Sinking old, decommissioned warships is standard practice for navies to test their weapon systems.

NATO submarines sank a decommissioned Norwegian frigate and recorded the strike as a message to friends and foes.  

The sinking took place in September, but NATO just released footage from the exercise.  

A Torpedo Hits a Norwegian Submarine  

In September, a Norwegian submarine sank the decommissioned Norwegian frigate KNM Trondheim near the island of Senja, in the northern part of Norway. 

NATO released a video from the sinking exercise. It begins with footage from the submarine’s periscope watching the decommissioned frigate KNM Trondheim from a distance. Seconds later, torpedoes hit the frigate midship, raising her in the air. The video then switches to cameras onboard the KNM Trondheim, showing the actual impact of a heavyweight torpedo on a frigate. The effect is devastating. The decommissioned warship lists and sinks within minutes of being struck.  

According to the NATO Allied Joint Force Command Norfolk, the sinking of the decommissioned Norwegian warship was part of Exercise Aegir 25 and was carried out to verify and demonstrate the striking power of the transatlantic alliance’s submarine fleet. NATO released the video over the weekend.  

But before the frigate sank, NATO warships had wreaked havoc on her with missiles. The Royal Navy frigate HMS Somerset and Norwegian Navy KNM Thor Heyerdahl fired Naval Strike Missiles at the decommissioned warship. 

This is not the first time KNM Trondheim has been used as a mock target for testing purposes. More than a decade ago, the Norwegian military used the same decommissioned warship to test the effectiveness and destructive capability of the homegrown Naval Strike Missile. 

It was also not the first decommissioned Norwegian warship to succumb to a friendly munition. As part of the same exercise, US Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bombers joined with Norwegian Air Force F-35A Lightning II stealth fighter jets and P-8 Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft to sink KNM Bergen in a Quicksink exercise.  

Sinking old and decommissioned warships and support vessels is standard practice for navies to test their weapon systems in realistic conditions. In the past, it was far more common practice. Indeed, after the end of World War II and the downsizing of the US Navy, the Pentagon tested air and naval nuclear weapons against scores of decommissioned warships and support vessels, including captured German and Japanese ships.  

Submarines Are Predators of the Seas  

Attack submarines are true predators of the seas.  

Attack submarines, the type of sub designed to hunt and sink enemy shipping, can lie under the waves undetected for long periods of time waiting for the opportune moment when an unsuspecting enemy warship, support vessel, or commercial ship crosses their path. Then, the attack subs would pounce with a carefully aimed torpedo.  

Back in the day, subs also carried cannons, and commanders had the option to surface and engage the enemy ship with direct fire. That was standard practice when intercepting a support vessel or commercial ship. It was considered more effective to sink ships like that because it saved precious torpedoes and also gave the enemy crew an opportunity to disembark in lifeboats. But submarines could not do that when facing enemy warships, unless the warship was crippled and half-sinking, because they would get obliterated by the surface combatant’s superior firepower.  

About the Author: Stavros Atlamazoglou     

Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations and a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He holds a BA from the Johns Hopkins University and an MA from the Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.    

Image: DVIDS.

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