Storm class patrol boat
Encyclopedia
The Storm class fast patrol boat
Patrol boat
A patrol boat is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defense duties.There have been many designs for patrol boats. They may be operated by a nation's navy, coast guard, or police force, and may be intended for marine and/or estuarine or river environments...

s (FPB) were a class of 20 vessels built for the 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...

.

In Norwegian
Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...

 these boats were called missilkanonbåter (MKB) meaning boats with missiles and guns. They were operated by the Coastal Combat Flotilla together with the MTBs, or Missile Torpedo Boats. None of the boats are currently in service with the Royal Norwegian Navy. The design was Norwegian and all of the boats were built by Norwegian ship yards from 1965 to 1967.

The Storm class was designed by Lieutenant-commander (later Captain) Harald Henriksen.
Same man was also involved in the design of the Rapp-class MTB's - the first Norwegian-built MTB's. Later he also designed the Snøgg- and Hauk-class MTB's.
Lieutenant-commander Henriksen's wife, Margot Henriksen was godmother of the first KNM Skjold (P 963), delivered to the Norwegian navy in February 1966 from Westermoen yard in Mandal.

Norway donated a Storm class each to Estonia and Lithuania and three to Latvia in 1995. In the Lithuanian Navy, the exStorm class are designated the DZUKAS class, and in the Latvia Navy, the exStorms are were designated the Bulta class. Since the 1999 edition of The World Defence Almanac the Storm class has not been listed for the Estonian Navy.

At the end of the 1990s two vessels were sold to Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

 and three were sold to Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...

. A further three hulls may have been donated to each of the Baltic countries as spare parts.

The prototype Storm, completed May 31, 1963, was later scrapped and replaced by a second boat taking the same name and pennant number P960; the last of the class completed in 1968. After 1970 Penguin missiles were fitted to these boats in addition to the original armament.

Currently the Lithuanian Navy operates two Storm class boats, P32 "Sėlis" (transferred 2001) and P33 "Skalvis" (transferred 2001).

Vessels

The vessels are listed with their pennant numbers in RNoN service:
    • Arg P968 (1966-1991) Donated to Estonia. Served with the Estonian Border Guard as Torm, now part of the Estonian Maritime Museum
      Estonian Maritime Museum
      The Estonian Maritime Museum is located in the Fat Margaret tower in the old town of Tallinn. The museum presents history of ships and navigation in Estonia and related to Estonia...

      . 
    • Blink P961 Is on display, fully equipped at 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....

      , Norway.
    • Brann P970
    • Brask P977 Is on display on land 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...

       Naval Base in Bergen.
    • Brott P974
    • Djerv P966 (1966-2000) Sold to the Latvian Navy and renamed LVNS Zibens. 
    • Glimt P962
    • Gnist P979 (1967-2000) Sold to the Latvian Navy and renamed LVNS Linga. 
    • Hvass P972 (1966-2000) Sold to the Latvian Navy and renamed LVNS Lode. 
    • Kjekk P965 (1966-2000) Donated to the Lithuanian Navy and renamed LNS P31 Dzūkas. 
    • Odd P975
    • Pil P976 Previously used as a damage control and fire fighting training vessel. Placed on land at Haakonsvern Naval base.
    • Rokk P978
    • Skjold P963
    • Skudd P967 (1966-2000) Sold to the Lithuanian Navy and renamed LNS Sėlis. 
    • Steil P969 (1967-2000) Sold to the Lithuanian Navy and renamed LNS Skalvis. 
    • Storm P960
    • Traust P973 (1967-1994) Donated to the Latvian Navy and renamed LVNS Bulta. 
    • Tross P971
    • Trygg P964


Note: The Norwegian prefix for RNoN vessels is KNM.

Sources


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK