''Amphion'' was the personal pleasure craft of king

Gustav III of Sweden Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what ...

. She was designed by Fredrik Henrik af Chapman, built at Djurgårdsvarvet in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

in the summer of 1778, and launched the same year. ''Amphion'', named after Zeus' son and culture patron in Greek mythology, served as a royal yacht and headquarters ship. The ship was essentially a modified ''

turuma A turuma (from the Finnish word "Turunmaa") was a type of warship built for the Swedish archipelago fleet in the late 18th century. It was specifically developed for warfare in the Archipelago Sea and along the coasts of Svealand and Finland. Th ...

'', a type of shallow-draught frigate that served in the Swedish archipelago fleet. She was equipped with oars to allow her maneuverability of a

galley A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...

while retaining a broadside of heavy guns and a full rig. She was equivalent to similar "archipelago

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

s" of the archipelago fleet, but at Gustav III's request, she was built without heavy cannons and therefore differed significantly from the other ships of the same type. ''Amphion'' turned out to be one of Chapman's few failures as a ship designer. She suffered from poor seakeeping ability and was also too heavy to row. On her maiden voyage from

Karlskrona Karlskrona (, , ) is a locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with a population of 66,675 in 2018. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only baroque city and is host to Swed ...

, poor weather conditions left ''Amphion'' shipwrecked in the archipelago of Stockholm, and Gustav III was required to come ashore at Dalaro. Thereafter, she was used mostly for trips out on Lake

Mälaren Mälaren ( , , or ), historically referred to as Lake Malar in English, is the third-largest freshwater lake in Sweden (after Vänern and Vättern). Its area is 1,140 km2 and its greatest depth is 64 m. Mälaren spans 120 kilometers from e ...

, though also she was used as the king's personal command ship during The Russo-Swedish war of 1788–1790. She later served as a barracks ship into the 19th Century. In 1884, ''Amphion'' was broken up for firewood. ''Amphion''s figurehead and stern castle with the royal command room were spared, and can be seen at the Maritime Museum in Stockholm. The preserved parts underwent preservation and restoration, performed by conservation studio Ateljé Catellani, between 2003 and 2006. The current stern was added in 1791 after the ship was damaged at the end of the Russian War. The former stern lacked the royal cypher, and its four windows gates were of a simpler design.

Gallery

File:AmphionLogementfartyg.JPG, ''Amphion'' as a barracks ship File:Amphion Kungl skonert ( byggt 1777-79), akterspegel.jpg, Drawing of the transom. File:Sjöhistoriska museet 2008a.jpg, The preserved stern File:Sjöhistoriska museet 2008m.jpg, Gustav III's cabin

Sources

* Harris, Daniel G, ''Fredrik Henrik af Chapman: den förste skeppsbyggnadsarkitekten och hans verk.'' (Translation by Roderick Klintebo), Literatim, Stockholm. 1998. . * Ships of Sweden 1778 ships Individual yachts {{Sweden-mil-ship-stub