:HNoMS Mjølner (1868)

The John Ericsson-class ironclads were designed to meet the need of the Swedish and Norwegian Navies for small, shallow-draft armored ships capable of defending their coastal waters. The standoff between {{USS|Monitor}} and the much larger {{ship|CSS|Virginia||6}} during the Battle of Hampton Roads in, early 1862, roused much interest in Sweden in this new type of warship, as it seemed ideal for coastal defense duties. John Ericsson, designer and builder of Monitor, born in Sweden—although becoming an American citizen in 1848—offered to share his design with the Swedes. In response, they sent Lieutenant John Christian d'Ailly to the United States to study monitor design and construction under Ericsson. D'Ailly arrived in July 1862 and toured rolling mills, gun foundries, and visited several different ironclads under construction. He returned to Sweden in 1863 having completed the drawings of a Monitor-type ship under Ericsson's supervision.Harris 1994, pp. 22–24

The ship was {{convert|60.88|m|ftin|sp=us}} long overall, with a beam of {{convert|13.54|m|ftin|sp=us}}. She had a draft of {{convert|3.4|m|ftin|sp=us}} and displaced {{convert|1522|t|LT|sp=us}}. Mjølner was divided into nine main compartments by eight watertight bulkheads. Over time a flying bridge and, later, a full superstructure, was added to each ship between the gun turret and the funnel.Bjoerud, p. 169 Initially her crew numbered 80 officers and men, but this increased to 104 as she was modified with additional weapons.Harris 1994, p. 26

The John Ericsson-class ships had one twin-cylinder vibrating lever steam engines, designed by Ericsson himself, driving a single four-bladed, {{convert|3.74|m|ftin|sp=us|adj=on}} propeller. Their engines were powered by four fire-tube boilers at a working pressure of {{convert|40|psi|kPa kg/cm2|0|abbr=on|lk=on}}. The engines produced a total of {{convert|380|ihp|lk=in}} which gave the monitors a maximum speed of {{convert|6.5|kn|lk=in}} in calm waters. The ships carried {{convert|110|t|LT|}} of coal, enough for six day's steaming.Harris 1994, pp. 26–27

Mjølner was initially armed with a pair of Armstrong {{convert|270|mm|in|sp=us|1|adj=on}} rifled muzzle-loading guns. Each gun was constructed of steel and weighed {{convert|18.5|LT|t}}. The ship also carried an {{convert|80|mm|sp=us|adj=on}} gun. During Mjølner{{'}}s reconstruction in 1897 her gun turret was fixed in place and modified to serve as a barbette for her two new breech-loading Cockerill {{convert|120|mm|adj=on|sp=us}} guns. She also received two {{convert|124|mm|sp=us|adj=on}} and {{convert|65|mm|sp=us|adj=on}} Cockerill guns mounted in her superstructure. In addition two {{convert|37|mm|in|adj=on|sp=us}} Hotchkiss 5-barrel revolving guns were mounted in the superstructure.Harris 1994, pp. 27, 34 They fired a shell weighing about {{convert|1.1|lb|kg|abbr=on}} at a muzzle velocity of about {{convert|2000|ft/s|m/s|abbr=on}}, for a range of about {{convert|3500|yd|m}}, with a rate of fire of about 30 rounds per minute.{{cite web|url=http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_1pounder_m1.htm|title=United States of America 1-pdr (0.45 kg) 1.46" (37 mm) Marks 1 through 15|date=15 August 2008|access-date=22 August 2010|publisher=Navweps.com}}

The John Ericsson-class ships had a complete waterline armor belt of wrought iron {{convert|1.8|m|ftin|sp=us}} high and {{convert|124|mm|in|1|sp=us}} thick. The armor consisted of five plates backed by {{convert|91|mm|in|1|sp=us}} of wood. The lower edge of this belt was three plates ({{convert|74.2|mm|in|1|sp=us}}) thick. The maximum thickness of the armored deck was {{convert|24.7|mm|in|1|sp=us}} in two layers. The gun turret's armor consisted of twelve layers of iron, totalling {{convert|270|mm|in|1|sp=us}} in thickness on the first four monitors. The inside of the turret was lined with mattresses to catch splinters. The base of the turret was protected with a {{convert|127|mm|in|adj=on|sp=us}} glacis, {{convert|520|mm|in|1|sp=us}} high, and the turret's roof was 127 millimeters thick. The conning tower was positioned on top of the turret and its sides were ten layers ({{convert|250|mm|in|1|sp=us}}) thick. The funnel was protected by six layers of armor with a total thickness of {{convert|120|mm|in|1|sp=us}} up to half its height.

The Norwegians had built one monitor-type ship of their own, {{ship|HNoMS|Skorpionen||2}}, in 1865, and laid down several others, but the Norwegian Parliament authorized construction of Mjølner in 1867 in Sweden at the cost of 1,102,000 Norwegian krone.The exact relationship between the Norwegian {{sclass|Skorpionen|monitor|4}} and the John Ericsson class is unclear. Harris 1994 says that the Skorpionen class merely had five, instead of four, boilers and were otherwise identical, see p. 34. But Gardiner cites slightly different dimensions and counts Mjølner as part of the class, see p. 368, as does Silverstone, p. 350 She was launched in 1868 and completed on 7 September of that year.Harris 1994, p. 27 Mjølner ran aground at Kragerø on 21 June 1869, and could not be pulled off the rocks until the ship's ammunition, iron ballast and {{convert|120|LT|t}} of coal were removed. Her repairs were completed on 7 July 1869 by the Royal Dockyard at Horten, at the cost of 5,000 krone. The court of inquiry found the ship's commander and the pilot liable for the repairs, but the parliament released the two from their obligation two years later.Harris 1995, p. 172 She was visited by King Charles XV of Sweden when visiting one of Sweden's west-coast ports in the early 1870s. Mjølner was laid up after her refit in 1897, but was mobilized during 1905 when the personal union between Sweden and Norway was dissolved. She returned to reserve afterward, and was sold for scrap in 1909.

{{reflist|group=Note}}

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• {{cite journal|last=Bojerud|first=Stellan|year=1986|title=Monitors and Armored Gunboats of the Royal Swedish Navy, Part 1|journal=Warship International|publisher=International Naval Records Organization|volume=XXIII|issue=2|pages=167–180|issn=0043-0374}}
• {{cite book|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905|editor=Gardiner, Robert|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=London|year=1979|isbn=0-8317-0302-4|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/conwaysallworlds0000unse_l2e2}}
• {{cite book|title=Warship 1994|editor=Roberts, John|chapter=The Swedish Monitors|author=Harris, Daniel G.|authorlink=Daniel Gibson Harris|pages=22–34|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=1994|isbn=1-55750-903-4}}
• {{cite book|title=Warship 1995|editor=Roberts, John|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=London|year=1995|isbn=0-85177-654-X|chapter=Warship Note|author=Harris, Daniel G.|pages=171–178}}
• {{cite book|last=Silverstone|first=Paul H.|title=Directory of the World's Capital Ships|year=1984|publisher=Hippocrene Books|location=New York|isbn=0-88254-979-0}}

• [http://navalhistory.flixco.info/H/283109x53056/8330/a0.htm Naval History via Flix: Skorpionen]
• [http://navalhistory.flixco.info/H/283168x53053(a53074z1e283109)/8330/a0.htm Naval History via Flix: Mjølner]{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

{{John Ericsson class monitors}}

{{Norwegian monitors}}

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Category:John Ericsson-class monitors of the Royal Norwegian Navy

Category:Skorpionen-class monitors

Category:Ships built in Norrköping

Category:1868 ships