F 348 "HVIDBJØRNEN"
- an inspection vessel from the Royal Danish Navy -
"Hvidbjørnen" is the first ship I have ever been serving on as a professional.
She was an inspection vessel from the Royal Danish Navy. That was way back in 1968,- and since then I have been a seagoing man - - -
First a panorama view of the old naval base,- Holmen-, of Copenhagen . This is from the sixties , when Holmen was at its peak as a naval base , and very busy.
Today Holmen is not a naval base anymore.
Navy base "Holmen" in Copenhagen - 1968 (Photography by Karsten Petersen)
Holmen in 1968,- with its old , historical mast crane to the very right,- and a "Triton" class corvette, - the F346 "Flora" -, maneuvering in the port. The inspection vessel F350 "Ingolf" , - a sister ship to F 348 "Hvidbjørnen -, is shown alongside just below the modern crane to the right in the picture - - -
F 348 "Hvidbjørnen" (Photography by karsten Petersen)
Displacement,- fully equipped: 1777,7 tons
Length,- overall: 73,05 m.
Armament: 1 pc. 76 mm. gun, 2 pcs. 37 mm. machine guns, depth charges
Propulsion: 4 diesel engines,- 6400 bhp.
"Hvidbjørnen"
Here is the logo of "HVIDBJØRNEN". "Hvidbjørnen" means the "White Bear".
This beautiful logo was mounted in front, just below the bridge - - - (Photography by Karsten Petersen)
"Hvidbjørnen",- who gave name to a class of 4 inspections ships -, was launched in 1961, and served the Navy well for 30 years up to the end of 1992.
The ships of this class were the work horses of the North Atlantic, specially designed for rough service in ice filled waters,- like the North Atlantic-, around Greenland and the Faroe Islands, and could, - if necessary -, be maneuvered from the completely enclosed "crow's nest" in the mast.
F 348 "Hvidbjørnen" "Hvidbjørnen",- a closer look. Take note of the enclosed "crow's nest" in the mast - - (Photography by Karsten Petersen)
F 348 "Hvidbjørnen" - "Hvidbjørnen" at the naval yard at Holmen, together with the sail training ship "Danmark" - (Photography by Karsten Petersen)
F 348 "Hvidbjørnen" - being equipped for the upcoming season - at the Naval Dock Yard - (Photography by Karsten Petersen)
F 348 "Hvidbjørnen" - view aft to the helicopter deck, - now used for storing four survey boats - (Photography by Karsten Petersen)
In the background is the historical mast crane from the hey day of sail, - and from left to right is following ships visible: The Triton class corvette F 346 "Flora", - and an unidentified mine layer of the Falster class, - and finally the forward part of frigate F 353 "Herluf Trolle" of the Peder Skram class-
F 348 "Hvidbjørnen" - view to bridge and name plate - (Photography by Karsten Petersen)
F 348 "Hvidbjørnen" - view from the bridge, - looking aft - (Photography by Karsten Petersen)
F 348 "Hvidbjørnen" - and looking up towards the enclosed crow's nest, and the huge radar scanner on top - (Photography by Karsten Petersen)
F 348 "Hvidbjørnen" - and looking up towards the enclosed crow's nest, and the huge radar scanner on top - (Photography by Karsten Petersen)
F 348 "Hvidbjørnen" - details of mid ships section, photographed at the naval base Holmen, Copenhagen . (Take note of the sail training ship "Georg Stage" in dry dock behind.) (Photography by Karsten Petersen)
F 348 "Hvidbjørnen" (Photography by Karsten Petersen)
"HVIDBJØRNEN",- departing Kolding. The square compartment aft,- as seen clearly on this picture-, is a hangar for a helicopter,- which could take off and land on the aft deck - - -
F 348 "Hvidbjørnen" (Photography by Karsten Petersen)
F 348 "Hvidbjørnen" - entering the port of Kolding - (Photography by Karsten Petersen)
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Sister Ships
"Hvidbjørnen had three sister ships, - F 349 "Vædderen", - F 350 "Ingolf" and F 351 "Fylla" , which is shown on the following picture.
F 351 "Fylla" - in Godthaab,- present days Nuuk -, in Greenland - (Photography by Karsten Petersen)
Please check out the page with pictures of F 350 "INGOLF", -the sister ship of F 348 "HVIDBJØRNEN"
I did NOT directly serve on "Ingolf", but used her accomodation and was transported by her to the airport in Søndre Strømfjord, - when my assignment in Greenland was over and I had to go back to the main navy base - Holmen - in Copenhagen - - -