Norwegian K-class submarine

For other types of submarine called the K class, see K class submarine (disambiguation).

The Norwegian K class submarines are a class of three submarines the Royal Norwegian Navy received from Germany in 1948 as Allied war spoils. They were built as the Type VIIC/41 U-boat from 1940 to 1945. The ships were named HNoMS Kya (ex-U-926), Kinn (ex-U-1202), and Kaura (ex-U-995). Kaura was returned to Germany in 1971 as a museum ship. It is the only surviving Type VII in the world.

HNoMS Kaura (U-995) at the Laboe Naval Memorial
Class overview
Operators	Royal Norwegian Navy
Built	1940–1945
In commission	1948–1965
Preserved	1
General characteristics
Class & type	German Type VII submarine
Displacement	769 tonnes (757 long tons) surfaced 871 tonnes (857 long tons) submerged
Length	67.1 m (220 ft 2 in) o/a 50.5 m (165 ft 8 in) pressure hull
Beam	6.2 m (20 ft 4 in) o/a 4.7 m (15 ft 5 in) pressure hull
Height	9.6 m (31 ft 6 in)
Draft	4.74 m (15 ft 7 in)
Propulsion	Diesel-electric 2 × Diesel engines 3,200 shp; 2,400 kW electric motors 740 shp; 552 kW
Speed	17.7 knots (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) surfaced 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph) submerged
Range	14,500 nmi (26,900 km; 16,700 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 125 nmi (232 km; 144 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth	250 m (820 ft)
Complement	44-52 men
Armament	5 × torpedo tubes (4 bow, 1 stern), 14 torpedoes 1 × 88 mm (3.5 in)/45 deck gun with 220 rounds

Description

The German type VIIC/41 was a slightly modified version of the successful VIIC and had the same armament and engines. The difference was a stronger pressure hull and lighter machinery to compensate for the added steel in the hull, making them actually slightly lighter than the VIIC. A total of 91 were built.

Bibliography

• Peterson, John (3 March 2015). The Norwegian K-Class: German U-boats in the Royal Norwegian Navy. ASIN B00U9U2BBC.