Swedish cruiser
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.
The ship was converted into a
fighter-direction ship
in 1953?1954.
Gotland
made one final training cruise in 1955?1956 and was reduced to
reserve
later that year. She was stricken from the
navy list
in 1960 and sold for
scrap
in 1962.
Background and description
[
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]
The Royal Swedish Navy set up a committee to assess the types of ships that the Navy would need in the future in 1925. The committee delivered its conclusions in December 1926 which included a
seaplane carrier
armed with six 152-millimetre (6 in) guns in single mounts with room for twelve aircraft in a hangar.
[1]
Another conclusion was that all warships should be capable of laying
naval mines
.
[2]
The Naval Construction Board decided that it wanted the ship to be able to function as a
cruiser
as well as operating as a seaplane carrier. It specified that the guns should be in twin-
gun turrets
, additional heavy
anti-aircraft (AA) guns
should be added and the ship should carry six 533-millimetre (21 in)
torpedo tubes
.
[1]
The resulting 5,000-long-ton (5,100 t) design presented in January 1927 proved impossible to build within the available budget of
Sk
16.5 million that had been approved by the
Riksdag
on 13 May. The design was then reduced in size, requiring one of the forward turrets be removed. Its guns were then placed in
casemates
either side of the superstructure, a feature otherwise found only in the American
Omaha
-class
cruisers.
[3]
Gotland
had an
overall length
of 134.8 metres (442 ft 3 in), a
beam
of 15.4 metres (50 ft 6 in) and a
draught
of 5.5 metres (18 ft 1 in). The ship
displaced
4,750
long tons
(4,830
t
) at
standard load
and 5,550 long tons (5,639 t) at
deep load
. The ship's propulsion machinery was
arranged in units
so that a single torpedo hit could not immobilize the ship, although the presence of the aft main-gun turret's
magazine
between the rear
boiler room
and its associated
engine room
complicated things. Four Penhoet
boilers
[4]
fed steam at a pressure of 285
psi
(1,965
kPa
; 20
kgf/cm
2
)
[5]
to a pair of
de Laval
geared steam turbines that each drove a single
propeller shaft
. The engines were rated at a total of 33,000
shaft horsepower
(25,000
kW
) designed to give her a speed of 27.5
knots
(50.9 km/h; 31.6 mph). During her
sea trials
on 14 September 1934, the ship reached a speed of 27.53 knots (50.99 km/h; 31.68 mph) from 32,768 shp (24,435 kW).
[6]
Gotland
carried up to 800 long tons (810 t) of
fuel oil
that gave her a range of 4,000
nautical miles
(7,400 km; 4,600 mi) at a speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph).
[1]
The ship had a
complement
of 467 officers and
ratings
.
[7]
Armament
[
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]
The cruiser's
main battery
consisted of six 55-
calibre
,
Bofors
152 mm M/30 guns. Four of these were mounted in two twin-gun turrets, one each forward and aft of the
superstructure
; each turret had a maximum
elevation
of 60 degrees to give it to give it some utility for
anti-aircraft
work. The other two guns were mounted in
casemates
on the corners of the forward superstructure with a maximum elevation of 30 degrees. The guns had a
rate of fire
of six
rounds
per minute.
[8]
They fired 46-kilogram (101 lb) shells with a
muzzle velocity
of 900 m/s (3,000 ft/s); this gave the turreted guns a maximum range of 24,400 metres (26,700 yd)
[9]
and the casemated guns a range of 20,000 metres (22,000 yd). Targeting data for the guns was collected by 6-metre (19 ft 8 in)
rangefinders
in the
fire-control director
on the roof of the
bridge
and in the aft turret.
[10]
Anti-aircraft defence was provided by four 60-caliber, 75-millimetre (3 in) Bofors M/26 or M/28 AA guns. Two single guns were situated on platforms between the
funnels
and a twin-gun mount
superfired
over the rear 152 mm turret. The guns had a muzzle velocity of 850 m/s (2,800 ft/s) when firing their 6.5-kilogram (14 lb) shells to their maximum range of 15,000 metres (16,000 yd). The ship was also equipped with four 64-calibre,
Bofors 25-millimetre (1 in) M/32
AA guns in single mounts located on the sides of the forward superstructure. These guns fired 0.25-kilogram (0.55 lb) projectiles at 850 m/s with an effective range of 1,000 to 2,000 metres (1,100 to 2,200 yd). Two 4-metre (13 ft 1 in) rangefinders, one on each
broadside
in the forward superstructure, provided data for the AA guns.
Gotland
was fitted with two triple rotating mounts for 533 mm torpedo tubes abreast the aft funnel. She was also equipped with rails to lay 80?100 mines, depending on size.
[10]
Protection and aviation facilities
[
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]
The
deck
and
conning tower
armour consisted of chrome-nickel steel plates 51 mm (2 in) thick. The protection of the main gun turrets ranged from 29 mm (1.1 in) to 51 mm in thickness as did the armour protecting the transverse
bulkheads
.
[7]
The
boiler uptake
s were fitted with armour plates 29 mm thick while the ammunition hoists were protected by 25 to 29 mm armour.
[10]
[Note 1]
Gotland
'
s aircraft complement consisted of six
Hawker Osprey
floatplanes
, although the ship's aircraft deck had the capacity to handle eight aircraft and three more could be stowed below deck.
[11]
The aircraft were found to suffer from wave damage during rough weather.
[12]
The aircraft deck was equipped with eight electric trolleys to move the aircraft to the
Heinkel
compressed-air
catapult
. This was 14 metres (45 ft 11 in) long when folded, but extended to 22 metres (72 ft 2 in) when in use. It could launch the Ospreys once every two minutes. The aircraft were lifted onto the ship by a
crane
at the stern.
[11]
Gotland
could only recover the Ospreys while stationary and in a calm sea unless it trailed a sail off the stern that calmed the water so the floatplanes could
taxi
onto it, close enough that the crane could reach it.
[2]
Modifications
[
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]
In 1936?1937 a twin-gun mount for the 25 mm M/32 AA gun was installed on the roof of the forward main-gun turret. By 1943, the Ospreys were worn out, and Sweden could not afford to design and build more modern replacements. Furthermore, aircraft performance had greatly improved since the Ospreys had been designed in the early 1930s and land-based aircraft were now easily capable of covering the entire
Baltic Sea
.
[13]
Gotland
was therefore converted in 1943?1944 to an
anti-aircraft cruiser
. This involved the removal of the catapult, aircraft-handling gear and crane; the aircraft deck was extended forward to cover the area where the catapult had been. Four twin-gun mounts for 56-calibre
40 mm (1.6 in) M/36
AA guns were installed on the former aircraft deck. The two forward mounts were positioned on the broadside while the two aft mounts were located on the
centreline
.
[6]
The gun fired 0.89 kg (2.0 lb) shells at a muzzle velocity of 881 m/s (2,890 ft/s); the maximum range was 9,830 m (10,750 yd) although the effective range was considerably less.
[14]
Between the 40 mm guns and the aft 152 mm gun turret, a pair of twin-gun mounts for 70-calibre
20 mm (1 in) M40
AA guns were positioned, also positioned on each broadside.
[6]
These changes reduced her complement to 543.
[15]
In 1953?1954
Gotland
was modified as a fighter-direction ship to serve as a mobile fighter-control center. To this end she was fitted with a British
Type 293
early-warning radar
. Her anti-aircraft suite was upgraded as all of her 75 mm, 25 mm and 20 mm guns were removed, except for the twin-gun M32 mount on the forward turret, and she received five single 70-calibre
40 mm M48
guns in their place. The existing M36 40 mm guns were also exchanged for M48 models. Several British
Type 262
gunnery radars
were added to control the light AA guns. To compensate for the additional weight, the casemated 152 mm guns and the 4-metre rangefinders were removed. The ship also received a British Type 144
ASDIC
system.
[13]
[16]
These changes reduced her crew size to 401 officers and ratings.
[15]
Construction and career
[
edit
]
Gotland
was ordered on 7 June 1930 from
Gotaverken
, which subcontracted the ship's
hull
and propulsion machinery to
Lindholmens
.
[17]
The ship was
laid down
at the latter company's
shipyard
in
Gothenburg
later that year,
launched
on 14 September 1933 and
commissioned
on 5 December 1934.
[18]
She then became the
flagship
of the
Coastal Fleet
's Scouting Squadron.
Gotland
began serving as a cadet training ship during the cold-weather months beginning in 1935, although she continued to serve with the Coastal Fleet for the rest of the year.
[13]
The ship made her first foreign voyage from 8 December 1935 to 15 March 1936, visiting Germany, Spain, Portugal, Britain and the Netherlands. Subsequent trips, sometimes running as long as November to April, visited ports in
French West Africa
, South America, the Caribbean, and Norway. The cruiser's last foreign tour before the beginning of World War II in September 1939 was a short one in June-July of that year during which the ship made port visits in France, Britain and Norway.
[19]
Gotland
continued to serve with the Coastal Fleet conducting neutrality patrols during the war while also continuing to train cadets.
[6]
[15]
When the Germans invaded Norway and Denmark (
Operation Weserubung
) on 9 April 1940, the ship was being
overhauled
in the Naval Shipyard in
Stockholm
.
[20]
In May 1941 one of
Gotland
'
s Ospreys sighted the
German battleship
Bismarck
and the
heavy cruiser
Prinz Eugen
during a gunnery training exercise when they broke out of the
Kattegat
between Denmark and Norway. The sighting was reported to
Royal Swedish Navy
headquarters. The report was leaked to the British
naval attache
in Stockholm, who forwarded it to the British
Admiralty
, triggering the
Battle of the Denmark Strait
and the
pursuit of the battleship
.
[21]
From late 1943 to April 1944,
Gotland
was converted into an anti-aircraft cruiser.
[22]
After the war the ship served as the flagship of the Naval War School Department and resumed making cadet cruises during the cold-weather months. In addition to the pre-war destinations, she also visited various ports in the Mediterranean,
British Kenya
,
South Africa
and North America. Escorted by the destroyers
Mode
and
Munin
,
Gotland
made
a trip to France and the United Kingdom from 29 April to 11 June 1947 where they visited
Le Havre
,
Lyme Bay
,
Torquay
,
Glasgow
and
Oban
. The ship also transported cadets to the annual Nordic Naval Cadet Meeting where they trained with
minesweepers
in 1949?1952. In that last year,
Gotland
was accompanied by the destroyer
Stockholm
. The cruiser and the destroyers
Norrkoping
and
Karlskrona
escorted a group of minesweepers to
Tønsberg, Norway
, and
Antwerp, Belgium
, from 24 May to 12 June 1953.
[19]
After
Gotland
'
s conversion to a fighter-control ship in 1953?1954, the ship only made a single foreign cruise when she made port visits in Spain,
West Africa
,
Portuguese Angola
, France and Britain from 13 December 1955 to 14 March 1956.
[19]
She was reduced to reserve later that year
[23]
and stricken from the navy list on 1 July 1960.
Gotland
was sold for scrap on 1 April 1962 and broken up at
Ystad
, Sweden, the next year.
[24]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Naval historian
Michael J. Whitley
states that the thickness of
Gotland
'
s armour was about half that given in the other sources with a maximum of 25 millimetres and a minimum of 13 millimetres (0.51 in).
[1]
- ^
a
b
c
d
Whitley, p. 223
- ^
a
b
Westerlund 1977, p. 96
- ^
Layman & McLaughlin, pp. 40?41
- ^
Whitley, pp. 223?224
- ^
Anderson, p. 97
- ^
a
b
c
d
Fisher & Gard, p. 204
- ^
a
b
Westerlund 1980, p. 371
- ^
Fisher & Gard, pp. 193?194
- ^
Campbell, p. 392
- ^
a
b
c
Fisher & Gard, p. 194
- ^
a
b
Layman & McLaughlin, p. 41
- ^
Preston, p. 108
- ^
a
b
c
Whitley, p. 224
- ^
Campbell, p. 67
- ^
a
b
c
Layman & McLaughlin, p. 42
- ^
Preston, p. 110
- ^
Fisher & Gard, p. 193
- ^
Preston, p. 109
- ^
a
b
c
"Langresor och utlandsbesok med svenska orlogsfartyg mellan 1784 - 2005"
[Long Journeys and International Visits with Swedish Warships between 1837 - 2005].
www.alvsnabben.se
(in Swedish). Alvsnabben
. Retrieved
24 October
2017
.
- ^
Lagvall, pp. 189?201
- ^
Borgenstam, Insulander & Ahlund, p. 93
- ^
Layman & McLaughlin, p. 43
- ^
von Hofsten & Waernberg, p. 121
- ^
Fisher & Gard, p. 205
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Anderson, R. M. (1977). "Re:
Gotland
".
Warship International
.
XIV
(2): 97.
ISSN
0043-0374
.
- Borgenstam, Curt; Insulander, Per & Ahlund, Bertil (1993),
Kryssare: med svenska flottans kryssare under 75 ar
[
Cruisers: With the Swedish Navy's Cruisers under 75 Years
], CB Marinlitteratur,
ISBN
91-970700-68
- Campbell, John (1985).
Naval Weapons of World War II
. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.
ISBN
0-87021-459-4
.
- Fisher, Edward C. Jr. & Gard, Bertil (1976). "The Three Faces of
Gotland
".
Warship International
.
XIII
(3): 193?208.
ISSN
0043-0374
.
- Lagvall, Bertil (1991),
Flottans Neutralitetsvakt 1939-1945
[
Chronicle of the Fleet Neutrality Watch 1939-1945
], Karlskrona: Marinlitteraturforeningen nr 71,
ISBN
91-85944-04-1
- Layman, R. D. & McLaughlin, Stephen (1991).
The Hybrid Warship: The Amalgamation of Big Guns and Aircraft
. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.
ISBN
1-55750-374-5
.
- Preston, Antony
(2002).
The World's Worst Warships
. London: Conway Maritime Press.
ISBN
0-85177-754-6
.
- von Hofsten, Gustav & Waernberg, Jan (2003),
Orlogsfartyg: Svenska maskindrivna fartyg under tretungad flagg
[
Ships of War: Swedish Machine-powered Ships under the Triple-tailed Flag
], Karlskrona: Svenskt Militarhistoriskt Bibliotek,
ISBN
91-974015-4-4
- Westerlund, Karl-Erik (1977). "Re: The HMS
Gotland
".
Warship International
.
XIV
(2): 96?97.
ISSN
0043-0374
.
- Westerlund, Karl-Eric (1980). "Sweden". In Chesneau, Roger (ed.).
Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922?1946
. New York: Mayflower Books. pp. 368?377.
ISBN
0-8317-0303-2
.
- Whitley, M. J.
(1995).
Cruisers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia
. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.
ISBN
1-55750-141-6
.
External links
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]