''Danmark'' is a

full-rigged ship A full-rigged ship or fully rigged ship is a sailing ship, sailing vessel with a sail plan of three or more mast (sailing), masts, all of them square rig, square-rigged. Such a vessel is said to have a ship rig or be ship-rigged, with each mas ...

owned by the Danish Maritime Authority and based at the in

Frederikshavn Frederikshavn () is a Danish town in Frederikshavn municipality, Region Nordjylland, on the northeast coast on the North Jutlandic Island in northern Denmark. Its name translates to "Frederik's harbor". It was originally named Fladstrand. The ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Description

''Danmark'' is in overall length with a beam of and a depth of , with a gross

tonnage Tonnage is a measure of the capacity of a ship, and is commonly used to assess fees on commercial shipping. The term derives from the taxation paid on '' tuns'' or casks of wine. In modern maritime usage, "tonnage" specifically refers to a cal ...

of 790 tons. She was designed for a crew complement of 120 but in a 1959 refit this was reduced to 80. Although she is equipped with a 486-hp diesel engine capable of in other respects she retains many primitive features: for example, the steering gear lacks any mechanical assistance, and the stock anchors are raised by a capstan rather than a powered

windlass The windlass is an apparatus for moving heavy weights. Typically, a windlass consists of a horizontal cylinder (barrel), which is rotated by the turn of a crank or belt. A winch is affixed to one or both ends, and a cable or rope is wound arou ...

. The permanent crew has berths, but the trainees sleep in hammocks.

History

''Danmark'' succeeded ''

København Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

'', a five-masted

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts of which the fore mast, mainmast, and any additional masts are Square rig, rigged square, and only the aftmost mast (mizzen in three-maste ...

which was lost mysteriously at sea at the end of 1928, as Denmark's principal training ship. Launched in 1932 at the Nakskov Shipyard in

Lolland Lolland (; formerly spelled ''Laaland'', literally "low land") is the List of islands of Denmark#List of 100 largest Danish islands, fourth largest island of Denmark, with an area of . Located in the Kattegat, Belts and Sund area, it is part of Re ...

and fitted out the following year, she was built to train officers of the Danish merchant marine. In 1939 she visited the United States to participate in the 1939 Worlds Fair in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, but at the outbreak of hostilities in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

she was ordered to remain in US waters to avoid capture by the Germans. She was then based in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

, and maintained with the help of the

Danish American Danish Americans () are Americans who have ancestral roots originated fully or partially from Denmark. There are approximately 1,300,000 Americans of Danish origin or descent. Most Danes who came to the United States after 1865 did so for e ...

community there. After the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...

the captain, Knud L. Hansen, offered the ship to the U.S. government as a training vessel. This offer was accepted, and ''Danmark'' moved to

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the outlet of the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, which empties into Long Island Sound. The cit ...

, to train cadets at the

United States Coast Guard Academy The United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA), located in New London, Connecticut, is the United States service academies, U.S. service academy specifically for the United States Coast Guard. Founded in 1876, the academy provides education t ...

there. Approximately five thousand cadets were trained before the ship was returned to Denmark in 1945. Her designation in the U.S. Coast Guard was USCGC ''Danmark'' (WIX-283). She resumed her training duties the following year. In recognition of her wartime service, a bronze plaque was placed on the

mainmast The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall spar, or arrangement of spars, erected more or less vertically on the median line of a ship or boat. Its purposes include carrying sails, spars, and derricks, giving necessary height to a navigation light ...

, and ''Danmark'' was given the honor of leading the parade of ships at the 1964 Worlds Fair in New York. Experience with ''Danmark'' led to the acquisition of the USCGC ''Eagle'' from Germany at the end of the war as a training vessel. Training voyages continue to be offered, not only to Danes but also to those of any nation interested in learning the basics of seamanship on a large sailing vessel. The ship was one of seven ships used in filming the British BBC TV-series Onedin Line (1971-1980). The ship was involved in a collision with USS ''Minneapolis-Saint Paul'' in September 2022. ''Danmark'' was being towed by a tugboat at the time. File:Danish tallship Danmark.png, Line art of the Danmark

References

External links

Training Ship Danmark
from MARTEC site
Skoleskib DANMARK
from martec {{in lang, da Ships built in Denmark Tall ships of Denmark Training ships Three-masted ships Full-rigged ships 1932 ships United States Coast Guard Academy Ships of Denmark