The Tjeld class was based on a prototype fast patrol boat, the Nasty, developed and introduced as a private venture by Boat Services Ltd. A/S, Oslo, in close cooperation with Royal Norwegian Navy officers with World War II experience in fast patrol boats; the chief designer being naval architect Jan Herman Linge.
The Norwegian Tjeld-class vessels were constructed at Westermoen Båtbyggeri in Mandal. The first group of twelve vessels was ordered in 1957, launched between 1959 and 1960, and commissioned in 1960-1962. A second group of eight vessels was ordered in 1962, launched 1962-63 and commissioned 1963-66.
The design was also marketed abroad, to the then-West German Navy and the U.S. Navy, where they were known as the Nasty class, and to the Hellenic Navy as the Tjeld, or Improved Nasty type.[1]
The U.S. Navy operated twenty of the United States Nasty-class patrol boats, with pennant numbers PTF-3 through PTF-22, primarily in the conduct of riverine warfare during the Vietnam War. A subsequent improved version, the Osprey class, was larger with aluminum instead of wooden hulls, of which four were operated by the U.S.Navy, PTF-23 through PTF-26.[2] Many examples were later transferred to and operated by Naval Reserve units in the 1970s and 1980s until phased out of service. A handful survive as museum articles, either restored or currently undergoing restoration.
The twenty Tjeld class vessels remained in service until the late 1970s; Skarv was stricken in 1978 and six others in 1979, the remainder being laid up in reserve. All vessels had been disposed of by 1995.[1] All the vessels of the first group were named after seabirds; those of the second group were named for fish or sea mammals. Some of the boats were later renamed, as the bird names were going to be used for the . These boats took over the names of other Tjeld-class vessels which had been sold in 1981.
| Name | Pennant number | Date of launch | Delivery date | Builder | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tjeld ("oystercatcher") | P343 | 25 June 1960 | Renamed Sel 1977. Transferred to Naval Reserve and used by Sea Home Guard. Sold for scrapping 1992. | ||
| Skarv (cormorant) | P344 | 15 October 1960 | Westermoen | Sold 1981 [3] | |
| Teist (black guillemot) | P345 | 7 February 1961 | Westermoen | Sold 1981 | |
| Jo (skua) | P346 | 17 February 1961 | Westermoen | Sold 1981 | |
| Lom (common murre) | P347 | 28 March 1961 | Westermoen | Sold 1981 | |
| Stegg (male grouse) | P348 | 28 April 1961 | Westermoen | Renamed Hval 1977. Transferred to Naval Reserve and used by Sea Home Guard. Sold for scrapping 1992 | |
| Hauk (hawk) | P349 | 30 June 1961 | Westermoen | Renamed Laks. Transferred to Naval Reserve and used by Sea Home Guard. Sold for scrapping 1992.[4] | |
| Falk (falcon) | P350 | 14 September 1961 | Westermoen | Sold 1981 | |
| Ravn (raven) | P357 | 8 December 1961 | Westermoen | Renamed Knurr 1977. Transferred to Naval Reserve and used by Sea Home Guard. Sold for scrapping 1992. | |
| Gribb (vulture) | P388 | 5 March 1962 | Westermoen | Renamed Delfin. Transferred to Naval Reserve and used by Sea Home Guard. Was planned to be preserved by Kværner Mandal A/S, but later sold for scrapping. | |
| Geir (great auk) | P389 | 13 April 1962 | Westermoen | Stricken 1981. Sold to Stapletask Ltd, Sittingbourne, Kent, England.[5] | |
| Erle (wagtail) | P390 | 6 July 1962 | Westermoen | Sold 1981 | |
| Name | Pennant number | Date of launch | Delivery date | Builder | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skrei (cod) | P380 | 14 January 1966 | Transferred to Naval Reserve and used by Sea Home Guard. Transferred to the Royal Norwegian Navy Museum and preserved as a museum ship. | |||
| Hai (shark) | P381 | July 1964 | Westermoen | Transferred to Naval Reserve and used by Sea Home Guard. Plans are currently underway for Hai to be preserved as a museum ship in Fredrikstad. | ||
| Sel (seal) | P382 | Westermoen | Sold 1981 | |||
| Hval (whale) | P383 | 19 March 1964 | Westermoen | Sold 1981 | ||
| Laks (salmon) | P384 | 15 May 1964 | Westermoen | Sold 1981 to Stapletask Ltd, Sittingbourne, Kent - Now moored in Great Wakering, Essex, England and has been restored and converted into a house boat (2017) | ||
| Knurr (grey gurnard) | P385 | 1 November 1964 | Westermoen | Sold 1981 | ||
| Delfin (dolphin) | P386 | 20 May 1966 | Westermoen | 1984 Transferred to Naval Reserve and used by Sea Home Guard. Transferred to the Royal Norwegian Navy Museum and preserved as a museum ship. | ||
| Lyr (pollock) | P387 | 1 February 1965 | Westermoen | Transferred to Naval Reserve and used by Sea Home Guard. Sold for scrapping 1992. |