Östergötland-class destroyer

The Östergötland class were a class of destroyers built for the Swedish Navy in the late 1950s. They were smaller and less capable than the preceding Halland class and were decommissioned in 1982. The class were the last destroyers built by Sweden in the 20th century. They were sometimes referred to as Light destroyers.

HSwMS Östergötland
Class overview
NameÖstergötland class
BuildersGötaverken, Eriksbergs Mekaniska Verkstad, Kockums Mekaniska Verkstads AB
Operators Swedish Navy
Preceded byHalland class
Succeeded byNone to date (As of July 2022)
In commissionSweden: 1958–1982
Completed4
Retired4
General characteristics [1]
TypeDestroyer
Displacement
  • 2,150 tons standard
  • 2,600 tons full load
Length112 m (367 ft 5 in)
Beam11.2 m (36 ft 9 in)
Draft3.7 m (12 ft 2 in)
Propulsion2 shaft geared turbines, 2 boilers, 47,000 hp (35,000 kW)
Speed35 kn (65 km/h)
Range3,000 nmi (6,000 km) at 20 knots (37 km/h)
Complement244
Armament
  • 4 × 120 mm (4.7 in) guns m/44 (2×2)
  • 7 × Bofors 40 mm AA guns m/48 (7×1)
  • 6 × 533 mm (21.0 in) torpedo tubes (1×6 ) for Wire-guided Torped 61
  • 1 Squid anti-submarine mortar
  • 1 quadruple Seacat SAM launcher replaced 3 - 40mm guns in 1960's
NotesShips of the class took part in a number of incidents and confrontations involving Soviet incursions into Swedish waters during the late 1970s and early 1980s, most notably the Whiskey on the rocks incident in 1981.

Ships

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ship Pennant number builder commissioned fate
HSwMS Östergötland J20 Götaverken, Göteborg 1958 Decommissioned 1982
HSwMS Södermanland J21 Eriksberg, Göteborg[a] 1958 Decommissioned 1982
HSwMS Gästrikland J22 Götaverken, Göteborg 1959 Decommissioned 1982
HSwMS Hälsingland J23 Eriksberg, Göteborg 1959 Decommissioned 1982
 
The general layout of an Östergötland destroyer, prior to the class being modernised between 1963 and 1967
 
Södermanland testing its newly installed Sea Cat launcher sometime during 1963. The linked CRBFD used a variant of the M4 radar manufactured by Hollandse Signaalapparaten.[2]

Notes

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  1. ^ In the case of the Södermanland, unlike her sister ship Hälsingland, Eriksbergs Mekaniska Verkstad just built the hull, with completion and fitting out done by Kockums Mekaniska Verkstads AB. The reasons for this are unclear, though it may possibly have been part of a work share agreement.

References

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  1. ^ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995
  2. ^ "SEACAT - The Guided Missile To Defend Small Ships" Flight International, 5 September 1963, p. 442.
  • Gardiner, Robert and Stephen Chumbley. Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995. Annapolis, Maryland, USA, 1995. ISBN 1-55750-132-7.