The M314 Alta minesweeper is the last remnant of the former Sauda class. The entire class was part of the Mutual Defense Assistance Act, which planned to rearm all conferedate states after WWII. The construction of the M314 Alta was completed in Maine, USA in 1953 and after a year of serving in the US Navy the ship served another 10 years under the Belgian flag, where it was named Arlon 915. In 1977, the Arlon was remodeled into a minesweeper, renamed into M314 Alta and was serving for 30 years under the Norwegian flag.
In 1996 the Alta was eventually decommisioned and put into the hands of the Alta society for restoration and maitenance. Until today the Alta society takes care of the boat, while the original ownership remains to the armed forces museum of Oslo.
Until today, the Alta is used for schoolings and visits all over Norway. Every three years she is put on a drydock for repairing and maitenance in Bergen, Norway. The restoration with Hiram timber took place in 2008, where Hiram supplied high quality larch to the restorers.
Length: 144 Meters
Width: 28 Feet
Draught: 8,5 Meters
Displacement: 333 Tonnes
Weapons: 20mm Oerlikon twin canon
Minesweeping equipment: magnetic, acoustic, mechanic