''De Fire Søstre'' (English: ''The Four Sisters'') was the name of five separate ships which served purely as merchant ships or, for part of their lives, hospital and supply ships to the Danish fleet.Depending on the source of any reference, the ship name may be reported under the letter D or the letter S

Danish Royal Navy ships

;''De Fire Søstre'' (pre-1737) This ship acted for much of its career as a fleet auxiliary captained by officers commissioned in the

Royal Danish Navy The Royal Danish Navy (, ) is the Naval warfare, sea-based branch of the Danish Armed Forces force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Denmark, Danish territorial waters (incl. Faroe Islands and ...

.Judging from the ranks of the commanders – Captain Lieutenant (just below full captain) - the ship was possibly a frigate, although this is not specified in the available references Converted (or rebuilt) in 1740, under Captain-Lieutenant Hans Christian Lund, she is described as a fleet merchant ship. In 1741 she carried a cargo of hemp from Riga to the Danish shipyard at Holmen, Copenhagen.
In 1761, under Captain-Lieutenant Gottlieb Joachim Dilleben, ''De Fire Søstre'' was employed by the Danish Customs Department acting against smugglers in Danish waters. Under P G M Schultz the ship is described as a hospital ship and troop transport, taking troops to Norway in 1762 and then as the hospital ship in the fleet in 1763. She may have continued the anti-smuggling duties into 1764. ;''De Fire Søstre'' (1764) ''De Fire Søstre'' was a merchant ship designed by F M Krabbe and built at Nyholm naval dockyard, Copenhagen.Skibregister - Record card fo
De Fire Søstre (1764)
/ref>The Record card reports the year of naming, as 1762 – not the year of launch
In the campaign against the Algerian corsairs of 1770 -1772 the ship, captained by Jens Knudsen served as a hospital ship to the Danish Mediterranean squadron. This was her last mission as she was decommissioned in 1771.

Civilian ships

;''De Fire Søstre'' (pre-1750) The ship was built in Germany, bought in Altona and worked in the

whaling Whaling is the hunting of whales for their products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that was important in the Industrial Revolution. Whaling was practiced as an organized industry as early as 875 AD. By the 16t ...

trade from 1752 to 1758. After 1750 it belonged to ''det Almindelige Handelskompagni'' (the Ordinary Trading Company) of Copenhagen. The ship was registered in Denmark, apparently as an ordinary merchant ship. ;''De Fire Søstre'' (1791) Built in

Svendborg Svendborg () is a town on the island of Funen in south-central Denmark, and the seat of Svendborg Municipality. With a population of 27,616 (1 January 2025), Svendborg is Funen's second largest city.Funen Funen (, ), is the third-largest List of islands of Denmark, island of Denmark, after Zealand and North Jutlandic Island, Vendsyssel-Thy, with an area of . It is the List of islands by area, 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in th ...

by Niels Hansen in 1791, this ship was rigged as a yacht with a single mast. She was owned and operated out of Svenborg from 1825 to 1849 by H J Baagøe (Shippers). Her final fate is not recorded. ;''De Fire Søstre'' (1850) Built by L J Bager in

Marstal Marstal () is a town in southern Denmark, located in Ærø Municipality on the island of Ærø. Marstal has a population of 2,077 (1 January 2024)Skælskør Skælskør () is a town in Zealand (Denmark), Zealand, Denmark. It is located in Slagelse Municipality. Until 2007 Skælskør was the seat of Skælskør Municipality. The town is located 17 km southwest of Slagelse and 12 km southeast o ...

and Hans Clausen Christensen of Marstal. After 1877 the former became the sole owner. After 1891 it was renamed ''Caroline'' of Marstal.Marcusse
17973
/ref> As ''Caroline'' she plied her trade until 1901, owned by Captain Claus Christensen Eriksen of Marstal.Eriksen is NOT listed as an officer of the Royal Danish Navy

Notes

References

External links

*Marcusse

*Marcusse
ShiplistThe Royal Danish Naval Museum
and then >DATABASE>SIMPEL>Danske Navne>and choose your ship, or simpl

.
Skibregister
(den sorte registrand) - There is also access to all th
coded sources
and the usual caveats! *{{in lang, daT. A. Topsøe-Jensen og Emil Marquard (1935) “Officerer i den dansk-norske Søetat 1660-1814 og den danske Søetat 1814-1932“. Two volumes. Downloa

Royal Danish Navy ship names