Swedish Navy

Swedish Navy
Swedish Navy
Svenska marinen
	Coat of arms of the Swedish Navy.
Founded	7 June 1522; (502 years, 4 months)
Country	Sweden
Size	2,100
Part of	Swedish Armed Forces
Garrison/HQ	Muskö
March	"Kungliga Flottans paradmarsch" (Wagner)
Anniversaries	9 July (Battle of Svensksund)
Equipment	List of equipment of the Swedish Navy
Engagements	See list Swedish War of Liberation (1521–23); Count's Feud (1534–36); Russo-Swedish War (1554–57); Northern Seven Years' War (1563–70); Russo-Swedish War (1590–95); Polish–Swedish War (1600–29); Ingrian War (1610–1617); Kalmar War (1611–13); Thirty Years' War (1630–1648); Torstenson War (1643–45); Second Northern War (1657–60); Scanian War (1675–79); Great Northern War (1700–1721); Russo-Swedish War (1741–43); Seven Years' War (1756–1763); Russo-Swedish War (1788–90); First Barbary War (1801–1802); War of the Fourth Coalition (1805–1810); Finnish War (1808–1809); Dano-Swedish War of 1808–09; Swedish-Norwegian War (1814); Invasion of Åland (1918); War in Afghanistan (2002–2021); Operation Atalanta (since 2008) ;
Commanders
Chief of Navy	RAdm Ewa Skoog Haslum
Deputy Chief of Navy	BGen Patrik Gardesten
Chief of the Naval Staff	Capt Håkan Nilsson
Insignia
Naval ensign and jack
Naval ensign 1844–1905
Naval ensign 1815–1844

The Swedish Navy (Swedish: Svenska marinen) is the maritime service branch of the Swedish Armed Forces.^[3] It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet (Flottan), formally sometimes referred to as the Royal Navy (Kungliga Flottan) – as well as marine units, the Amphibious Corps (Amfibiekåren).

Founded under King Gustav I in 1522, the Swedish navy is one of the oldest continuously serving navies in the world, celebrating its 500th anniversary in 2022.

History

Early Swedish kings (c. 9th–14th centuries) organised a Swedish Navy along the coastline through ledungen. This involved combined rowing and sailing ships (without artillery). This system became obsolete with the development of society and changes in military technology. No later than in the 14th century, the duty to serve in ledungen was replaced by a tax. In 1427, when Sweden was still part of the Kalmar Union (with Denmark and Norway), Swedish warships did however participate in the naval battle of Öresund against the Hanseatic League. It is unclear how this force was organised and exactly on what basis.

On 7 June 1522, one year after the separation of Sweden from the Kalmar Union, Gustav Vasa purchased a number of ships from the Hanseatic town of Lübeck. Official Swedish histories since the 19th century have often recorded this day as the birth of the current Swedish Navy. The museum ship Vasa in Stockholm was a 17th-century ship of the Royal Swedish Navy (Kungliga flottan).

Swedish Navy uniforms from the period 1779–1833; lithography by Adolf Ulrik Schützercrantz

The Amphibious Corps dates back to 1 January 1902, when a separate "Coastal Artillery" (Kustartilleriet) was established, and Marinen came into use as the name of the service as a whole. The last decade of the 20th century saw the abandonment of the coastal fortifications and the force became a more regular^{[citation needed]} marine corps, renamed Amphibious Corps (Amfibiekåren) in 2000.

For most of the twentieth century, the Swedish Navy focused on the threat of a full-scale invasion of Sweden via the Baltic Sea and on protecting commercial shipping. Sweden's location on the Scandinavian peninsula makes it highly dependent of maritime trade: 90% imports and exports enter or leave Sweden through the Baltic. In 1972, the government decreed that non-military measures should be used to protect merchant shipping. The resolution led to the decommissioning of all the navy's destroyers and frigates, though the non-military measures the government intended to use to protect shipping have never been specified.

The navy first participated in a UN-led peacekeeping mission in October 2006 when the corvette HSwMS Gävle^{[note 1]} began performing coastal surveillance duties for the United Nations Mission in Lebanon. HSwMS Gävle was relieved by HSwMS Sundsvall, which returned to Sweden in September 2007.

HSwMS Malmö, HSwMS Stockholm, and HSwMS Trossö took part in the EU-led EUNAVFOR operation (2008– ) off the coast of the Horn of Africa. In 2010, HSwMS Carlskrona was the EUNAVFOR flagship, housing the fleet headquarters led by RAdm (LH) Jan Thörnqvist.^[5]

Organization

Until recently, the Navy was led by the Chief of the Navy, who was typically a vice admiral. This office has been eliminated, and the highest officer of the Navy is now the Chief of Navy, Rear Admiral Ewa Skoog Haslum, who is the senior representative of the Swedish Navy's combat forces.

The Marine units use the same system of rank as the Army.

Naval units

1st Submarine Flotilla (1. ubflj) located in Karlskrona
3rd Naval Warfare Flotilla (3. sjöstridsflj) located in Karlskrona
4th Naval Warfare Flotilla (4. sjöstridsflj) located at Berga

Amphibious units

1st Marine Regiment (Amf 1) located in Berga
4th Marine Regiment (Amf 4) located in Gothenburg

Bases

Muskö naval base, located at Muskö island in the Stockholm archipelago. The base serves as the headquarters of the Swedish Navy since September 2019.
Karlskrona naval base (MarinB), located at Karlskrona with detachments at Berga, Gothenburg and Skredsvik.

Training units

Swedish Naval Warfare Centre (SSS) located in Karlskrona

Fleet

Equipment

Commanders

Ranks

Commissioned officer ranks

The rank insignia of commissioned officers.

NATO code	OF-10		OF-9		OF-8		OF-7		OF-6		OF-5		OF-4		OF-3		OF-2		OF-1
Swedish Navy^[6] v t e
Swedish Navy^[6] v t e			Amiral		Viceamiral		Konteramiral		Flottiljamiral		Kommendör		Kommendörkapten		Örlogskapten		Kapten		Löjtnant			Fänrik

Other ranks

The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel.

NATO code	OR-9						OR-8		OR-7		OR-6						OR-5						OR-4				OR-3		OR-2						OR-1
Swedish Navy^[6] v t e
Swedish Navy^[6] v t e	Flottiljförvaltare						Förvaltare		Överfanjunkare	Fanjunkare	Översergeant			Sergeant			Överfurir			Furir			Korpral				Vicekorpral		Menig 4		Menig 3		Menig 2	Menig 1	Menig

Notes

^ In Swedish, vessels of the Swedish Navy are given the prefix "HMS", short for Hans/Hennes majestäts skepp (His/Her Majesty's Ship). In English, this is sometimes changed to "HSwMS" ("His Swedish Majesty's Ship") to differentiate Swedish vessels from those of the British Royal Navy. ^[4]

References

^ IISS (2022). The Military Balance 2022. Routledge. p. 151. ISBN 978-1-032-27900-8.
^ Braunstein, Christian (2011). Sveriges marina förband och skolor under 1900-talet. pp. 8–13. ISBN 978-91-976220-5-9.
^ "The Navy". Swedish Armed Forces. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
^ Allied Command Operations. "A Day Aboard HSwMS Kullen". NATO. Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
^ "90 000 ton humanitär hjälp säkrades under svensk ledning" [90,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid was secured under Swedish leadership]. Swedish Armed Forces (in Swedish). 16 August 2010. Archived from the original on 27 August 2010.
^ ^a ^b "Försvarsmaktens Gradbeteckningar" (PDF). Försvarsmakten (in Swedish). Swedish Armed Forces. 2 January 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2024.

External links

Official website (in English)
Official website (in Swedish)
Göran Frilund – The Swedish Navy 1788–1809

[5] In Swedish, vessels of the Swedish Navy are given the prefix "HMS", short for Hans/Hennes majestäts skepp (His/Her Majesty's Ship). In English, this is sometimes changed to "HSwMS" ("His Swedish Majesty's Ship") to differentiate Swedish vessels from those of the British Royal Navy. ^[4]

[1] IISS (2022). The Military Balance 2022. Routledge. p. 151. ISBN 978-1-032-27900-8.

[2] Braunstein, Christian (2011). Sveriges marina förband och skolor under 1900-talet. pp. 8–13. ISBN 978-91-976220-5-9.

[3] "The Navy". Swedish Armed Forces. Retrieved 2 September 2020.

[4] Allied Command Operations. "A Day Aboard HSwMS Kullen". NATO. Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2014.

[6] "90 000 ton humanitär hjälp säkrades under svensk ledning" [90,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid was secured under Swedish leadership]. Swedish Armed Forces (in Swedish). 16 August 2010. Archived from the original on 27 August 2010.

[Sweden-7] "Försvarsmaktens Gradbeteckningar" (PDF). Försvarsmakten (in Swedish). Swedish Armed Forces. 2 January 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2024.

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