HNoMS Vale (1874)

Vale-class gunboat
History
Norway
Name	Vale
Namesake	Váli – son of the god Odin and the giantess Rindr
Builder	Karljohansverns Verft Naval Yard in Horten
Yard number	54
Launched	14 April 1874
Commissioned	1874
Captured	by the Germans in 1940
Service record
Operations:	Norwegian Campaign
Germany
Acquired	1940
Fate	Handed back to Norway after VE Day
Service record
Operations:	Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany
Norway
Name	Vale
Acquired	1945
Decommissioned	1946
General characteristics as built
Class and type	Vale-class Rendel gunboat
Displacement	260 tons
Length	28 m (91.86 ft)
Propulsion	220 hp steam engine
Speed	8.5 knots (15.74 km/h)
Complement	41
Armament	1 × 21 cm (10.5 inch) RML gun 1 × 1pdr (cm / inch) QF gun 1 × 1pdr (cm / inch) revolving gun
General characteristics after rebuild
Displacement	260 tons
Length	28 m (91.86 ft)
Propulsion	220 hp steam engine
Speed	8.5 knots (15.74 km/h)
Complement	31
Armament	1 × 12 cm (4.72 inch) gun 3 × 37 mm (1.46 inch) guns 50 mines

Gunboat Vale was a Vale-class Rendel gunboat built for the Royal Norwegian Navy at Karljohansvern Naval Yard in 1874. She was one of a class of five gunboats - the other ships in the class was Brage, Nor, Uller and Vidar.

Vale was, in addition to the heavy, muzzle-loading main gun, armed with a small 'Quick Fire' gun and a 37mm Hotchkiss Revolving Cannon (broadly similar to the Gatling gun).

Later Vale and her sister ships was rebuilt as mine layers, and she served in this role when the Germans invaded in 1940. During the Norwegian Campaign she served mainly in the Sognefjord. She was captured by German forces after the surrender of Norwegian forces in southern Norway, and returned to Norway after the war.

The vessel was built at the Naval Yard at Horten, and had yard number 54.

External links

• Naval history via Flix: KNM Vale, retrieved 14 Feb 2006