Vasa. Swedish 64-gun vessel. The Vasa was part of the naval program decided by King Gustav II Adolf in anticipation of Swedish intervention in the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). About 50 m long, 11.50 wide, it displaced 1,300 t and weighed nearly 1,070 tons. It had three decks, 48 24-pounder guns in two batteries, 133 crew, 300 soldiers.
Launched in 1627, it set sail on August 10, 1628 for its maiden voyage. He had barely covered a little more than a mile, taking advantage of a dry south-southwesterly breeze when, at the entrance to Stockholm roadstead, south of the islet of Beckholmen, a gust blew up. fell on him. The ship heeled. The water rushed in through the gun ports of the lower battery, which had been left open. Within minutes, the building sank. It had landed straight on the bottom, so that attempts were immediately made to bail it out. But it was a waste of time.
Only in 1957, thanks to the relentlessness of a Swedish scholar passionate about the navy, Andres Franzén, it became possible to resume these attempts. On April 24, 1961, more than 300 years after the disaster, the hull was brought to the surface. Time had miraculously spared her. After a special treatment to prevent the wood from disintegrating in contact with air, the large At vessel was installed on a covered pontoon near the Vasa Museum in Stockholm and protected by an envelope of cement and glass.
Type Three-master, galleon and carrack combination (solid oak, double deck armed with cannons)
Length at the waterline 47.5 m, hull 61 m, overall 69 m
Maître-bau 11.7 m
Draft 4.5 m
Air draft 48.5 m
Displacement 1,200 tons
Tonnage 1,400 tons
Propulsion 3 masts, 10 sails, 1,275 m2 in total
Crew 437 men, including 300 soldiers
Shipyard Stockholm Shipyard
Home port Stockholm
Armament 48 x 24-pounders, 8 x 3-pounders, 2 x 1-pounders, and 6 howitzers