HSwMS ''Öland'' was the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships that are all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very comple ...

of the two ship of

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

s which served with the

Royal Swedish Navy The Swedish Navy () is the maritime service branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet (), formally sometimes referred to as the Royal Navy () – as well as marine units, the Amph ...

. Larger and more stable than previous Swedish destroyers, the vessel was launched on 15 December 1945. Armament was based around two twin mounting for semi-automatic guns, an extensive

anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...

defence of seven and eight guns and a quadruple

anti-submarine An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapon ...

rocket launcher A rocket launcher is a weapon that launches an unguided, rocket-propelled projectile. History The earliest rocket launchers documented in imperial China consisted of arrows modified by the attachment of a rocket motor to the shaft a few i ...

, as well as

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

es and

mines Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging *Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun Mi ...

. The ship was upgraded in 1960, which involved the addition of a

Squid A squid (: squid) is a mollusc with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight cephalopod limb, arms, and two tentacles in the orders Myopsida, Oegopsida, and Bathyteuthida (though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also ...

anti-submarine mortar amongst other alterations, and reclassified as a frigate in 1974, until ultimately being retired on 1 July 1978 as part of a strategy to remove larger combat vessels from the fleet.

Design and development

''Öland'' was the first

Öland Öland (, ; ; sometimes written ''Oland'' internationally) is the second-largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. Öland has an area of and is located in the Baltic Sea just off the coast of Småland. ...

or Province class

built for the

. The ship was named after the Swedish province. Developed using lessons learned from the

Second World War 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 ...

, the vessel was larger than previous Swedish destroyers. The design had a

double hull A double hull is a ship hull design and construction method where the bottom and sides of the ship have two complete layers of watertight hull surface: one outer layer forming the normal hull of the ship, and a second inner hull which is some di ...

, which, along with the larger size, meant that the class was more stable at sea. The hull was fulling

welded Welding is a fabrication process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, primarily by using high temperature to melt the parts together and allow them to cool, causing fusion. Common alternative methods include solvent w ...

, apart from armour plate, which was positioned around the engine room. The superstructure was also protected by light armour. The destroyer had a

length overall Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, and is also ...

of and

between perpendiculars Length between perpendiculars (often abbreviated as p/p, p.p., pp, LPP, LBP or Length BPP) is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the ster ...

, a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Radio beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially lo ...

of and a draught of .

Displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and physics *Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

was standard and full load. Power was provided by two Penhoët boilers feeding two de Laval geared

steam turbine A steam turbine or steam turbine engine is a machine or heat engine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work utilising a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Par ...

s rated at and driving two shafts. Design speed was . A single

funnel A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening. Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its constructi ...

was fitted. of oil were carried, giving a design range of at . The ship's complement was 210 officers and ratings. As-built the armament consisted of four Bofors 120 mm (4.7 in) semi-automatic dual-purpose guns in two twin M/44 dual-purpose mounts on the ship's centreline, one on the forecastle and one aft. The guns could elevate to 80°. Anti-aircraft defense consisted of seven 40 mm (1.6 in) guns in 2 twin water cooled and power operated Hazemeyer stabilized mounts, one twin power operated mount with air cooled guns and one single hand-worked mount at the bow. Twin mountings were protected by splinter shields. Close range AA armament was completed with eight single mounts for Bofors 20 mm M/40 anti-aircraft guns arranged around the forward superstructure and funnel. Within a few years this was reduced to 4. Anti-submarine warfare armament consisted of four depth charge throwers and two depth charge racks. orpedo armament was based on two triple mounts for 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes. The vessel was also equipped for laying mines, carrying 60. Mid-life refits saw the L60 40mm guns replaced by six 40mm L70 guns in single mounts and removal of all 20mm. A Squid ASW mortar was added.

Construction and career

''Öland'' was ordered on 1 July 1943 from

Kockums Saab Kockums AB is a shipyard headquartered in Malmö, Sweden, owned by the Swedish defence company Saab AB. Saab Kockums AB is further operational in Muskö, Docksta, and Karlskrona. While having a history of civil vessel construction, Kocku ...

and

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

at the yard in

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

shortly afterwards. Launched on 15 December 1945 by

Per Albin Hansson Per Albin Hansson (28 October 1885 – 6 October 1946) was a Swedish politician, chairman of the Swedish Social Democratic Party, Social Democrats from 1925 and two-time Prime Minister of Sweden, Prime Minister in four Government of Sweden, gov ...

, the ship was commissioned on 5 December 1947. The vessel was designed to act as part of a flotilla of destroyers under the command of one of the

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...

s of the , the second of which was commissioned in the same month. The destroyer underwent upgrades in 1949, 1953, 1960 and 1969 The 1960 modernisation was extensive, raising the standard displacement to , fitting a new bridge and replacing the depth charge throwers with a

anti-submarine mortar. The anti-aircraft armament was also upgraded. The 40-mm mount nearest to the

jackstaff A jack staff (also spelled as jackstaff) is a small vertical spar (pole) on the bow of a ship or smaller vessel on which a particular type of flag A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours an ...

was removed and the remaining six were updated. The light anti-aircraft guns were subsequently removed in 1964.

Radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

was fitted and by 1974 ''Öland'' was equipped with a

Thomson-CSF Thomson-CSF was a French company that specialized in the development and manufacture of electronics with a heavy focus upon the aerospace and defence sectors of the market. Thomson-CSF was formed in 1968 following the merger of Thomson-Hous ...

Saturn

S band The S band is a designation by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for a part of the microwave band of the electromagnetic spectrum covering frequencies from 2 to 4 gigahertz (GHz). Thus it crosses the conventiona ...

long range radar, a navigation set and two

Hollandse Signaalapparaten Thales Nederland B.V. (formerly Hollandse Signaalapparaten B.V. or in short Signaal) is a subsidiary of the French multinational company Thales Group based in the Netherlands. The firm was founded as ''NV Hazemeyer's Fabriek van Signaalapparat ...

M45

fire-control radar A fire-control radar (FCR) is a radar that is designed specifically to provide information (mainly target azimuth, elevation, range and range rate) to a fire-control system in order to direct weapons such that they hit a target. They are someti ...

s. In that year, the vessel was reclassified as a

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

. Meanwhile, in 1972, the

Riksdag The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliament and the parliamentary sovereignty, supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportional rep ...

decided to retire the existing fleet of frigates and cruisers, and focusing instead on a larger number of smaller and more nimble fast attack craft. The ship was subsequently removed from the

Naval List A Navy Directory, Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a co ...

on 1 July 1978 and

broken up Ship breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship scrapping, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships either as a source of Interchangeable parts, parts, which can be sol ...

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Öland 1947 ships Öland-class destroyers Ships built in Malmö