Sea Classics Battle of the Fjords article

By Kit Bonner. He claims that Norway was the costliest country 2nd only to Russia Germany invaded, & that the Germans lost a Battleship & that  destroyer captains ran aground proving they didn't have the skill & seamanship for such an operation, untrained crews unexperienced in such weather conditions. Amazing in the amount of errors & bias.

Casualty figure for France are much higher than for Norway. German destroyers sailed in Norwegian & Icelandic waters previously.

Max Schulze, Georg Ziele & Richard Beitzen go to Iceland & Norway.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/16118167@N04/7630881032/




http://www.militaryeducation.org/10-bloodiest-battles-of-world-war-ii/



The Germans deployed 107,000 men to seize Denmark and Norway and suffered total casualties on land of 5,660




Hitler had expected a million Germans to die in conquering France; instead, he had won in six weeks. Only 27,000 Germans were killed, 18,400 were missing, and 111,000 wounded

Plus the article misses the point OF Norway, easier access to Atlantic, Murmansk convoy interdiction ability, Aluminum, Polybenadium, Swedish Ore protection, ( also denying it to the British), & even explosives, Report from # 24 book mentions the importance of Norwegian explosive production after Sardinia fell. http://www.amazon.com/Report-Norways-saboteur-translated-Norwegian/dp/B002LH01DG

& another point entirely missed was how much the British lost, Ore as previously mentioned, a Carrier & nearly all it aviation pilots, control of Norway itself & its raw materials, loss of British naval prestige & 14 warships plus equipment left at Norway. The British lost way more than the Germans did for no gain whatsoever.



The author also mentions the Germans destroyer force lost half it's strength & never mage god on these losses,( or replaced them in other words), again, incorrect, Exactly 10 new destroyers were commissioned starting with Z 24 up to Z 33 in about a year. Sept 41 being when Z 33 went online. http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/german_destroyers.htm

Then there were the 15 Schichau Destroyers, known as Ebling class torpedo boats. These were actually bigger than some British Destroyers.

With a full load displacement of 1,754 tons and mounting a main armament of four 105mm (4.1 inch) single guns and six 21in torpedo tubes in two triple mounts, they were comparable with British destroyers of the period.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_torpedo_boats_of_World_War_II

British A & B class were 1,350 tons vs 1754 for Schichau Destroyers for example. This gives the Germans considerably more Destroyers than the author concluded. Then there were The Predator Class, 933 tons, 92.6 m vs 98 m for British A class. http://www.wehrmacht-history.com/kriegsmarine/torpedo-boats/jaguar-torpedo-boat.htm 20 of these built.


A

The A class was the first full class of the inter-war years and reckoned to be a successful design for their time. A full flotilla of nine was built for the Royal Navy, between 1928 and 1931, plus two more for the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). Eight were lost during the war.

They displaced 1,350 tons and they could attain 35 knots. Main armament was four 4.7 inch QF Mark IX guns, in single mounts, and eight 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes. Anti-aircraft weaponry consisted of one of the unsatisfactory 3 inch Mark II 20cwt QF gun and two 2-pounder Mark II pom pom guns. Thirty depth charges were carried.

B[edit]

A near copy of the As, the B class nine ship flotilla was built between 1929 and 1931. Five were lost.

They were only slightly larger than the A class, 1360 tons (standard).




15 Schichau, 20 Predator class, and 19 more Zerstorer class built = 45. This whole notion of German destroyer force cut in half at Narvik & the losses never made good is a load of horse apples.

The othor also mentions 2 German Destroyers ran aground at Narvik, proving their lack of skill in perfroming such a mission. Well Cruiser Cruiser Cruiser “EFFINGHAM” And Destroyer Cossack also ran aground at Norway, does this also prove these captains lack of skill to perform such work at Norway?

http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-06CL-Effingham.htm

18th        Ran aground at 23 knots on Faksen Shoal in Vestfjord, near Bliksvoer, when taking short cut.

                               Position 67.17N 13-58E.




http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/4423.html

During the Second Battle of Narvik on 13th April 1940, Cossack ran aground and sustained serious damage

There several types of German torpedo boats, see here for clarification.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_torpedoboats_of_World_War_II