HDMS ''Elephanten'' (, from the

Order of the Elephant The Order of the Elephant ( da, Elefantordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry and is Denmark's highest-ranked honour. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional ...

) was a

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colu ...

of the

Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy The history of the Danish navy began with the founding of a joint Dano-Norwegian navy on 10 August 1510, when King John appointed his vassal Henrik Krummedige to become "chief captain and head of all our captains, men and servants whom we now h ...

that served from 1703 to 1728. There were three other Danish ships-of-the line of the same name, dating from 1684, 1741 and 1773. The ship was sometimes referred to as ''Nye Elefant'' () to differentiate from others of similar name. For much of her service career, which coincided with the Great Northern War, ''Elephanten'' was the flagship of the Danish fleet active in the Baltic Sea.

Ship's career

In 1710 ''Elephanten'' participated in the Battle of Køge Bay, where she served as

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

for Admiral Ulrik Gyldenløve. ''Elephanten'' remained Gyldenløve's flagship until 1712 when the Danish fleet was heavily involved in the ongoing siege of Stralsund. Captain was the flag captain during 1711 and 1712. In 1712 Jacob Dos had been flag captain to Vice Admiral Peter Raben on and (after a spell of sickness) was again Raben's flag captain when Raben commanded the Baltic fleet from ''Elephanten'' in 1714 and 1715. This was a period in which the fleet of 15 ships-of-the-line escorted a squadron and fleet of troop transports under Christen Thomesen Sehested to Pomerania and which included the successful Battle of Rügen. Dos was again flag captain to Admiral Raben on ''Elephanten'' in 1718. In early October 1715 Gyldenløve again took command of Denmark's Baltic fleet, again flying his flag in ''Elephanten''. For three weeks Ulrich Kaas was his flag captain before his own promotion to Rear Admiral, then Rasmus Krag took over. Elephanten continued to lead the Danish fleet in the Baltic throughout 1716 and 1717 with Admiral Gyldenløve in command. Commodore (later Admiral) , was the flag captain in these later stages.

1726

By the end of the Great Northern War much of the Danish fleet was seriously dilapidated and in need of refitting and repair. The refitting of ''Elephanten'' at the Danish naval base of Holmen was mismanaged and expensive, resulting in a ship that was unfit for service, for which Ole Judichær was blamed.

Fate

She was scuttled in 1728 to create the artificial island ''Elefanten'' at Holmen, Copenhagen. The ship's former anchor was recovered from the Bay of Køge in 1979. In October the same year it was inaugurated as a local landmark in a donation from Sejlklubben Greve Strand in connection with the celebration of the harbour's 50 years' anniversary.

Notes

References

Citations

*Royal Danish Naval Museum
List of Ships Names
- for details of most ships which have served in the Royal Danish Navy
Byvandring 6
- A guide to the area of Holmen, City of Copenhagen for walking or cycling (for Elefanten see section 6.6) - in Danish . Copyright forfatterne og Systime A/S 2019 *Royal Danish Naval Museu

for record cards where they exist * *

External links

Source

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elephanten 1700s ships Ships of the line of the Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy Ships designed by Ole Judichær Great Northern War Ships built in Copenhagen Holmen, Copenhagen