HSwMS Gotland was an aircraft cruiser built for the Royal Swedish Navy during the 1930s. Completed in 1934, she was assigned to the Coastal Fleet and also served as a training ship for naval cadets in foreign waters until the beginning of World War II in 1939. During the war the ship conducted neutrality patrols and continued to serve as a training ship. Gotland was converted into an anti-aircraft cruiser in 1943–1944 as her floatplanes were obsolete and modern replacements could not be purchased. After the war ended in 1945, she became a dedicated training ship and resumed making lengthy foreign cruises with cadets.
HSwMS Äran was a Swedish first class coastal defence ship (Pansarskepp). A development of Dristigheten, the Äran class mounted the same 21 cm (8.3 in) main guns, but differed in the layout of the secondary armament. The vessel was launched in 1901 by Gustaf V breaking a bottle of champagne on her bow, the last time that ceremony took place following complaints that breaking wine on a ship was sacrilegious. The warship served on neutrality patrols in the First World War and was damaged after running aground in 1932. In the period immediately before the Second World War, the ship's armament was deemed out of date, and in 1939 and 1940 significant improvement to the vessel's anti-aircraft capability were made with the addition of 25 mm (1 in), 40 mm (1.6 in) and 57 mm (2.2 in) guns. After the war, the Swedish Navy decided to retire all its coastal defence ships. Äran was retired in 1947 and sold to be broken up in 1951, the last sections of the ship finally sinking in 1968.
The Sverige-class coastal defence ships were a class of coastal defence ships that, at the time of introduction, were the largest ships to serve in the Swedish Navy. Their design was completely new and was influenced by the ships of the time. Their armament consisted of four 283 mm (11 in)/45 cal. Bofors guns in two turrets and eight 152 mm (6 in) Bofors guns in one double and six single turrets. During the Second World War they were the backbone of the Swedish Navy.
HSwMS Sverige was a Sverige-class coastal defence ship (Pansarskepp) commissioned by Sweden during the last year of the First World War. The ship cost approximately 12 million kronor, a sum raised entirely by public donations. The fundraising was done because of the Karl Staaff government's reluctance to spend money on a new battleship. In addition to its impressive cost, the ship also had a significant impact on the Swedish Navy and its capabilities.
HSwMS Gustaf V, in Swedish HM Pansarskepp Gustaf V was a Sverige-class coastal defence ship of the Swedish Navy. The vessel was the third and last ship in the Sverige class along with HSwMS Sverige and HSwMS Drottning Victoria. Gustaf V was launched on 15 September 1917 at Kockums in Malmö and delivered to the Navy on 9 January 1922. The design consisted of four 28 cm cannon and a secondary armament of eight 15.2 cm cannon. During the interwar period, the ship underwent several modernizations and was one of the most powerful vessels in the fleet during the Second World War. The ship was put in reserve in 1948, was decommissioned in 1957 and was later sold for scrapping in Karlskrona. However, the ship remained at Berga Academy of War as of 1968. Two of the ship's 15.2 cm guns are preserved in the battery at Häggmansberget in the defensive Kalix Line, around Kalix.
Masséna was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the French Navy, built in the 1890s. She was a member of a group of five broadly similar battleships, along with Charles Martel, Jauréguiberry, Bouvet, and Carnot, that were ordered in response to the British Royal Sovereign class. She was named in honour of Marshal of France André Masséna. Masséna significantly exceeded her design weight and suffered from serious stability problems that inhibited accurate firing of her guns; as a result, she was considered to be an unsuccessful design.
The Dingyuan class consisted of a pair of ironclad warships—Dingyuan and Zhenyuan—built for the Imperial Chinese Navy in the 1880s. They were the first ships of that size to be built for the Chinese Navy, having been constructed by Stettiner Vulcan AG in Germany. Originally expected to be a class of 12 ships, before being reduced to three and then two, with Jiyuan having been reduced in size to that of a protected cruiser.
The Mode class or Mjölner class was a class of four coastal destroyers commissioned by the Royal Swedish Navy during World War II. The design was based on the preceding Psilander class purchased from Italy but with Swedish equipment and armament. The destroyers served as coastal escorts. The class was moderately upgraded and reclassified as frigates during the early part of the Cold War. After nearly thirty years of service, the last vessel was retired in 1970.
The Neptune class was a proposed class of cruisers planned for the British Royal Navy in the latter years of the Second World War. They were large ships which were to be armed with twelve 6-inch (152 mm) dual-purpose guns and with a heavy secondary armament. Although five ships of the class were planned in 1944, they were cancelled following the end of the war and before construction could begin.
HSwMS Mode was a coastal destroyer of the Royal Swedish Navy, built by Götaverken and launched on 11 April 1942 as the lead of the four ship Mode class. Developed from an Italian design, the ship was capable of a wide range of roles, with depth charges to defeat submarines, torpedo tubes to attack ships and anti-aircraft guns for aerial defence, as well as mine laying capability. After serving during World War II, the ship was updated with greater anti-submarine capability and reclassified a frigate in 1953. Decommissioned on 1 July 1970, Mode subsequently operated in a training role until being scrapped in 1978.
HSwMS Munin was a coastal destroyer of the Royal Swedish Navy, built by Öresundsvarvet and launched on 27 May 1942 as the third of the four-ship Mode class. The ship was the only member of the class to be built by Öresundsvarvet in Landskrona. Joining the Coastal Fleet in January 1943, Munin served during World War II and then, after the conflict, visited Belgium, France, Ireland, Norway and the United Kingdom in 1946 and 1947. In 1953, the vessel was upgraded with enhanced anti-submarine armament, being re-rated a frigate. After twenty-five years service, the ship was decommissioned on 6 December 1968 and sold for scrap the following year.
HSwMS Oscar II was a coastal defence ship or Pansarskepp of the Swedish Navy. The vessel had a long career lasting over sixty years. A development of the preceding Äran-class coastal defence ship, the ship mounted a powerful armament on a small hull, which necessitated sacrificing speed and endurance. This design decision allowed Oscar II to match the firepower of contemporary armoured cruisers while still carrying the armour of a battleship. Protected by an armoured belt that had a maximum thickness of 150 mm (5.9 in), the ship was armed with a main battery of two 210 mm (8.3 in) Bofors guns mounted separately fore and aft. Maximum speed was 18 knots.
HSwMS Uppland was a Öland-class destroyer which served with the Royal Swedish Navy. Larger and more stable than previous Swedish destroyers, the vessel was launched on 15 December 1948. Armament was based around two twin mounting for semi-automatic 120 mm (4.7 in) guns, an extensive anti-aircraft defence of seven 40 mm (1.6 in) and eight 20 mm (1 in) guns and a quadruple 375 mm (15 in) anti-submarine rocket launcher, as well as torpedoes and mines. The ship was upgraded in 1963, which involved the addition of a helicopter platform amongst other alterations, and reclassified as a frigate in 1974, until ultimately being retired on 1 July 1978 as part of a strategy to remove larger combat vessels from the fleet.
HSwMS Karlskrona was a destroyer of the Royal Swedish Navy that served during the Second World War and in the Cold War. The fourth member of the Göteborg or city class, which was designed as an improvement on the previous Ehrensköld class, Karlskrona was launched on 16 June 1939. The destroyer served in the Coastal Fleet during the war, protecting Swedish neutrality and escorting convoys. After the war, the ship was upgraded between 1950 and 1951 with enhanced fire control and an armament improved with the introduction of the Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft gun. Ten years later, in 1961, Karlskrona was designated a fast anti-submarine frigate and the torpedo tubes were replaced by Squid mortars. The vessel was decommissioned on 1 July 1974 and broken up in 1979.
HSwMS Gävle was a destroyer of the Royal Swedish Navy that served during the Second World War and in the Cold War. The fifth member of the Göteborg or city class, which was designed as an improvement on the previous Ehrensköld class, Gävle was launched on 25 September 1940. The destroyer served in the Coastal Fleet during the war, protecting Swedish neutrality and assisting in the 1944 evacuation of Estonia. After the conflict had ceased, the ship was upgraded with enhanced fire control and an armament improved with the introduction of the Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft gun between 1950 and 1951. Ten years later, in 1961, Gävle was rearmed as a fast anti-submarine frigate and the torpedo tubes were replaced by Squid mortars. After being decommissioned on 6 December 1968, the vessel helped in the testing of the equipment for the Oskarshamn Nuclear Power Plant, finally being broken up in 1972.
HSwMS Malmö was a destroyer of the Royal Swedish Navy that served during the Second World War and in the Cold War. The third member of the Göteborg or City class, an improvement on the previous Ehrensköld class, Malmö was launched on 22 September 1938. The destroyer served during the war on neutrality patrols and escorts, as well as the evacuation of Gotland in 1941. After the war, the ship was upgraded multiple times. Armament was improved with the introduction of the Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft gun in 1951 and the Squid mortar ten years later. The latter followed the redefinition of Malmö as an anti-submarine frigate. The ship served in that role for a short time, being decommissioned on 1 February 1965 and broken up as the part of a wider Swedish naval programme of retiring destroyers and frigates.
HSwMS Manligheten was a Äran-class coastal defence ship that served with the Swedish Navy. A development of Dristigheten, the Äran class mounted the same 21 cm (8 in) main guns, but differed in the layout of the secondary armament. The vessel was launched in 1903 and served on neutrality patrols in the First World War. During the two decades following the conflict, the ship undertook a number of international tours that called at ports in Britain, the Netherlands and Spain. Manligheten ran aground in 1930 and was freed by an ingenious manoeuvre by the destroyer Wachtmeister, which created waves by speeding past the stranded vessel. While serving in the Second World War, the vessel was damaged by a paravane in 1939 and modernised between 1940 and 1941. Decommissioned in 1950, Manligheten was broken up, although the ship's hull remaining in use as a pontoon until 1984.
HSwMS Wasa was a Äran-class coastal defence ship that served with the Swedish Navy. The vessel served in the front line for substantially less time than the rest of the class. A development of Dristigheten, the Äran class mounted the same 21 cm (8.3 in) main guns, but differed in the layout of the secondary armament. Wasa was launched in 1901 and served as part of the coastal defence fleet, including taking part in neutrality patrols during the First World War. The ship was retired from front-line service in 1924 and withdrawn from active service in 1940, thereafter acting as a decoy and, from 1951, a damage control training ship. Wasa was sold to be broken up in 1960.
HSwMS Oden was the lead ship of the Oden class of first class coastal defence ships (Pansarskeppen) constructed for the Swedish Navy. The battleship was armed with two 25 cm (9.8 in) guns provided by the French manufacturer Société Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée. The vessel was launched in 1896 and was first upgraded in 1901 after running aground with additional 12 cm (4.7 in) guns. In 1913, the warship accidentally sank the gunboat Urd and was taken out of service the following year to be updated with new boilers and an upgraded armament. Most noticeably, during this rebuild, one funnel was fitted to replace the two that had been a feature of the ship from the start. Oden was retired from front-line service in 1937 and broken up in 1943.
HSwMS Niord was a Swedish first class coastal defence ship (Pansarskepp) of the Oden class. A follow-on to the name-ship of the class Oden, Niord differed in having improved Harvey steel armour and two additional casemate-mounted 12 cm (4.7 in) guns. The vessel was launched in 1899 in Gothenburg. After an update completed in 1917 that radically altered the ship's appearance by replacing the two funnels with one, Niord was retired from front-line service in 1922. After serving as a barracks ship and tender supporting, in 1925, the seaplanes of what would become the Roslagen Air Corps, unemployed sailors in Stockholm in 1931 and the Cabin Boy Corps (Skeppsgossekåren) of Marstrand in 1935, the vessel was rearmed as an anti-aircraft battery during the Second World War. However, this service did not last long. Decommissioned in 1944, Niord was broken up in Karlskrona in 1945.
Sweden
