The long Period of Peace (1864-1914):
50 Years of
Preparation assured Denmark's Neutrality during the
1st World War
Broad
political agreement and popular support ensured the best conditions for The
Navy to enforce Denmark’s desire for neutrality in a continued politically
unstable Europe.
The
technological development continued relentlessly and the era of wooden ships
and sailing ships was over. The role of Ships of the Line was filled by large
armored ships while new weapons and tactics were developed.
During the
almost 50 years of peace, emergence of new weaponry and ships would heavily
influence the next 100 years of naval warfare. Some examples are mine layers,
mine sweepers, torpedo boats and not the least submarines and airplanes.
By Johnny E. Balsved/translated
by J. D. Nielsen
Following
the conclusion of the war in 1864, technological development continued and The
Navy pursued the enormous advancements within naval warfare technology as well
as possible given budgetary constraints.
The wooden
ships were replaced by armored ships and ships made of steel.
The era of
sail powered vessels also came to an end, and coal burning steam engines and
steam turbines replaced the sails.
During 1866,
The Navy left its base at Gammelholm in the inner city of Copenhagen, only the
old smithies, now The Naval Church (Holmens Kirke), remained. All activities, including ship
building now took place on Nyholm.
The cruiser corvette
VALKYRIEN leaving the port of Copenhagen,
seen here in her white/yellow paint scheme.
(Photo: Archives of the Royal
Danish Naval Museum)
Enforcing
Danish neutrality
During the next many years, the Danish
foreign policy was based on maintaining neutrality. This meant that The Navy
should be structured for defense related purposes and, at the same time,
retain sufficient power to ensure an active enforcement of neutrality.
Conditions in Europe were influenced
by the changing political alliances and various wars, among those the
French-German war 1870-1871.
In cooperation with Sweden, Denmark had the
ability to close Oresund, while Denmark alone could close Storebaelt and thus
prevent access for the larger powers to and from The Baltic. Conversely, it
was also possible to ease passage through the Danish and Swedish straits.
In the meantime, regardless of the
model chosen, the ability to control access to and from The Baltic made the
probability of maintaining neutrality during a possible large power conflict
somewhat questionable.
As a case in point, during the 1890's
The British considered a landing near Esbjerg, or some other suitable place on
the West Coast of Jutland or Schleswig-Holstein, for the purposes of
destroying The Kieler Canal and commencing a secondary front in case of a war
with Germany.
We could thus defend ourselves,
formally or by using our best abilities, against any attempt to breach our
neutrality, but without assurances about the consequences. Considerations
also had to be given regarding relations with the neighbors after a war.
Therefore, the Danish and Swedish
policy of neutrality, was, to a large extend, based on the larger powers’
understanding and agreement.
Mines and Torpedoes
During the war of 1864 Denmark had
already used a rather primitive mine, while in other countries, cable mines
with powder warheads and electrical fuses were in use.
Denmark now attempted to make a
specific Danish type of mine, and the first step was taken by The Army in 1866
with the establishment of a Sea Mine Department.
During the same year, The Navy
procured its first diving apparatus.
The torpedo boat,
SPRINGEREN, (1891-1919) was the first Danish-built
torpedo boat. In the background, the Sea mine base at Bramsnaesvig.
(Photo: Archives of the Royal
Danish Naval Museum)
April 1, 1878, The Sea Mine Department was
established as a stand-alone entity with responsibility for sea mines and
torpedoes.
During the first years, experimentation with
torpedo launching took place from ships, but in 1883, a sea mine base was
established at Bramsnaesvig in Holbaek Fjord. It was here torpedoes had to be
tested before use on board ships.
The first torpedoes had a speed of 20
knots and a warhead weighing 35 kilos. The speed of the torpedo, and the size
of the warhead, were gradually increased.
Development of the new weapons led to
new types of ships such as mine layers, mine sweepers and torpedo boats. As
early as 17th. September 1878, the first torpedo boat squadron was
established, consisting of the steam launches numbers one, two and three
equipped with torpedo firing mechanisms.
Later, The Navy acquired purpose-built
torpedo boats from England and in September 1890, the first Danish-built
torpedo boat,
SPRINGEREN, was launched from The Naval Shipyard in
Copenhagen.
New Ships
The technological development
continued relentlessly and while the era of wooden ships and sail powered
ships was over, there were different opinions regarding which type of ships
should be constructed for the future, not just in Denmark but in the rest of
Europe as well.
Construction of the new armored ships
(the monitors) continued and in 1880 the armored ship
TORDENSKJOLD was
launched from The Naval Shipyard. With its 35-cm gun, The
TORDENSKJOLD
remained the most heavily armed armored warship in Scandinavia for many years.
Also, this was the first Danish warship constructed primarily of steel.
Some, however, continued to believe in
sail power and September 27, 1882, the last of The Navy's
large ships rigged for sails, the frigate
FYEN, was launched. While her
time as a warship was relatively short, she continued existence as a barracks
ship at the Holmen Naval Base until 1962.
The armored ship,
TORDENSKJOLD, launched 1880,
was, in addition to being The Navy’s first ship built of steel, also the most
heavily armed war ship in Scandinavia with its 35 cm gun.
(Photo: Archives of the Royal
Danish Naval Museum)
The Cruiser (cruiser corvette)
VALKYRIEN was launched in 1888 and during the years from 1890 until 1895
the cruisers
HEKLA,
GEJSER and
HEJMDAL were launched.
Around the turn of the century three
powerful armored ships with large engines and a heavy armament were launched.
These were the
HERLUF TROLLE (1909), the
OLFERT FISCHER (1903)
and the
PEDER SKRAM (1908).
World Wide
Voyages
The long period of peace from
1864 - 1914 provided The Navy with many possibilities to show the flag around
The World.
The frigate
SJÆLLAND,
commanded by commodore Rasmus C. Malthe Bruun, cruised in The Mediterranean
during 1869-1870 and participated with 40 other warships in the opening
ceremonies of the Suez Canal November 17, 1869.
March 26, 1870, the
screw frigate
TORDENSKJOLD was commissioned and, commanded by Captain
Friedrich Lund, sailed on a voyage to East Asia, where, among other duties,
she carried and placed an undersea telegraph cable for The Great Northern
Telegraph Company.
During this voyage the frigate
visited, among other countries, China and Japan before she returned to Holmen
in 1872.
The screw frigate
TORDENSKJOLD leaving Copenhagen April 3,
1870 to embark on an almost two year long voyage to South East Asia.
(Drawing by Carl Baagoe,
from the archives of the Royal
Danish Naval Museum)
In 1878 the screw frigate
SJÆLLAND,
commanded by Captain Johan C. Kraft, was dispatched to the Danish West India
Islands (now the U.S. Virgin Islands) in connection with a slave revolt on
these islands. The revolt was brought to a conclusion when the frigate arrived
November 25, 1878.
During the years 1899 - 1900 the
cruiser
VALKYRIEN, commanded by Captain, HrH Prince Valdemar, was dispatched
on a voyage to promote Danish trade and shipping. She visited, among other
countries, Siam (Thailand) and Japan.
May 11, 1902, while
the cruiser
VALKYRIEN, commanded by Captain H. P. Holm, was stationed
in West India, the Volcano Mont Pelees on the island of Martinique erupted on
May 8th, and during the subsequent rescue operation the
Valkyrien saved 567 people.
During a voyage to The Mediterranean,
the cruiser
HEJMDAL, commanded by Commander J. H. Schultz, assisted victims
of the earthquake in Messina December 28, 1908.
Enter the Submarines
Yet another type of vessel emerged, a
type of craft which would heavily influence the coming world wars.
The new craft - the Submarine or the
U-boat - became part of The Navy in 1909 when the Italian-built
DYKKEREN
was procured.
The Navy's first submarine,
DYKKEREN, was commissioned in 1909.
She is here seen in the
Port of Copenhagen
with The Royal yacht,
DANNEBROG, in the background.
(Photo: Archives of the Royal
Danish Naval Museum)
During the next few years, The Navy
received another six submarines, the so-called
A-class, three of which
were built in Italy, while the remaining three were built at the Naval
Shipyard. The submarine
HAVMANDEN, launched December 23,
1911, became the first submarine to be built in Denmark.
The Naval Air Service Was Born
The visionary Ministry of The Navy
commenced a study already in 1910 to determine how The Navy’s personnel might
best be schooled in aerial operations. This took place only six years
following the first flight by Ellehammer.
March 25, 1912, The
Navy received its first airplane, donated by a private individual who was very
interested in flying - Consul general Ludvigsen. In accordance with The Navy’s
age-old tradition of naming its crafts, the airplane was named GLENTEN.
The aeroplane GLENTEN, The navy's first
airplane, had a 50 hp engine and a top speed of 80 kph.
(Photo: Archives of the Royal
Danish Naval Museum)
In April 1923, The Navy received two
French two-seated Donnet-Leveque seaplanes (flying boats), these were procured
by means of funds collected by private citizens. The seaplanes were named
MAAGEN and TERNEN.
During the next two years the
airplanes and seaplanes were stationed at Kloevermarken in Copenhagen, where a
tent and a small hangar served as the operations platform.
A
well-equipped Navy
The relatively shallow depths in
Danish territorial waters favored a mine warfare defense, as is still the case
today, and cable mines were to be utilized to close Danish waterways to enemy
vessels. These mine fields could be controlled from the shore and using a
simple device, the mines could be activated or deactivated.
To deny access for the enemy’s mine sweepers, it
was necessary to defend the mine fields by means of shore or ship-based
artillery.
The armored
ship
HERLUF TROLLE painted in the
original black/yellow paint scheme.
(Photo: Archives of the Royal
Danish Naval Museum)
Artillery ships, as well as torpedo and
patrol boats, were necessary to safeguard neutrality, just as an effective
defense necessitated the use of submarines.
Several years after the war of 1864,
issues pertaining to the armed forces had been kept outside party politics, and
until 1885 there was broad political agreement regarding the Danish policy of
neutrality.
The defense agreement in 1909 included a
large budget for The Navy to procure ships and equipment. During the years
1909-1914, nine torpedo boats and six submarines were commissioned. In addition,
the stocks of ammunition, torpedoes and mines were greatly increased.
The debate about the Defense Agreement
of 1909 created a high level of public interest, and among other things, this
resulted in the procurement and donation to The Navy of the submarine
2den
April by "The Danish Women's defense collection" in 1913.
Thus, when the dark clouds of war gathered over
Europe in 1914, Denmark, with its powerful navy and the will to defend
itself, had the means to enforce the desired neutrality.
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Sources: |
& |
Danmarks Flåde - fra bue og pil til
missil ("Denmark's Navy - from Bow and Arrow to Missile"), by Jørgen
Teisen, Bogans forlag, 1984 (ISBN 87-7466-027-6) |
|
& |
Dansk Marineflyvning 1911-1998
("Danish Naval Aviation 1911-1998"),
by Niels M. Probst,
Forlaget Marinehistoriske skrifter, 1998 (ISBN 87-87720-15-9) |
|
& |
Dansk Udenrigspolitiks Historie, Vol.
3 - Fra Helstat til Nationalstat ("Danish Foreign Policy History"),
by Claus Bjørn & Carsten Due-Nielsen, editors: Carsten Due-Nielsen,
Ole Feldbæk & Nikolaj Petersen,
Gyldendals Leksikon, Copenhagen 2003 (ISBN-7789-91-4) |
|
& |
Orlogsmuseet - Introduktion til
Flådens historie ("The Naval Museum - Introduction to the History
of the Navy"), by Ole
Lisberg Jensen,
Orlogsmuseet, Copenhagen 1994 (ISBN 87-89322-14-2) |
|
44You are also referred to the
Naval Bibliography |
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