.

PRINT still has its place. If you LOVE warships you should belong.

I’m a member, so should you be!

The Exquisite

Posted on by Leave a comment

I recently covered Walther’s reintroduction of the PP and PPK in its original .32 ACP caliber and was, candidly, impressed as it actually worked, something that a lot of other Walther pocket pistols haven’t done over the years.

Showing they can both look good and shoot good as well, Walther has introduced the Exquisite variant of the PPK/s which combines fancy-grade Turkish walnut grips with a brushed stainless finish, high-coverage scroll engraving, and 24KT gold appointments including inlays, hammer, trigger, magazine release, and grip screw.

All have special serial numbers prefixed with “JB” because of course they do.

Limited to a 1,000-gun run, the PPK/s Exquisite has an MSRP of $1,849.

« Older Entries Recent Entries »