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39-509: Odd Isaachsen Willoch (26 February 1885 – 9 April 1940) was a Norwegian naval officer who commanded one of the two coastal defence ships defending Narvik during the German invasion of Norway on 9 April 1940. Odd Isaachsen Willoch was born in Larvik , the son of chief engineer Einar Isaachsen and his wife Hannah (née Isaachsen). Willoch's grandfather was politician Isaach Isaachsen . He

78-619: A blue-water scenario; however, if correctly used in their home waters and in a defensive situation, they would probably have presented a major challenge for any aggressor. The Dutch used their armoured ships mainly to defend their interests overseas, in particular their colonial possessions in the West Indies (the islands of the Netherlands Antilles ) and the East Indies (primarily, modern Indonesia ). For this reason

117-893: A career in the Royal Norwegian Navy , attending the Norwegian Military Academy and studying radio technology in the United Kingdom . Before the Second World War he commanded the offshore patrol vessels Fridtjof Nansen and Michael Sars . In 1928 Willoch took part in the search for the Latham 47 flying boat that had disappeared over the Barents Sea while carrying the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen . By 1940 he had reached

156-470: A focused pulse of light, either by opening and closing shutters mounted in front of the lamp, or by tilting a concave mirror. They continue to be used to the present day on naval vessels and for aviation light signals in air traffic control towers, as a backup device in case of a complete failure of an aircraft's radio. Signal lamps were pioneered by the Royal Navy in the late 19th century. They were

195-459: A higher freeboard and usually possessing both higher speed and a secondary armament; some examples also mounted casemated guns (monitors' guns were almost always in turrets). They varied in size from around 1,500 tons to 8,000 tons. Their construction and appearance was often that of miniaturized pre-dreadnought battleships . As such, they carried heavier armour than cruisers or gunboats of equivalent size, were typically equipped with

234-571: A main armament of two or four heavy and several lighter guns in turrets or casemates, and could steam at a higher speed than most monitors. In service they were mainly used as movable coastal artillery rather than instruments of sea control or fleet engagements like the battleships operated by blue-water navies. Few of these ships saw combat in the First World War , though some did in the Second World War . The last were scrapped in

273-514: A signalman would aim the light at the recipient ship and turn a lever, opening and closing the shutter over the lamp, to emit flashes of light to spell out text messages in Morse code . On the recipient ship, a signalman would observe the blinking light, often with binoculars , and translate the code into text. The maximum transmission rate possible via such flashing light apparatus is no more than 14 words per minute . Some signal lamps are mounted on

312-625: A small hand-held design, which featured an improved shutter. Modern signal lamps can produce a focused pulse of light. In large versions, this pulse is achieved by opening and closing shutters mounted in front of the lamp, either via a manually operated pressure switch, or, in later versions, automatically. With hand-held lamps, a concave mirror is tilted by a trigger to focus the light into pulses. The lamps were usually equipped with some form of optical sight , and were most commonly used on naval vessels and in air traffic control towers, using colour signals for stop or clearance. In manual signalling,

351-642: The Battle of Tsushima in 1905. Apart from specially built coastal defence ships, some navies used various obsolescent ships in this role. The Royal Navy deployed four Majestic -class battleships as guardships in the Humber at the start of the First World War. Similarly, the U.S. Navy redesignated the Indiana and Iowa classes as "Coast Defense Battleships" in 1919. Such ships tended to be near

390-665: The Battle of the Atlantic . The Commonwealth navies and NATO forces use signal lamps when radio communications need to be silent or electronic " spoofing " is likely. Also, given the prevalence of night vision equipment in today's armed forces, signaling at night is usually done with lights that operate in the infrared (IR) portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, making them less likely to be detected. All modern forces have followed suit due to technological advances in digital communications. Signal lamps are still used today for aviation light signals in air traffic control towers as

429-512: The Eidsvold had communicated the events to Askim. Askim's response to the German demands and order to Willoch came immediately; Willoch and the Eidsvold was to open fire. Willoch responded to Askim; "I am attacking". While this was going on the German destroyer Wilhelm Heidkamp had positioned herself 700 metres (770 yd) off the port side of Eidsvold and trained her torpedo launchers on

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468-508: The Eidsvold the people on board fired a red signal flare. As the Germans moved away in their launch Willoch commanded his port battery to open fire and a drum signal was initiated. Willoch shouted to the crewmen around him: "På plass ved kanonene. Nå skal vi slåss, gutter!" (English: "Man the guns. We're going to fight, boys!" ). Seconds later, as Eidsvold had closed the distance to Wilhelm Heidkamp to 300 metres (330 yd), but before

507-573: The Eidsvold . The German officer told Willoch that the Germans were "coming as friends", but that the Norwegians had to hand over their warships to the German armed forces. Captain Willoch asked for time to consult his commander, Captain Per Askim , the commander of Norge . This request was refused by the Germans, but while Willoch had been talking to the German officer the radio officer on board

546-623: The Oslofjord , at Bergen and at Trondheim . It was still, however, unclear of who would reach Narvik first, the Germans or the British. It was known to the Norwegian commanders that the Royal Navy operated with a large force just off Northern Norway and it was therefore anticipated that these naval forces might attack Narvik to destroy the numerous German cargo ships in the port. In all there were 25 civilian ships of various nationalities in

585-657: The Sverige -class ships were one reason why Germany did not invade Sweden during World War II. Such speculation appeared in Warship Magazine Annual 1992 in the article "The Sverige Class Coastal Defence Ships," by Daniel G. Harris. This could be said to have been partly confirmed in the post war publication of German tactical orders, and of scenarios regarding attacking Sweden. The problems of maintaining an army in Sweden without sea superiority were emphasized, and

624-551: The mastheads of ships while some small hand-held versions are also used. Other more powerful versions are mounted on pedestals. These larger ones use a carbon arc lamp as their light source, with a diameter of 20 inches (510 mm). These can be used to signal to the horizon, even in conditions of bright sunlight. Signal lamps continue to be used to the present day on naval vessels. They provide handy, relatively secure communications, which are especially useful during periods of radio silence , such as for convoys operating during

663-581: The 1970s. Navies with coastal defence ships serving as their main capital ships included those of Denmark , Ecuador , Finland , the Netherlands , Norway , Portugal , Sweden , Thailand, and the British colonies of India and Victoria . Some nations which at one time or another built, bought, or otherwise acquired their own front-line capital ships, such as Argentina , Austria-Hungary , Brazil , China , Germany , Russia , and Spain , also deployed this type of warship, with Russia using three at

702-647: The Dutch had relegated all the surviving pantserschepen to secondary duties. The Axis powers , who seized some of the ships following the conquest of the Netherlands , converted several of those ships to serve as floating anti-aircraft batteries and subsequently utilized some as block ships . The navies of the following countries have operated coastal defence ships at some point in time. [REDACTED] Media related to Coastal defence ships at Wikimedia Commons Signal lamp Modern signal lamps produce

741-614: The Framnesodden peninsula. Soon after radio messages were received from the patrol boat Kelt further out in the Ofotfjord , relayed from Norge , that nine German destroyers were sailing towards Narvik. The tenth destroyer had been delayed and was lagging behind the rest of the German force. By 0400hrs visibility was so poor that the crew of the Eidsvold could not see land although they were only around 500 metres (550 yd) from shore, at which point Willoch ordered that his ship

780-408: The Norwegian ship. When the order came from Askim the German officer was about to leave to Eidsvold to return to his own vessel, but he was called back by the Norwegians and informed that the demands were not going to be met and that the Norwegian warship was to resist the German encroachment. The German officer did not reply to the Norwegian statements, but when the German launch set off away from

819-740: The Royal Norwegian Navy's efforts to protect and defend Norway's neutrality in the Second World War Norge and Eidsvold , the largest and most heavily armed Norwegian warships in service, had been based in Narvik. The 4,000 ton vessels and their commanders and crews were under orders to fire at any intruder, Narvik was under any and all circumstances to be defended by force. During the night of 8/9 April 1940 reports started coming in of German attacks further south in Norway, in

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858-567: The Swedish Pansarskepp of the Sverige class as battleships. The Swedish Pansarskepp were an outgrowth of the earlier Swedish adoption of the monitor and were used for similar duties. The Pansarskepp or Pansarbåt , with the notable exception of the Sverige class , were relatively small vessels with limited speed, shallow draft, and very heavy guns relative to the displacement. They were designed for close in-shore work in

897-540: The classical coastal defence ship, having heavier armament as well as better speed and armor (while still being small enough to operate and hide in the archipelagos and shallow waters off Sweden). The main difference was to be noted in their tactical doctrine and operations. Unlike other coastal defence ships the Sverige class formed the core of a traditional open-sea battle group ( Coastal Fleet ), operating with cruisers, destroyers , torpedo boats , and air reconnaissance in conformance with traditional battleship tactics of

936-923: The end of their service lives and while generally considered no longer fit for front-line service, they were still powerful enough for defensive duties in reserve situations. This type of vessel has always been categorized differently by different countries, due to treaties, differences in judgments related to design or intended roles, and also national pride. In the United Kingdom the Scandinavian ships were known as "coast defence ships". The Germans called these ships Küstenpanzerschiff ("coastal armoured ship"). The Danes referred to their ships as Kystforsvarsskib ("coast defence ship") and Panserskib ("armoured ship"). In Norway they were referred to as panserskip ("armoured ship"). The Dutch called their ships Kruiser ("cruiser"), Pantserschip ("armoured ship") or Slagschip ("battleship"). The Swedish term for these ships

975-523: The lack of available suitable units to face the Swedish navy was pointed out (“Stations for battle”, Insulander/Olsson, 2001). Summarizing the question of effectiveness for the Sverige class, it is likely that despite a good armament they would have been too small, slow, and cramped (from both a habitability and essential ship's stores standpoint), along with having insufficient range, to perform adequately against any traditional battlecruiser or battleship in

1014-422: The large-calibre guns of the Eidsvold could open fire, three torpedoes struck her. Just before the torpedoes, hit the ship's battery commander had given the order; "Port battery, salvo ". One of the German torpedoes hit the main ammunition hold, tearing apart Eidsvold , killing many crewmen and leaving the initial survivors swimming in water only just above freezing. Eidsvold broke in two and sank in 15 seconds,

1053-556: The littoral zone of Scandinavia, and other countries with shallow coastal waters. The aim was to outgun any ocean-going warship of the same draft by a significant margin, making it a very dangerous opponent for a cruiser, and deadly to anything smaller. The limitations in speed and seaworthiness were a trade-off for the heavy armament carried. Vessels similar to the Swedish Pansarskepp were also built and operated by Denmark, Norway, and Finland, all of which had similar naval requirements. The Sverige -class ships differed in several ways from

1092-468: The port of Narvik in the morning of 9 April 1940. For several weeks the Norwegian coastal defence ships had been preparing for war, carrying out intense gunnery exercises with live ammunition. The situation had steadily become more and more tense since the Altmark Incident on 16 February 1940. In the early hours of 9 April Willoch moved his warship out of Narvik harbour to a position north of

1131-672: The purpose of coastal defence, mostly during the period from 1860 to 1920. They were small, often cruiser -sized warships that sacrificed speed and range for armour and armament . They were usually attractive to nations that either could not afford full-sized battleships or could be satisfied by specially designed shallow-draft vessels capable of littoral operations close to their own shores. The Nordic countries and Thailand found them particularly appropriate for their island-dotted coastal waters. Some vessels had limited blue-water capabilities; others operated in rivers . The coastal defence ships differed from earlier monitors by having

1170-509: The rank of Captain ( kommandørkaptein ) and commanded the coastal defence ship HNoMS Eidsvold . On 9 April 1940 Norway was invaded by German forces as part of the Operation Weserübung . The northern port of Narvik, defended amongst other sea and land units by HNoMS Eidsvold and her sister ship HNoMS Norge , was one of their most important targets due its role as an all-year export port of Swedish iron ore . As part of

1209-457: The second generation of signalling in the Royal Navy, after the flag signals most famously used to spread Nelson's rallying-cry, " England expects that every man will do his duty ", before the Battle of Trafalgar . The idea of flashing dots and dashes from a lantern was first put into practice by Captain, later Vice Admiral, Philip Howard Colomb , of the Royal Navy, in 1867. Colomb's design used limelight for illumination. His original code

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1248-675: The ships had to be capable of long-range cruising, providing artillery support during amphibious operations , and carrying the troops and equipment needed in these operations. At the same time, these ships had to be armed and armoured well enough to face contemporary armoured cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy (the Netherlands' most likely enemy in the Pacific ), and as such they were expected to act as mini-battleships rather than strictly as coastal defence vessels. The last Dutch pantserschip , HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën ,

1287-705: The stern disappearing last at 0437hrs. Only six seamen survived the sinking of Eidsvold ; Willoch was not among the survivors. Willoch was awarded with the Haakon VII Coronation Medal , he was a Knight of the Icelandic Order of the Falcon and a Chevalier of the French Légion d'honneur . Coastal defence ship Coastal defence ships (sometimes called coastal battleships or coast defence ships ) were warships built for

1326-598: The time. This “mini-battle group” had no intention of challenging the great power navies in blue-water battles, but rather were to operate as a defensive shield to aggression challenging Swedish interests and territory. Based on the doctrine that one needs a battle group to challenge other battle groups, this force intended to form a problematic obstacle in the confined and shallow Baltic and Kattegat theatre, where traditional large warships would be limited to very predictable moving patterns exposing them to submarines, fast torpedo craft, and minefields. It has been suggested that

1365-698: Was a nephew of painter Olaf Isaachsen , and a cousin of painter Herman Willoch , physicist Daniel Isaachsen and scientist Haakon Isaachsen . He was the father of businessman Finn Isaachsen Willoch, and through him the grandfather of politician Ingrid I. Willoch . In addition, Odd Isaachsen Willoch was the uncle of national aviation director Erik I. Willoch and Prime Minister 1981–1986 Kåre I. Willoch . In 1911 Willoch married Marie Kristine ("Maja") Foss (born 1888 in Mosjøen ), fathering three children with her. They lived in Horten . Odd Isaachsen Willoch made

1404-470: Was built in 1909 as a stop-gap measure while the Dutch Admiralty and government contemplated an ambitious fleet plan comprising a number of dreadnought battleships . This ambition was never realized due to the outbreak of the First World War . The Second World War put an end to a similar project to obtain fast capital ships in the late 1930s with German assistance. Prior to the Second World War,

1443-531: Was initially 1:a klass Pansarbåt ("1st class armoured boat") and later Pansarskepp ("armoured ship"). Note however, that the German Panzerschiffe of the Deutschland class were not designed as coastal defense ships but as high seas raiders. As an example of the profusion of terms and classifications which often contradicted each other, the 1938 edition of Jane's Fighting Ships lists

1482-671: Was not identical to Morse code , but the latter was subsequently adopted. Another signalling lamp was the Begbie lamp, a kerosene lamp with a lens to focus the light over a long distance. During the trench warfare of World War I when wire communications were often cut, German signals used three types of optical Morse transmitters, called Blinkgerät , the intermediate type for distances of up to 4 km (2.5 miles) in daylight and of up to 8 km (5 miles) at night, using red filters for undetected communications. In 1944, British inventor Arthur Cyril Webb Aldis patented

1521-478: Was to raise anchor. At 0415hrs the first two German ships were spotted. As the German naval force of 10 destroyers attempted to enter Narvik Harbour Willoch challenged them, signalling the lead destroyer. When the intruding ships failed to reply to the light signals Eidsvold fired a warning shot from one of her 76 mm (3 inch) guns. In response to the warning shot the German flotilla commander, Kapitän zur See Friedrich Bonte , despatched an emissary to

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