Sverige class battleship
Encyclopedia
The Sverige class coastal defence ships (sometimes incorrectly referred to as coastal battleships) were the largest ships to serve in the Swedish Navy
Swedish Navy
The Royal Swedish Navy is the naval branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet – as well as marine units, the so-called Amphibious Corps .In Swedish, vessels of the Swedish Navy are given the prefix "HMS," short for Hans/Hennes...
until that point. Their design was completely new and was influenced by the ships of the time. Their armament consisted of four 28.3 cm Bofors
Bofors 283 mm gun
The Bofors 283 mm gun was a naval artillery used in the Swedish Sverige class coastal defence ships.-External links:* Tony DiGiulian,...
guns in two turrets and eight 15.2 cm guns in one double and six single turrets. During the Second World War they were the backbone of the Swedish Navy.
Specification as built
Displacement:- HMS SverigeHMS SverigeSverige was a Swedish Coastal defence ship during the last year of World War I and onward into the 1950s. Her cost was approximately 12 million kronor in 1912, and the entire sum was raised in public in a nationwide fundraising campaign that gained over 15 million The fundraising was done because...
- 6,852 tons standard;
- 7,516 tons full load,
- 7,080 tons - Jane's Fighting ShipsJane's Fighting ShipsJane's Fighting Ships is an annual reference book of information on all the world's warships arranged by nation, including information on ship's names, dimensions, armaments, silhouettes and photographs, etc...
1938- HMS SverigeHMS SverigeSverige was a Swedish Coastal defence ship during the last year of World War I and onward into the 1950s. Her cost was approximately 12 million kronor in 1912, and the entire sum was raised in public in a nationwide fundraising campaign that gained over 15 million The fundraising was done because...
reconstructed 1932-1933
- HMS Sverige
- HMS Drottning VictoriaHMS Drottning VictoriaHMS Drottning Victoria was a Sverige class Coastal defence ship of the Swedish Navy....
and HMS Gustav VHMS Gustav VHMS Gustav V was a Sverige-class coastal defence ship of the Swedish navy.-External links:...
:- 7,125 tons standard
- 7,633 tons full load
- 7,120 tons - HMS Drottning VictoriaHMS Drottning VictoriaHMS Drottning Victoria was a Sverige class Coastal defence ship of the Swedish Navy....
- Jane's Fighting ShipsJane's Fighting ShipsJane's Fighting Ships is an annual reference book of information on all the world's warships arranged by nation, including information on ship's names, dimensions, armaments, silhouettes and photographs, etc...
1938 - 7,275 tons - HMS Gustav VHMS Gustav VHMS Gustav V was a Sverige-class coastal defence ship of the Swedish navy.-External links:...
- Jane's Fighting ShipsJane's Fighting ShipsJane's Fighting Ships is an annual reference book of information on all the world's warships arranged by nation, including information on ship's names, dimensions, armaments, silhouettes and photographs, etc...
1938- HMS Gustav VHMS Gustav VHMS Gustav V was a Sverige-class coastal defence ship of the Swedish navy.-External links:...
reconstructed 1929-1930, modernized 1937 - HMS Drottning VictoriaHMS Drottning VictoriaHMS Drottning Victoria was a Sverige class Coastal defence ship of the Swedish Navy....
reconstructed 1935
- HMS Gustav V
Dimensions:
- Length: 392.8 ft (119.7 m) - HMS SverigeHMS SverigeSverige was a Swedish Coastal defence ship during the last year of World War I and onward into the 1950s. Her cost was approximately 12 million kronor in 1912, and the entire sum was raised in public in a nationwide fundraising campaign that gained over 15 million The fundraising was done because...
- Length: 396.6 ft (120.9 m) - HMS Drottning VictoriaHMS Drottning VictoriaHMS Drottning Victoria was a Sverige class Coastal defence ship of the Swedish Navy....
and HMS Gustav VHMS Gustav VHMS Gustav V was a Sverige-class coastal defence ship of the Swedish navy.-External links:... - Beam: 18.6 m (61 ft)
- Draught: 6.7 m (22.0 ft)
Armour
- Belt: 200/150-60 mm (7.9/5.9-2.4 in)
- Turret: 8 in. Front, 4 in. Sides, 4 3/8 in Rear
- Conning Tower: 175/100-60 mm (6.9 in)
- Deck: 1 5/8 in.
- Redoubt: 4 in.
- Barbettes: 6 in.
- Small Turrets: 5 in. Front, 3 in. Sides
Machinery:
- 4 shafts; Curtis direct-coupled turbines 20,000 SHP in Sverige; 12 Yarrow type coal fired boilers
- 2 shafts; Westinghouse Geared Turbines Manufactured by Motala Company in Gustaf V and Drottning Victoria 22,000 SHP; 12 Yarrow type coal fired boilers
Armament:
- 4x 283 mmBofors 283 mm gunThe Bofors 283 mm gun was a naval artillery used in the Swedish Sverige class coastal defence ships.-External links:* Tony DiGiulian,...
(11.1 inch 45 cal.) Bofors guns (2 twin turrets), load in 17 seconds, rated as cramped, dividing partition between guns - 8x 152 mm (6 inch 50 cal.) Bofors QF guns (1 twin turret superfiring over the forward 11 inch battery, and 6 single turrets, 3 on each beam)
- 4x 75 mm Bofors AA cannons mounted forward of the rear 11 inch battery
- 2x 57 mm short barreled Bofors cannons (6 pdr.)
- 9x 6,5 mm MG
- 2x 457 mm (18 in) TT
Complement:
- 450 after reconstruction
Appearance
All three ships looked similar until reconstruction. Gustav V had funnels trunked into one and the upper works modified heavily. Sverige had the fore funnel trunked back away from the superstructure which was modified, and kept the second funnel, making the ships very different in appearance between the main turrets.
Ships
Three of these ships were built:- HMS SverigeHMS SverigeSverige was a Swedish Coastal defence ship during the last year of World War I and onward into the 1950s. Her cost was approximately 12 million kronor in 1912, and the entire sum was raised in public in a nationwide fundraising campaign that gained over 15 million The fundraising was done because...
was ordered in 1912 and completed in 1917, built by Götaverken Gothenborg, she was paid for by public subscription as the Swedish people's gift to the country - HMS Drottning VictoriaHMS Drottning VictoriaHMS Drottning Victoria was a Sverige class Coastal defence ship of the Swedish Navy....
(Queen Victoria) was ordered in 1915 and completed in 1921, built by Götaverken Gothenborg - HMS Gustav VHMS Gustav VHMS Gustav V was a Sverige-class coastal defence ship of the Swedish navy.-External links:...
was built by KockumsKockumsKockums AB is a shipyard in Malmö, Sweden owned by the German shipyard Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft in Kiel. HDW itself is a subsidiary of the German ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems....
shipyard in Malmö ordered in 1915 and completed in 1922.
A fourth ship was considered but not built due to economic difficulties
The ships were modernised in the 1930s with oil fired boilers replacing the old coal fired boilers, new anti-aircraft guns and fire control equipment