Background and description
Sweden was not immune from the naval arms race in the early 20th century. After dissolving the union with Norway in 1905, the situation was tense with the Russian Empire in the east, Germany south of the Baltic Sea, and Norway, traditionally being an Anglophile country, to the west. In 1911, battle-ready units from the Royal Navy and the Imperial German Navy cruised around in the North Sea. Due to the perilous atmosphere brought about by these tensions, and as the latest Swedish coastal battleship Oscar II was a typical pre-dreadnought ship (with two 8-inch (203 mm) guns and a maximum speed of 17.8 knots (33.0 km/h; 20.5 mph)), the need for a new class of ships was pressing. Seaworthiness, armament, armour and speed, all had to be improved according to the multiple new technologies that had arrived with the naval arms race that followed the launch of the British HMS Dreadnought. In 1911, the parliament voted (with a small majority) funds for the building of the new vessel, varying in size from 4,800 to 7,500 metric tons (4,700 to 7,400 long tons) and with armaments and speed in various arrangements accordingly). The postponement of funding for HSwMS Sverige by Prime Minister Karl Staaff had a significant impact on the "Pansarbåtinsamlingen" fundraising campaign. The campaign, which had aimed to raise 12 million Kronor for the ship, was put on hold as a result of the political uncertainty. Despite initial political uncertainty, the fundraising campaign for Sverige was successful, thanks to the support of King Gustav V. The campaign raised 15 million Kronor in just over three months, an impressive achievement. The new government accepted the money and let the contract for the ship, which was named Sverige for the people who had paid for it. [1]
After the outbreak of World War I, two more ships were ordered which had a slightly changed appearance, the two bearing the names of the King and Queen of Sweden.
Note that while the ship is listed as a battleship in Jane's Fighting Ships , 1938 edition, technically it is a coastal defence ship, a class which was commonly used in Nordic countries. The navies of Finland, Norway, and Denmark made use of similar ships. However, the Swedish Navy used the Sverige-class armored warships as the core of battle groups in the same manner as other navies used battleships.
Svierge had an overall length of 119.72 metres (392 ft 9 in), a beam of 18.63 metres (61 ft 1 in) and a maximum draught of 6.25 metres (20 ft 6 in). [2] The ship displaced 6,852 long tons (6,962 t ) at standard load and 7,516 long tons (7,637 t) at deep load. [3] A dozen Yarrow boilers provided steam at a pressure of 18 kg/cm2 (1,765 kPa ; 256 psi ) to four Curtis direct-drive geared steam turbines that each drove a single propeller shaft. Fuel oil could be sprayed onto the coal in the boilers to maximize steam pressure. The engines were rated at a total of 20,000 shaft horsepower (15,000 kW ) that was designed to give her a speed of 22.5 knots (41.7 km/h; 25.9 mph). [4] Svierge carried up to 665 long tons (676 t) of coal and 100 long tons (102 t) of fuel oil that gave her a range of 2,720 nautical miles (5,040 km; 3,130 mi) at a speed of 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph). [5] The ship had a complement of 443 officers and ratings when serving as a flagship. [3]
Modifications
Sometime during the early 1920s, the 75-millimetre AA guns were modified with new sights and mounts and were redesignated as m/15-23 guns. During Svierge's 1931–1933 refit, a 4-metre (13 ft 1 in) rangefinder with a Dutch Hazemeyer fire-control system was installed on the aft superstructure and the existing AA guns were replaced by twin mounts for 75 mm Bofors m/28 guns. At the same time a pair of Bofors 25-millimetre (1 in) m/32 AA guns on single mounts were added on the roofs of the forward single 152 mm gun turrets. [7]
The ship's 1938–1940 refit saw the replacement of her mixed-firing Yarrow boilers, and their coal bunkers, with four oil-buring Penhoët boilers.
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Sweden