''Freya'' or UC1 ''Freya'' (in Danish: ''Freja'') was the first private

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

, and thus first amateur electric sub in Denmark. It was built by

Peter Madsen Peter Langkjær Madsen (; born 12 January 1971) is a Danish convicted murderer and former entrepreneur. In April 2018, he was convicted of the 2017 murder of Swedish journalist Kim Wall on board his submarine, '' UC3 Nautilus'', and sentenced ...

and Claus Nørregaard in 2001–2002, as a demonstrator to try submarine technology. Having made over 500 dives, it was decommissioned, as it was not designed for a long service life. It was decommissioned in 2006 after ''

UC2 Kraka ''Kraka'', or UC2 ''Kraka'' was an amateur-built midget submarine completed in 2005, the first diesel–electric amateur sub in Denmark. It was built by Peter Madsen, Claus Nørregaard and several other people. The overall length was , and it dis ...

'' had been worked up. The submarine was then docked and allowed to decay. Final decontamination was done, and it was towed out to sea by '' UC3 Nautilus'', in August 2008, and sunk as an

artificial reef An artificial reef is a human-created underwater structure, typically built to promote marine life in areas with a generally featureless bottom, to control erosion, block ship passage, block the use of trawling nets, or improve surfing. Many re ...

near

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

. Peter Madsen, email notice
"[PSUBS-MAILIST] UC3 Nautilus at sea with UC1 Freya..."
10 Aug 2008 ''

Freya In Norse paganism, Freyja (Old Norse "(the) Lady") is a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and seiðr (magic for seeing and influencing the future). Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a chario ...

'' is named after the Norse goddess of fertility and love.

Construction

The sub was built at Peter Madsen's workshop in

Farum Farum is a town on the northeast of the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark, 20 km northwest of Copenhagen. The town has a population of 20,312 (1 January 2022).

, Denmark. ''Freya'' was completed in 2002. It was built with only an

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

drive, a 3.1-kW Sauer-Danfoss 24V DC electric motor. Coupled with a 24V 200Ah Setronic-Flamm GS gel battery, this gave a range of , but a charging time of 24 hours. This gave a cruise radius of . The electric motor was sourced from a

forklift A forklift (also called lift truck, jitney, hi-lo, fork truck, fork hoist, and forklift truck) is a powered industrial truck used to lift and move materials over short distances. The forklift was developed in the early 20th century by various c ...

. The sub had a service depth of , and a theoretical

crush depth Depth ratings are primary design parameters and measures of a submarine's ability to operate underwater. The depths to which submarines can dive are limited by the strengths of their submarine hull, hulls. Ratings The hull of a submarine must b ...

of . The sub was long, wide, and tall from

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 ...

to top of

periscope A periscope is an instrument for observation over, around or through an object, obstacle or condition that prevents direct line-of-sight observation from an observer's current position. In its simplest form, it consists of an outer case with ...

. It could reach on the surface or submerged. ''Freya'' was not equipped with an air compressor, which limited the time length of dives. The sub could hold 2 people. As ''UC1'' was a prototype, it was built out of regular steel, for enhanced strength, over aluminum or fibreglass, and making it cheaper than stainless steel. Operating costs originally were about 6 DKK worth of electricity for a couple of hours cruising.

History

''Freya'' was completed in 2002, and she was put to sea, starting voyages. In July 2002, out of the water for inspection and refit, it was crushed by a transport accident, when the truck it was on passed under a low bridge, and the attached crane was knocked over, crushing the conning tower and central portion. Insurance monies paid by the transport company were used to pay for repairs, making it seaworthy again, later in 2002. The repairs were done by Madsen and company. After decommissioning, it was sunk to the bottom of the Øresund.

References

Midget submarines 2002 ships Individual watercraft Peter Madsen {{coord missing, Denmark