The Army Fleet (Galley Fleet) of

Sweden in Former Days

Introduction

The Swedish Galley Fleet was organized after The Great Nordic War, which ended in 1721. At the end of this war the Swedish coastlines was often under attack by Russian galleys. Galleys turned out to be a perfect weapon in coastal waters. The galleys could use both sails and oars, which meant that they weren’t dependent on the winds. They were shallow-draught (US: shallow- draft) which made them perfect for warfare in shallow coastal waters. The Swedish and Finnish coastline are filled with thousands and thousands of islands ans islets. I most cases these waters between the islands are narrow and very shallow. This type of coastline is called archipelago (Swedish: Skärgård). The large Navy warships were not suitable for warfare in these narrow and shallow waters. Therefore Sweden developed a second fleet, the Galley fleet. Galleys couldn’t engage large navy ships in battles on the open sea. However, with hardly any wind in coastal waters galleys could attack a navy ship and win the battle if they attacked from behind. The navy ship was then like a sitting duck. The big navy ships of the line were too big and had a too deep draught to pursue the galleys into shallow waters through the narrow channels of the archipelago of Swedish waters. The first type of vessel used by the Swedish Galley fleet was of course the galley. That’s why the fleet was called the Galley fleet (Galärflottan), at least in the beginning. Later, other more specialized ships were built for the fleet. Galleys were just one type of ship used by the Galley Fleet and later the galleys themselves became out of date. So, the fleet therefore became konwn as the Archipelago Fleet (Skärgårdsflottan) later on. The word “Skärgårdsflottan” means Archipelago Fleet  or the Coastal Fleet (Skärgård = archipelago).

The Galley Fleet becomes a branch within

the Army in 1756 - The Army Fleet

In the beginning the Galley Fleet was organized as a unit within the Navy. In 1756 the Galley Fleet was separated from the Navy and formed a new defense branch within the Army. The officers in the Galley Fleet thus carried the same type of ranks as in the Army. In 1823 the Galley Fleet once again became a part of the Navy. After 1756 the official name of the Galley Fleet became The Army Fleet ("Arméns flotta"). In 1756 the Army Feet formed a fleet of about 60 vessels of different types. The Army fleet was organized into two squadrons, The Stockholm squadron  (Stockholmseskadern) and The Finish squadron  (Finska eskadern). Each squadron was under command of a Colonel. The home base for the Stockholm squadron was Skeppsholmen in Stockholm and for the Finish squadron, the Sveaborg fortress outside Helsinki. [Finland was a part of Sweden until 1809). Battles fought by the Army fleet had more similarities with battles on land rather then the battles of the navy. The purpose of the fleet was to co-operate with land forces, protect the wings of the land forces, transport the troops and support offensive Army operations. In 1786, just before the outbreak of the Swedish- Russian war (1788-1790), the Stockholm squadron numbered 31 larger vessels and the Finish squadron 16 larger and 65 smaller vessels. The years before the war the Army Fleet was conducting a massive expansion and the numbers increased a great deal. The master shipbuilder Fredrik Henrik af Chapman (1721 - 1808) constructed many new types of ships for the Army fleet. The crew on the ships of the Army Fleet included both sailors and soldiers. The sailors were under command of naval officers and the soldiers under command of infantry officers. The soldiers and the sailors were the "Knektar" and "Båtsmän" respectively, organized by The Allotment System (Indelningsverket). The Allotment System was the system of organizing and financing the Swedish armed forces in earlier times. The vessels of the Army fleet, never carried sails during battle. They were either anchored or were powered by oars.

Types of ships used by the Army

fleet

The Galley (Galär)

The Swedish galleys carried two masts. The length of these craft varied between 100 - 130 feet (30 - 39 m), 18 feet (5.4 m) wide and 6 feet (1.8 m) deep draught. They only had one deck. The main mast was placed in the middle of the galley and measured 54 feet (16 m) high. The foremast was a bit shorter at 50 feet (15 m). On the after deck as well as in the foredeck there was a superstructure. The superstructure on the after deck was used as a cabin for the officers. The superstructure on the foredeck was used for the artillery batteries, like a forecastle. There were no protected quarters for the crew onboard the galleys. The image to the right shows the galley "Calmar". The galleys were equipped with 20 to 22 pairs of oars, and each oar was manned by 5 men. The oars were 40 feet (12 m) long. With 5 men per oar the galleys needed a large crew: about 250 sailors. In total there were about 300 men on the galleys. Normally a lieutenant was the commander of a galley. The speed of a galley has been estimated to have been about 1 – 1,5 knots when powered by oars and about 3 knots under sail. The armament of the galleys normally consisted of two 18- or 24-pound guns. They could also be equipped with one 24-pound gun and two 6-pound guns. The guns could only be fired in directions forward of the bow. This limitation made the galleys vulnerable and after 1745 very few new galleys were built. Example of galleys: The Carlscrona (1749), The Calmar and The Uppland (1748).

The Schebeck

The schebeck was a ship similar to the galley but with much better sailing qualities. The hull was longer and narrower. The schebeck could carry more guns than the galleys and needed only 9 pair of oars.

The Archipelago Frigate (Skärgårdsfregatt)

In order to get a more powerful Army Feet, the archipelago frigates were developed around 1760. The designer was the master shipbuilder Fredrik Henrik af Chapman. The frigates had very good sailing qualities and could carry heavier armament. Like the navy ships they could fire broadsides. A few different types of frigates were built. The names of the different types (classes) are names of Finnish provinces. The Udema class: The Udema had one deck and three masts, 14 pair of oars and a crew of 126 sailors. They were armed with ten 12-pound and two 3-pound guns. Size: length 100 feet (30 m) and 5 feet (1,5 m) deep draught. Example of ships: The Torborg (1772) and The Ingeborg (1776). The Pojama class: The Pojama had one deck and two masts, 14 pair of oars (two men per oar) and a crew of 105 sailors. They were armed with two 12-pound and sixteen 3- pound guns. Size: length 79 feet (23.8 m), 18.3 feet (5.5 m) width and 6 feet (1,8 m) deep draught. Example of ships: The Fröja (1764), The Disa (1764) and The Brynhilda (1776).   The Turuman class: The Turuman had two decks and three masts, 16 pair of oars (two men per oar) and a crew of 266 sailors. They were armed with twenty-four 12- pound and four 3-pound guns. Size: length 118 feet (35.6 m), 29.6 feet (8.9 m) width and 10 feet (3 m) deep draught. Example of ships: The Norden (The Nordic) from 1762, and The Lodbrok  (1771). The image to the right shows an archipelago frigate of the Turuman class. The Hemmema class: The Hemmema had two decks and three masts, 14 pair of oars (two men per oar) and a crew of 220 sailors. They were armed with eighteen 12-pound and sixteen 3-pound guns. Size: length 109 feet (32.7 m), 33.3 feet (10 m) width and 9 feet (2,7 m) deep draught. In 1790 a second generation of the Hemmemas were being launched. These Hemmemas were bigger and carried heavier armament. They were 145 feet (43.4 m) long, 35.7 feet (10,7 m) wide and 10 feet (3 m) deep draught. They had 20 pairs of oars. They were armed with twenty-four 36- pound and two 12-pound guns. Example of ships: The Oden (The Woden) from 1764, The Styrbjörn, The Starkoster and The Hjalmar (all 1789/90).

Source References

1. Det gotländska båtsmanshållet 1646 - 1887, Kjell Olson, 1993 2. Försvarets civilförvaltning 1634 - 1865, utgiven 1994 av försvarets civilförvaltning 3. Svensksund, Gustaf III:s krig och skärgårdsflottan 1788 - 1790 av Stig Jägerskiöld, 1990. 4. Skärgårdsflottan, redaktör Hans Norman, 2000

Related Links

• Swedish Wars • The Swedish - Russian war of 1788 - 1790 • The naval battle of Vyborg Bay 1790 • The naval battle of Svensksund 1790 • The Allotment System • Swedish Regiments • Uniforms of the Swedish Army • The Swedish Navy  • The Swedish Army Fleet (Galley Fleet) Top of page

Gunboats

A large number of smaller vessels with a heavy armament were being built as well. There were two types of these vessels, the gun sloop (kanonslupar) and the gun tender (kanonjollar). These gunboats could engage larger ships in artillary duels. If circumstances tended to favor the gunboats they would sometimes engage large navy ships. A gunboat was a difficult target for larger ships because they were very small and close to the surface of the water. On the other hand, if a gun boat was hit it had no protection. The gun sloop (Kanonslup): The gun sloop was equipped with sails and oars. They had two masts, which were removable. They carried 10 pairs of oars with two men per oar. They were 52 feet (15.6 m) long and 13 feet (3.9 m) wide. The gun sloop's draught was only 3 feet (0.9 m), so they could operate in very shallow waters. The gun sloops had a crew of 63 men. When being powered by oars they could do 2.5 knots. The gun sloops were normally armed with a 12- pound gun, while some had an 18-pound gun. The gun sloops could only fire the gun in the direction of the bow. Later they were equipped with two 24-pound guns. One gun was placed on the stern and one on the bow. The gun sloops were kept together in their own units. The gun sloop units were used both for attack as well as for defensive purposes. They were also used for reconnaissance. During battles with the stationary tactics (when the majority of the ships of the Army fleet was anchored up) the role of the gun sloops were very similar to the one of the cavalry in the army battles. That is a mobile unit with a great power that could turn the outcome of a battle into victory. The first gun sloop was built in 1776. They came to have a very conspicuous roll in the sea war of 1788 – 1790. In the spring of 1790 there were 127 gun sloops in the Army fleet. The Swedish gun sloops came to be a model for gun sloops in many other nation's navies. The gun tender (Kanonjolle): The gun tender was introduced in the Army fleet in 1786. In a very short time 80 gun tenders was built. The gun tender could best be described as a floating gun carriage with a heavy gun. The gun tender was very shallow-draught, only 2.5 feet (75 cm) and carried a crew of only 24 men. The length of the tender was between 37 and 51 feet (11 m - 15 m) and had 5 – 10 pairs of oars. The tender could also sail. Its armament was an 18 or a 24- pound gun. It could only fire in the direction of the stern.   

Mortar longboats (Mörsarbarkass)

The Mortar longboats had an armament of a 40- pound mortar. This type of vessel was used to bombard targets on shore or enemy ships in the shelter of islands. The mortar longboat was 33 feet (10 m) long and carried 7 pairs of oars. The image shows a model of a mortar longboat (mörsarbarkass). Photo Hans Högman, 2017. Sjöhistoriska Museet (The Maritime Museum), Stockholm.

Gun longboats (Kanonbarkass)

The gun longboats were rigged like a schooner and had a length of 42 feet (12.6 m). Their draughts were 4 feet (1,2 m). They carried 8 pairs of oars so the vessel could sail or use the oars. The armament of gun longboats was a 12-pound gun. A schooner is a sailing ship rigged with fore-and-aft sails on its two or more masts. The image shows a model of a gun longboat (kanonbarkass). This is a replica of a longboat bulit in the 1770s. Photo Hans Högman, 2017. Sjöhistoriska Museet (The Maritime Museum), Stockholm.

Gun Barge (Skottpråm)

The ”Skottpråm” (Gun barge?) was a broadside ship. It carried three masts; the foremast 61.7 feet (18,5 m), main mast 68 feet (20,5 m) and the spanker 56.7 feet (17 m). It was equipped with 7 pair of oars placed between the gun ports. The gun barge were built in different sizes but a common size was 127 feet (38 m) long and 33 feet (9,9 m) wide. The draught was 9 feet (2,7 m). The armament was twenty-four 12-pound and sixteen 4- pound guns. It also carried two guns in the cabin that could fire alongside if the ship was boarded by the enemy. The cabin was built round the mizzen. A normal crew was 250 men. The "skottpråm" did not carry a figurehead, that is no extension in front of the bow. Example of gun sloops is The Kämpen (The Warrior) from 1744 and The Hector. The Hector carried a crew of 100 sailors and 300 infantry soldiers in 1751.

Drawings of the different types of

ships in the Army Fleet

Mortar longboat (Mörsarbarkass)

Dictionary

• Swedish English • Galär Galley • Udema, Pojama, Turuma and Hemmena Different classes of archipelago frigates • Kanonslup Gun sloop • Kanonjolle Gun tender • Kanonskonert Gun schooner • Mörsarbarkass Mortar longboat