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224
III. CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION Of sWeDeN.
The fleet of the Swedish navy consists at present of the following
vessels, those building and granted included. The flagship or royal
yacht Drott of 630 tons. Fighting-ships: 11 ironclads of the first class (The
Svea, Göta, Thule, Odén, Thor, Niord, Dristigheten, Äran, Vasa,
Tapperheten, and Manligheten) each of from 3,100—3,650 tons; 4 second class
ironclads of 1,500—1,600 tons; 7 third class ironclads of 460 tons; 5
torpedocruisers of 800 tons; 9 first class gunboats of 500—640 tons;
1 second class gunboat of 280 tons, 1 destroyer, 15 first class
torpedo-boats of 67—90 tons; and 11 second class torpedoboats of 40—50 tons.
Training and schoolships: 4 corvettes of 1,500—2,000 tons, 4 second class
gunboats of 190 tons; 1 repair-ship of 175 tons; 6 schoolships of 80—312
tons; 6 receivingships, and 3 small steamers.
The total displacement of the fighting-ships of the fleet is about 60,000
tons. The number of guns on these ships is 315, viz. 38 heavy, 93
secondary weight (of these 71 rapidfiring) and 184 light guns (all
rapid-firing). The number of magazineguns is about 100 and of torpedotubes,
64. The sum of indicated horsepowers is about 110,000.
The ironclads of the first class make the main body and chief strength of
the navy. They correspond nearest to the coastdefense vessels or fourth class
battleships of the larger navies, but they are of more modern construction than
most of these. Their chief dimensions are: length 75—89 meters; width 15 m.
and draught 5 m. They are all built of steel with double bottom and supplied
with armourplates, 20—29 cm. thick, extending over more than half of the entire
length; armoured deck 5 cm.; turrets for the heavy guns of 15—29 cm. armour;
casemates or smaller turrets of 10 cm. armour for the secondary guns. — The
armament consists of 1—2 heavy guns (25 or 21 cm.), 4—7 secondary guns
(15 or 12 cm. rapidfiring), 10—11 light guns (57 mm. rapidfiring).
Torpedo-tubes are placed on board, generally under the waterline. All but two of these
vessels have rams. Two independent engines of together 3,640—6,000 horsepowers
(on the older compound horizontal, on the new ones triple expansion vertical
engines) give them a speed of 14-7 —16’5 knots. The ship’s company is 232—282
men. — The second and third class ironclads are of the wellknown monitortype.
The torpedocruisers correspond nearest to the torpedocatchers of the English
navy from the time of 1880. They are intended for scouting, but are hardly fast
enough for this purpose (19—20 knots). Their chief dimensions are: length 68—73 m.,
width 8 m., draught 3 m. Engines and boilers are placed below the waterline and are
protected by a light armoured deck (2 cm.). The armament consists of two 12 cm.
and four 57 mm. rapidfiring guns. Below the waterline is a bow-tube for 38 cm.
torpedoes. The ship’s company is 99 men. The destroyer is building at Poplar (Yarrow).
The gunboats are hardly of any value as fighting ships, but are well adapted
for training in the archipelagoes. One of them, Svensksund, serves besides as
icebreaker and salvage vessel. The torpedoboats are much like those of other
navies. The nine latest built are of 90 tons displacement (length 39, width 4’8,
and draught 2-i meters), have one fixed and one moveable torpedotube, two
47 mm. rapidfiring guns, and a speed of 23 knots. The older ones are smaller
and make about 18 knots. The ship’s company is 17 and 13 men.
All the vessels are built in Siceden (with the exception of three torpedo-boats),
the ironclads of the first class at Bergsund, at Lindholmen, and at Kockum
(Malmö); those of the second class and most of the third class at Motala wharf; a
few gun- and torpedo-boats, at the navy-yard in Karlskrona; others at Stockholm.
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