Storm class patrol boat

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Career
Ordered:	?
Laid down:	?
Launched:	1965-1967
Commissioned:	?
General characteristics
Length	36.5 m (120 ft)
Beam	6.2 m (20 ft)
Draft	1.8 m
Displacement	138 tons
Propulsion	2 Maybach diesel engines (7200HP total)
Complement	19 men in Norwegian Navy 24 men in Latvian Navy
Armament	Penguin ship to ship missiles One 76 mm cannon One 40 mm canon
Speed	Over 30 knots
Sensors	?

The Storm class fast patrol boats (FPB) were a class of 20 vessels built for the Royal Norwegian Navy.

In Norwegian 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.

At the end of the 1990s four vessels were sold to Lithuania and four were sold to Latvia.

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.^[1]

Currently the Lithuanian Navy operates three Storm class boats, P31 "Dzūkas" (donated 1995), P32 "Sėlis" (transferred 2001) and P33 "Skalvis" (transferred 2001).^[2]

[edit] Vessels

The vessels are listed with their pennant numbers in RNoN service:

• • Arg P968
  • Blink P961 Is on display, fully equipped at the Royal Norwegian Naval Museum in Horten, Norway.
  • Brann P970
  • Brask P977 Is on display on land at Haakonsvern Naval Base in Bergen.
  • Brott P974
  • Djerv P966
  • Glimt P962
  • Gnist P979 (1967-2000) Sold to the Latvian Navy and renamed LVNS Linga.
  • Hvass P972 (?-2000) Sold to the Latvian Navy and renamed LVNS Lode.
  • Kjekk P965
  • 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
  • Steil P969
  • Storm P960
  • Traust P973
  • Tross P971
  • Trygg P964

Note: The Norwegian prefix for RNoN vessels is KNM.

[edit] External links

• Nice photo of Brask on land with German, Danish, Polish and Norwegian FPB officers in front (Norwegian)

[edit] Sources

• Information folder from Forsvarets rekrutterings- og mediesenter (Norwegian defence recruitment and media center) 1991/92
• Article about Norwegian-Baltic naval cooperation (Norwegian)
• LVNS Linga's home page

Royal Norwegian Navy patrol boat classes

HNoMS Rap 1873-1920 Rapp 1952-? Tjeld 1959-1992 Storm 1965-2000 Snøgg 1970-1994 Hauk 1979-Present Skjold 1999-Present