HSwMS ''Fylgia'' was an

armored cruiser The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship and fast eno ...

of the

Swedish Navy The Swedish Navy ( sv, Svenska marinen) 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 Amphibious Corps (). In Swedish, vessels o ...

. Launched in 1905, the ship was in service until 1953. The cruiser was primarily used as a

training ship A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house classr ...

for naval cadets.

Construction and career

''Fylgia''s

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

was laid by Bergsunds Mekaniska Verkstad in October 1902. She was launched on 20 December 1905 at Finnboda slip at

Nacka Nacka () is the municipal seat of Nacka Municipality and part of Stockholm urban area in Sweden. The municipality's name harks back to a 16th-century industrial operation established by the Crown at Nacka farmstead where conditions for water mil ...

. The ship was commissioned on 21 June 1907. Upon her commissioning, she was the smallest true armored cruiser in the world. She was commonly used as a cadet training ship following World War I. On 12 December 1927, ''Fylgia'' collided with the Brazilian

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usu ...

Salvador, Bahia Salvador (English: ''Savior'') is a Brazilian municipality and capital city of the state of Bahia. Situated in the Zona da Mata in the Northeast Region of Brazil, Salvador is recognized throughout the country and internationally for its cuisine ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. ''Itapura'' sank, but all 40 members of her crew were rescued.

Extensive Modernisation

''Fylgia'' was modernized in 1939–1940. Her 12 coal fired Yarrow-type boilers were replaced with four oil fueled Phenoët-type boilers. The three high stacks were replaced by two lower ones. The main battery's range was extended and a new fire control with central gun control was added. The air defense was completely revamped: the old 57 mm guns were removed and replaced with four 57 mm M/89B-38B anti-aircraft guns. Two dual 40 mm m/36 gyro-stabilized mounts were added and one dual 25 mm m/32 and one 20 mm m/40 guns were also installed.Hofsten, Waernberg & Ohlsson, pp. 133-134 After the refit she was assigned to the neutrality watch. ''Fylgia'' served into the 1950s as a cadet training ship, until 1953 when she was decommissioned. ''Fylgia'' was sold for scrap in 1957.

Captains

*1915–1916: Fredrik Riben *1919–1920: Gunnar Unger *1922–1923:

Claës Lindsström Vice admiral (Sweden), Vice Admiral Claës Olof Lindsström (8 October 1876 – 3 January 1964) was a Swedish Navy officer. Lindsström's senior commands include postings as commanding officer of Karlskrona and Stockholm Naval Stations, the Naval ...

*1925–1925: Nils Åkerblom *1925–1926: Arvid Hägg *1927–1928: Nils Åkerblom *1931–1932: Lave Beck-Friis *1933–1934: Magnus von Arbin *1948–1948: Gunnar Fogelberg

Notes

References

* * Cruisers of the Swedish Navy Ships built in Sweden 1905 ships Maritime incidents in 1927 {{Sweden-mil-ship-stub