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At random: USS SKATE and USS SEADRAGON, after affecting a historic rendezvous under the ice, surfaced together at the North Pole through an opening in the ice on August 1962. What really happened: We didn't surface together, Skate surfaced first. Then we (Seadragon) fired yellow flares forward and aft so Skate could tell us how we were lined up. Remember, under-ice was primitive in these days. Skate called back down rapidly that one flare surfaced on her starboard side and the other to port. She requested we reposition before vertical surfacing. We did. - Coyote (Owen Carlson)

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dex armstrong

Posted 2007-11-03 12:20 PM (#8889)

COMSUBBBS

Posts: 3202

Location: Alexandria, Virginia

Subject: HORTON

I have two close family friends. The husband is an amature naval historian,with a fantastic maritime related library that covers three walls of his study. He has the unique ability to know exactly which of his books to go to, to exract exactly what fact or reference he needs at any one time. He's a great coversationalist and drink mixer. Jack and Nancy travel at lot. Nancy caters to Jack's hobby because (her words) seaports and naval museums are located in such wonderful places to visit. In the late 90's I was invited by a Capt. Gunnar Christoffersen Royal Norwegian Navy (retired) to visit HORTON. Horton has a very interesting history. It has been connecte3d with Norway's projection of naval power dating back to the days when her longboats sallied forth to pillage, plunder, rape and reek havoc on those raided or encountered at sea. In time it became the location of the Norwegian equivalent of our Naval Academy. And in WWII after the April 1940 invasion and brutal occupation of Norway, Horton was taken over by the Nazis for use as a U-Boat base. At the end of the War, German U-Boats returned and were taken over by the Norwegians and until the late 60's the Type VII U-Boat formed the entire Norwegian submarine force. I believe they maintained 16, Type VIIs using the remainder for replacement parts. The enlisted NAZI crews were returned to Germany and the officers were sent, I believe to Demark where some tribunal turned them over to the French who supposedly interned them....but most eventually escaped or were released to return home. Once Ken "Pig" Henry sent my wife and me a photo taken in Bergen of a Norwegian Type VII boat that was tied up aft of the Archerfish...(in the photo all you can see of Archerfish are her screwguards). From the information sent by Ken, Gunnar figured out that a fellow named Ole Yttredahl was commanding the boat at the time. Yttredahl, is also a retired Captain in the Royal Norwegian Navy and years ago was a midshipman under Christoffersen at the Norwegian Naval Academy at Horton. The boat in Ken's photo went on to become the last surviving Type VII and at the end of her "reborn Norwegian service" was, at the request of the German Navy, returned to become a U-Boat Memorial to Germany's U-Boat sailors lost at sea during WWII. It is now resting in a concrete cradle near Keil (sp?). It, along with very accurate sets created for the production, were used in the film Das Boot (The Boat). That brings us back to HORTON. It is a beautiful location and has become the site of the Norwegian Naval Museum...The outside...make that, the grassy grounds forming the outdoor part of the museum collection has two very interesting exhibits. One is one of the earliest MTB's (Motor Torpedo Boats). The Norwegians are a small country and have traditionally had to rely on very inventive solutions to level the odds in naval warfare. Torpedo boats allowed the Norskies to make undetected night attacks on superior ships....There was no radar, but all steam propulsion made noise at a level that detection and direction became known far beyond the effective launch point of their war loads. In this particular craft, two torpedoes were suspended on struts that appeared similar to outriggers....once activated manually, they were dropped into the water by a release mechanism. Once the fish were clear of the bow the MTB was free to undertake whatever survival evasion it found necessary. The Norwegians are quick to point out that their MTB's preceeded our PT's by more than 50 years. Next, there is a Norwegian designed and built ULA class submarine in a concrete cradle, that has been modified for tourist visitation. You can Google ULA submarines for detailed information, but I would like to cover several of the unique features that impressed me. First there are eight torpedo tubes all located in the bow. They are all muzzle loaded and there are no reloads within the pressure hull. They are configured to meet the litoral defense requirements found in interceptor aircraft. They are extremely fast and can deliver a lethal blow with the load they can haul. The interior is quite plush for a conventional submarine. They are beautifully wood panelled and have small comfortable two man compartments. They crew numbers less than 20 and three days out seems to be a standard run. One of the first ULA's was commanded by a very competent woman whose first name was Solvieg, like my late wife. Crews on all Norwegian subs are mixed gender crews. Mixed crews on Norwegian merchant ships were pioneered in the mid-fifties and there are many state sponsored programs where teenage schoolgirls can qualify for an AB "ticket", allowing them to apprentice for elevation to MATE status. Many officers in her merchant fleet are female. In the museum you will find one of the finest collectuions of fully rigged wooden ship models, viking ship models, and Norwegian warship models....priceless naval artifacts, uniforms....naval battle dioramas....guns, torpedoes, navigational instruments both antique and modern...flags (one is a unique "pirate flag" with crude white "X"s for German ships sunk. It was sewn by four Norwegian volunteers who served on a British submarine during WWII) I won't continue to bore your socks off with a running commentary on the Museum at Horton except to say....Following WWI Norway recognized the inadaquacy of her Navy...One thing about proud people from small nations, they have the desire to fight but frequently lack the capacity, manpower and weaponry to make much of a fight against a great nation. The Norwegians have the mindset of a small kid who takes on the class bully..."I may not be able to whip the bastard, but I can sure as hell let the sonuvabitch know he's been in a scrap." Well, after WWI, the Norwegian naval command recognized the need for a cruiser...but the government could not realistically fund the construction of a cruiser or the expense to modernize and refit a surplused allied ship. Get this...The women of Norway set about to raise funds to build Norway a cruiser. They held bake sales, organized lotteries, put the squeeze on manufacturers and corporations, held athletic competitions that countries throughout Europe paid extraordinary high fees to register for. Performers and musicians volunteered to stage performances where the ticket proceeds went to fund the building of a cruiser for Norway....and in spite of all the doubts, jokes, ridicule and derision. They gave their country a cruiser named "Valkryian" after the female Valkyries, "the choosers of the Slain", the goddesses who pick up the remains of the dead vikings who died valiantly in combat and transport them to Vallhalla, where they spend eternity drinking, bedding beautiful women, singing and swapping sea stories. And in turn, the Norwegian Navy promised that there would ALWAYS be a ship named Valkyrian in their fleet. There is a beautiful tribute in the Horton Museum to the lion hearted Norwegin girls who,"built us a cruiser" At my recommendation, Jack and Nancy visited HORTON in July...and stayed two days in the area to see everything....an e-mail this morning said, "Dex, It was by far the highpoint of our trip." In a small out of the way antique shop Jack found a U-BOAT sailors wristwatch with the hull numbers of two WWII boats engraved on the back. A watchmaker in Arendal cleaned and lubricated the works and Jack's wearing it. If you get to Norway, take the time to visit HORTON...You won't regret it. I first heard about HORTON on Rontini's Board many years ago....at the time I didn't think I stood a Chinaman's chance in hell of ever actually going there. Life is full of really great surprises.... DEX

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