The ''Tre Kronor'' class (English: ''Three Crowns'' class) was a class of two

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

s built for 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 ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, comprising and . ''Tre Kronor'' was discarded in 1968 and ''Göta Lejon'' was sold to Chile in 1971. Renamed ''Almirante Latorre'', she remained in service until being discarded in 1986.

Design and development

The outbreak of World War II caused the

to change its naval strategy, with it being decided to base the fleet on two squadrons of

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

s, each of which would be led by a cruiser, instead of the existing organisation of slow

coastal defence ship Coastal defence ships (sometimes called coastal battleships or coast defence ships) were warships built for the purpose of coastal defence, mostly during the period from 1860 to 1920. They were small, often cruiser-sized warships that sacrifi ...

s and small

torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of se ...

s. In 1940, therefore, the

Swedish government The Government of the Kingdom of Sweden ( sv, Konungariket Sveriges regering) is the national cabinet of Sweden, and the country's executive authority. The Government consists of the Prime Ministerappointed and dismissed by the Speaker of the R ...

decided that two

s were to be built. The cruisers were designed by the Italian shipyard CRDA in 1940–1941.Whitley 1999, pp. 225–226. The main armament was seven

Bofors 152 mm gun The Bofors 152 mm kanon m/42 is a naval gun for use on ships. It was initially used aboard light cruisers and cruisers including the Swedish and the Dutch , after World War II. The last active ship to use the gun was the Peruvian Navy cruis ...

s, with one triple turret forward and two twin turrets aft. The guns were being built by Bofors for the s being built in the Netherlands for the

Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy ( nl, Koninklijke Marine, links=no) is the naval force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. During the 17th century, the navy of the Dutch Republic (1581–1795) was one of the most powerful naval forces in the world an ...

but were taken over by the Swedish government when the Netherlands surrendered to Germany in May 1940.Whitley 1999, pp. 197, 226. They could fire a shell to a range of at a rate of 12–15 rounds per minute,Friedman 1997, p. 449. and could elevate to 70 degrees, being capable of both anti-surface and anti-aircraft use. Additional anti-aircraft armament was provided by 20

Bofors 40 mm Bofors 40 mm gun is a name or designation given to two models of 40 mm calibre anti-aircraft guns designed and developed by the Swedish company Bofors: *Bofors 40 mm L/60 gun - developed in the 1930s, widely used in World War II and into the 1990s ...

guns in 10 twin turrets and seven 20 mm m/40 guns. Six

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s were fitted, and the ship could also carry 160 mines.Westerlund 1980, p. 371.Whitley 1999, p. 226. A political debate broke out about the cruisers, with this, together with rework of the design, ensured that work did not start until 1943. The ships were built by the

Götaverken Götaverken was a shipbuilding company that was located on Hisingen, Gothenburg. During the 1930s it was the world's biggest shipyard by launched gross registered tonnage. It was founded in 1841, and went bankrupt in 1989. History The company w ...

and Eriksberg shipyards in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

. was launched on 16 December 1944, and on 17 November 1945.

Service history

The delayed start to the ships and industrial action meant that World War II was long over when the ships were completed, with both ships entering service in 1947. They were refitted in the late 1940s and early 1950s, with a new bridge fitted, radar added and the 20 mm guns replaced by seven more 40 mm Bofors guns. ''Göta Lejon'' had another major refit between 1957 and 1958, with new radar being fitted, and a revised secondary anti-aircraft armament of four Bofors 57 mm guns and eleven 40 mm Bofors guns. A similar upgrade for ''Tre Kronor'' was cancelled due to lack of funds. ''Tre Kronor'' went into reserve in 1958, was stricken on 1 January 1964 and sold for scrap in 1968, being used to build a pontoon bridge. The more modern ''Göta Lejon'' was not stricken until 1 July 1970, and was sold to

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

in July 1971, being commissioned into the

Chilean Navy The Chilean Navy ( es, Armada de Chile) is the naval warfare service branch of the Chilean Armed Forces. It is under the Ministry of National Defense. Its headquarters are at Edificio Armada de Chile, Valparaiso. History Origins and the Wars ...

as ''Almirante Latorre'' on 18 September 1971.Moore 1985, p. 88. ''Latorre'' was stricken from the Chilean Navy in 1984, and was sold in August 1986, being scrapped in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

in 1987.

Ships

Notes

References

* Friedman, Norman. ''The Naval Institute Guide to World Naval Weapon Systems 1997–1998''. Annapolis, Maryland, USA: Naval Institute Press, 1997. . * Moore, John. ''Jane's Fighting Ships 1985–86''. London: Jane's Yearbooks, 1985. . * * * {{Chilean cruisers Cruiser classes