HNoMS Svenner – G03 – D-Day – Battle of Normandy

HNoMS Svenner history

The HNoMS Svenner was originally built by Great Britain as of November 5, 1941 under the name of HMS Shark. Launched on June 1, 1943, it was ceded to the Free Royal Naval Forces of Norway on March 18, 1944 and thus named HNoMS Svenner, named after the Norwegian archipelago.

Transferred to the English Channel as part of the preparations for Operation Neptune in the spring of 1944, the Svenner was assigned to Bombarding Force D, which on the night of June 5-6, 1944, crossed the English Channel in the direction of Sword Beach. One of the two landing beaches under British responsibility.

Alarmed by radar screens that signal a large fleet in the English Channel, the German soldiers stationed in Le Havre send fast patrol boats patrolling the area. Two E-Boats – the Jaguar and the Moewe belonging to the 5th flotilla – crossed the artificial fog set up by the Allies to camouflage the progress of the armada and discovered the warships in front of them adverse.

They fire their torpedoes and fold back very quickly without being touched by the Allies. The Svenner is hit twice: a huge explosion follows and the warship is cut in two parts before sinking at very high speed. 33 crew members (including an English sailor) are killed and 15 are wounded. The rest are recovered by escort and support vessels.

The HNoMS Svenner is the only allied destroyer sunk on 6 June 1944 due to the intervention of the Kriegsmarine in the English Channel.

In 2003, the anchor of the Svenner is found off Hermanville-sur-Mer: it is now displayed on the coastline and forms the memorial dedicated to the sailors who died on board.

HNoMS Svenner technical sheet

Creator: Britain
User: Norway
Denomination: H.Nor.M.S. Svenner – G03
Class: S-class destroyer

Crew: 180-225 sailors

Armament (1944): 4x 114 mm guns, 2x 40 mm Bofors guns, 6x 20 mm Oerlikon antiaircraft guns, 8x 533 mm torpedo tubes

Displacement: 2,400 tons
Speed: 37 knots
Length: 110,64 m
Beam: 10,87 m
Draught : 4,32 m