HSwMS Oscar II

Sweden appointed a commission in 1901 to analyse the state of naval defence and see what future ships should be requested to meet the country's needs.[1] The commission looked at developments in other countries, particularly the escalating Anglo-German naval arms race, and decided that instead of creating a vessel like that being constructed abroad, a smaller vessel that relied on speed and the ability to exploit the tactical advantages of the Swedish archipelago would be more appropriate.[1]

The commission proposed three solutions:[2]

Despite the commission preference for the cheapest option, the Swedish parliament voted for the third option on the recommendation of Louis Palander, the Naval Secretary.[3]

The resulting design was a modernised and slightly larger version of the Äran class coastal defence ship. As built, Oscar II had a normal displacement of 4,273 long tons (4,342 t), displacing 4,584 long tons (4,658 t) at full load.[4] The vessel had a length of 95.6 m (313.6 ft), a beam of 15.4 m (50 ft 6 in) and draught of 5.49 m (18 ft).[5] The ship was designed to have a normal complement of 326 officers and ratings.[6] A command staff of nine officers could also be carried.[7]

Cut-away of Oscar II

The ship was powered by two four-cylinder triple expansion engines built by Motala Verkstad, each driving a three-bladed screw.[8] The engines were rated at 9,400 shp (7,000 kW).[9] Steam was provided at 16.5 kg/m² (3.4 lb/sq ft) by ten Yarrow water-tube marine boilers distributed in three rooms.[4] The vessel was the only three-funnelled coastal defence ship in service.[5] Coal capacity was 500 long tons (510 t), providing a range of 3,550 nautical miles (6,570 km; 4,090 mi) at 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph) and 1,100 nmi (2,000 km; 1,300 mi) at 17.8 kn (33 km/h; 20 mph).[8] During trials, the ship averaged 18.14 kn (33.60 km/h; 20.88 mph) with coal consumption 0.95 kg/h (2.1 lb/h) per horsepower.[7]

The main battery of Oscar II consisted of a pair of Bofors 210 mm (8.3 in) K/44 M98 guns mounted in individual turrets fore and aft on the centreline.[9] Designed in 1898, they were similar to the guns mounted in the earlier Äran class. The guns fired 276 lb (125 kg) shells at a muzzle velocity of 750 m (2,460 ft) per second and a rate of fire of two shells per minute.[10]

For secondary armament, the ship used the 152 mm (6 in) K/50 M03 gun that had previously been used on the armoured cruiser Fylgia. The guns could fire 100 lb (45 kg) shells at a muzzle velocity of 2,789 ft (850 m) per second and a rate of fire of 2.7 shells per minute.[11] Eight were mounted in pairs in four turrets amidships, two on either side of the superstructure.[6] These weapons were supplemented by ten 57 mm (2.2 in) M/98B guns manufactured by Finspång, five mounted singly on each side of the bridge. Three 37 mm (1.5 in) M/98 were carried ready to be mounted on the ship's boats for fire support if they were being used to transport landing parties.[8] Two tubes for 450 mm (18 in) torpedoes were fitted below the waterline.[12]

The armour for Oscar II was an improvement on that of the Äran class, particularly expanding the protection to lower decks.[13] The ship was equipped with a 67 m (219 ft 10 in)-long armoured belt that was provided by Schneider-Creusot. It was 150 mm (5.9 in) amidships, diminishing to 125 mm (4.9 in) and finally 100 mm (3.9 in) forward and aft.[8] Above this was a citadel which was 23 m (75 ft 6 in) long, with armour 100 mm thick and barbettes with 175 mm (6.9 in) thick armoured steel, mounted on a main deck with 60 and 22 mm (2.4 and 0.9 in) armoured plate. The conning towers were also armoured, 157 mm (6.2 in) thick forward and 100 mm aft, while the bridge and upper deck had plating 10 and 57 mm (0.4 and 2.2 in) thick. The turrets had Krupp armour which was between 60 and 125 mm (2.4 and 4.9 in) thick.[14]

Oscar II in World War II

Oscar II was first modernised in 1910 when a tripod mast was fitted, and other minor upgrades took place over the ship's life, including fitting new high angle mounts for two of the 57 mm guns for anti-aircraft defence in 1916.[15]

A more significant upgrade took place in the run up to World War II.[16] The boilers were replaced, the forward two fitted for oil firing. The ship was fitted with a new fire-control system with a new director. More space was made available for fire control by removing the torpedo tubes. At the same time, the 57 mm guns were removed and replaced by an anti-aircraft battery of four 57 mm M/38 guns, two 25 mm (1 in) M/32 guns and four 8 mm (0.3 in) M/36 machine guns.[17] Normal displacement increased to 4,400 long tons (4,500 t), while full displacement was now 4,850 long tons (4,930 t). The work was completed in November 1939.[18]

Officers on deck while visiting the Tsar of Russia in 1912

Design of the new vessel was approved on 22 May 1903 and construction work started shortly afterwards at Lindholmens in Gothenburg.[19] The ship's namesake King Oscar II was to launch the vessel on 6 June 1905, but a combination of a labour dispute and the escalating dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden led to delays until 10 June, when Queen Sophia launched the ship.[8]

Oscar II entered service as flagship of the Swedish Navy on 3 April 1907.[5] The ship was soon flying the flag, travelling to England in the summer, and then returning in time for the king to sign his name on the aft conning tower shortly before he died.[20] The ship continued to host Swedish royalty, leaving for Saint Petersburg on 29 April 1908 to take Prince Wilhelm to marry Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna and transporting King Gustav to Sassnitz on 6 July 1909 where he met Wilhelm II.[20]

The next three years saw the ship visit the Mediterranean Sea, visiting ports in many countries, as well as Denmark, England, Germany and the Netherlands. In the summer of 1912, Oscar II carried the king and Queen Victoria to Finland to visit Nicholas II of Russia. Shortly afterwards, the ship was briefly mobilised as flagship of the Swedish fleet in response to the First Balkan War, but returned to duties soon afterward, providing transport for the king's visit to Christian X of Denmark in June 1913, escort for Victor Emmanuel III of Italy in July 1913 and President Poincaré of France in July 1914.[20]

When World War I started, the Swedish fleet was mobilised with Oscar II as flagship, and spent much of the war practicing firing and damage control due to the country's neutral position.[15] The ship saw action during the invasion of Åland in 1918, arriving on 19 February along with the newer coastal defence ship Sverige and a contingent from the Vaxholm Coastal Artillery Regiment.[21] Sweden had an interest in the islands and, following Sweden's recognition of Finnish independence and reports of atrocities committed against the Swedish-speaking inhabitants, saw an opportunity to occupy the islands. However, as well as both sides in the Russian Civil War, Germany was also interested in gaining the islands as part of a wider strategy to control the Baltic Sea and sent a substantial fleet as well.[22] Oscar II was on station on 5 March when the German dreadnought battleships Rheinland and Westfalen arrived, and was a fundamental part of the Swedish display of force that preceded negotiations for a peaceful settlement.[23] The vessel was one of the last Swedish units to leave the islands, finally departing on 23 April.[24] The ship was decommissioned in September 1918 in need of a complete overhaul.[18]

Oscar II was brought back into service in 1929 and was mainly used for training, attached to the Royal Swedish Naval Staff College.[18] The ship was not confined to Sweden, though, and visited Portsmouth in 1935.[25] The freshly modernised ship still served as part of the Swedish Navy during World War II. During the war, the vessel was posted to Karlskrona but saw limited action as Sweden remained neutral.[26]

After the war, Sweden decided to retire the whole fleet of coastal defence ships. Oscar II had one last royal journey, to bring the body of Prince Gustaf Adolf home after he died in an air crash at Copenhagen Airport on 26 January 1947, before being decommissioned on 24 February 1950.[27] The hulk was used for training until 11 September 1974 when the vessel was sold to be scrapped for 850,000 kr.[28]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to HMS Oscar II’’.

• List of coastal defence ships of the Swedish Navy