Hårsfjärden disaster

The Hårsfjärden disaster was an event in the Swedish Navy during World War II. A series of accidental explosions, it caused by far the worst damage to Swedish Navy units during the era of that war, in which Sweden was not a combatant.

The destroyer HSwMS Klas Uggla in flames during the Hårsfjärden disaster.

The disaster occurred on 17 September 1941.[1] Three Swedish Navy destroyers were berthed in Hårsfjärden fjord near Stockholm when the torpedoes[2] or oil tanks[3] of HSwMS Göteborg exploded; flames then also enveloped Klas Horn and Klas Uggla in an inferno.[2][4]

The three destroyers were sunk,[4] and thirty-three sailors killed, a major blow to the Swedish Navy. All three ships were later raised. Klas Uggla never again saw service; the other two ships did, after repairs.[2][1]

An investigation into possible sabotage commenced. A theory emerged that the cause was a bomb dropped accidentally by a Swedish plane on training maneuvers, and other theories were advanced. But the cause was never established.[2]

References

1. Adrian English (May 2012). "The Swedish Navy". Maritime History and Archaeology. Histarmar Foundation. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
2. Tursten, Helene (2015). The Treacherous Net (An Irene Huss Investigation). Translated by Marlaine Delargy. Soho Crime. p. 85. ISBN 978-1616954024. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
3. "---". Newsweek. Vol. 18. September 1941. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
4. Gilmour, John (2011). Sweden, the Swastika and Stalin: The Swedish experience in the Second World War. Societies at War. Edinburgh University Press. p. 222. ISBN 978-0748627479. Retrieved February 11, 2016.

Further reading

• Whitley, M. J. (2000). Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. London: Cassell & Co. p. 249. ISBN 1-85409-521-8.
• Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger, eds. (1980). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Conway Maritime Press. p. 372. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.