HNoMS Tor (1939)

As part of the Norwegian rearmament scheme in the last years leading up to the Second World War, the Royal Norwegian Navy began building a series of new destroyers. The six ships of the Sleipner class were larger than the preceding First World War vintage Draug-class vessels. At some 735 tons the Sleipner-class ships were still much smaller than the destroyers of the major navies of the time. The Royal Norwegian Navy had requested 1,000 ton destroyers, but financial constraints led to the 735-ton Sleipner class being constructed as a compromise. The Sleipner-class design focused on anti-surface and anti-aircraft artillery, and modern anti-submarine equipment. The ships did however suffer from insufficient range and seaworthiness.[4]

The construction of Tor was financed through the extraordinary appropriations to the Norwegian Armed Forces following the outbreak of the Second World War. The funds were intended to improve the armed forces' ability to protect Norwegian neutrality against violations by the warring parties. While all five of her sister ships were constructed at the Royal Norwegian Navy's main naval yard at Karljohansvern in Horten, Tor was built at Fredrikstad Mekaniske Verksted in Fredrikstad. Her keel was laid in November 1938. The penultimate ship of the Sleipner class, she was launched on 7 September 1939.[4][5][6]

The successful launch of Tor at Fredrikstad Mekaniske Verksted led member of parliament from the Conservative Party, naval captain Trygve Sverdrup, in a closed meeting of the Parliament of Norway on 11 March 1940, to argue for further Sleipner-class ships to be rapidly constructed at the shipyard in order to improve the numbers of the Royal Norwegian Navy.[7][8]

After she rejoined the Royal Norwegian Navy Tor was given her old name back, and on 19 September 1946 was allocated the pennant number L.04.[28] In the force lists provided to the Norwegian Parliament in 1946, Tor, her three sister ships, two Hunt-class ships and a vessel still under construction at Karljohansvern were listed as escort destroyers.[29] In 1948 Tor and the four other Sleipner-class vessels that had survived the war, were rebuilt as frigates.[28] During the 1950s Tor was issued with the NATO pennant number F.303.[20] In 1959 Tor and her surviving sister ships were all written off and sold for scrapping.[9]

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