HSwMS Sundsvall (J12)

HSwMS Sundsvall (J12) was a Swedish destroyer, later rebuilt as a frigate, in the four-ship Visby class. The ship was named after the Swedish coastal city of Sundsvall. Sundsvall was laid down in 1942 during the Second World War, and was commissioned on 17 September 1943. She survived the war, and was modified and redesigned as a frigate in 1965.[1] She was kept in service by the Swedish Navy until 1982,[1] and was then used for testing of the Navy's RBS-15 anti-ship missile. The ship was later sold to Spain for scrapping.

HSwMS Sundsvall in 1968.
History
Sweden
Name:	Sundsvall
Namesake:	Sundsvall
Laid down:	1942
Launched:	20 October 1942
Commissioned:	17 September 1943
Decommissioned:	1 July 1982
Fate:	Scrapped
Badge:
General characteristics
Type:	Destroyer/Frigate
Displacement:	1,135–1,320 tons
Length:	98 m (322 ft)
Beam:	9 m (30 ft)
Draught:	3.8 m (12 ft)
Speed:	39 kn (72 km/h; 45 mph)
Complement:	155
Armament:	As destroyer 3 × 120 mm (4.7 in) guns 4 x 40 mm (1.6 in) canons 4 x 20 mm (0.79 in) canons 6 x 530 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes As frigate 2 × 57 mm lvakan m/50 B 1 × 375 mm (14.8 in) anti-submarine rocket launcher Depth charges Mines
Aircraft carried:	1 helicopter as frigate

Design

Sundsvall was 97.5 meters long and 9.2 meters wide. The hull was made of steel while the superstructures were constructed of light metal. The main superstructure was just forward of midships and housed among other the galley, wheelhouse and navigation bridge and the command bridge. The machine consisted of three Penhoët A oil-fired boilers which generated steam for two of the de Laval steam turbines of 36,000 horsepower, which in turn drove two propellers. This machinery gave the ships a maximum speed of 39 knots.[2] The main artillery consisted of three 12 cm guns and the air defense consisted of eight 40 mm anti-aircraft automatic cannon m/36. In addition, there were anti-aircraft machine guns and torpedo tubes, and more than 40 mines and 16 depth charges could be carried.[3]

History

Sundsvall was built at Eriksbergs Mekaniska Verkstad in Gothenburg and was launched on 20 October 1942 and was delivered to the Swedish Navy on 17 September 1943. After delivery, Sundsvall was put into the Coastal Fleet, where she served during the rest of World War II.[4]

Conversion

In the mid 1960s, Sundsvall underwent extensive rebuilding. The foeward and aft 12 cm gun was replaced by a 57 mm anti-aircraft automatic gun m/50D and the third was removed and replaced by a 37.5 cm anti-submarine rocket launcher.[2] Additionally, two more rack-deployed depth charges m/33 were added and the mining capacity was extended to 130 mines. A helicopter platform was built and a new fire-control system was installed with a new radar antenna in a radome on the bridge deck. In 1965 the ship was reclassified to frigate and in 1966 the conversion was completed.

Fate

Sundsvall was decommissioned on 1 July 1982, after which she was used as a target ship for test firing with RBS-15 before she was sold for scrap in Spain in 1984.[2]

References

Notes

1. "Visby class destroyer". FactForge.net. Archived from the original on 5 July 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
2. Hofsten, Waernberg & Ohlsson 2003, p. 164
3. Borgenstam, Insulander & Kaudern 1989, p. 215
4. Lagvall 1991

Print

• Borgenstam, Curt; Insulander, Per; Kaudern, Gösta (1989). Jagare: med Svenska flottans jagare under 80 år (in Swedish). Västra Frölunda: Marinlitteratur. ISBN 91-970700-4-1. SELIBR 7792227.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Hofsten, Gustaf von; Waernberg, Jan; Ohlsson, Curt S. (2003). Örlogsfartyg: svenska maskindrivna fartyg under tretungad flagg. [Forum navales skriftserie, 1650-1837 ; 6] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Svenskt militärhistoriskt bibl. i samarbete med Marinlitteratur. ISBN 91-974384-3-X. SELIBR 8873330.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Lagvall, Bertil (1991). Flottans neutralitetsvakt 1939-1945: krönika. Marinlitteraturföreningen, 0348-2405 ; 71 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Marinlitteraturfören. ISBN 91-85944-05-X. SELIBR 7753511.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)