HSwMS Tapperheten was a that served with the Swedish Navy. A development of , the Äran class mounted the same main guns, but differed in the layout of the secondary armament. The vessel was launched in 1901 and served with the coastal defence squadron at Karlskrona. In 1907, the warship attended a naval review by Edward VII. Tapperheten ran aground off the island of Sandön in 1914, earning the nickname, (Permanence) due to the lack of damage received until the vessel was refloated six months later. Subsequently, the vessel served in the First World War protecting Sweden's neutrality. The warship gained a second nickname, , for losing an anchor in 1927. After an upgrade to the anti-aircraft armament, the ship also served in the Second World War before retiring in 1947 and being sold to be broken up in 1952.
Design and development
Between 1880 and 1905 the Swedish Navy launched 12 coastal defence battleships, to counter the Imperial Russian Navy. The was a development of retaining the same main armament but with the secondary armament mounted in turrets to improve protection and angles of fire. Tapperheten was the third of the class to be laid down, and the first from Kockums of Malmö. Originally designated armoured boats () in Swedish, the vessels were reclassified as armoured ships () in the 1920s.
Tapperheten had an overall length of and measured at the waterline, a beam of and a maximum draught of . Normal displacement was although, in 1912, displacement was reported as . Eight Yarrow boilers fed steam to two sets of triple-expansion steam engines rated at driving two shafts, giving a design speed of . Two funnels were fitted. A full load of of coal was carried, which gave a design range of at . During sea trials, on 4 March 1903, the ship achieved at . The ship had a complement of 285 officers and ratings, later expanded to 301.
Armament consisted of two single Bofors guns mounted in turrets on the ship's centreline, one fore and the other aft. Each of the guns weighed and could fire a shell at a muzzle velocity of . The mounting, designated M1894, used electric training and manual elevation. Secondary armament consisted of six Bofors guns mounted singularly in turrets amidships. These guns, which had an actual calibre of and weighed , could fire a shell at a muzzle velocity of . The M1899 mounting was manually trained and elevated. The ship was also armed with eight single Bofors guns distributed around the superstructure and two submerged Elswick torpedo tubes for torpedoes.
Armour included a -long armoured belt that was thick amidships. It consisted of surface-hardened Krupp armour backed by of teak. The main armament was protected by barbettes were thick and turrets having an armouted face thick and the remainder thick. The secondary armament sat on barbettes protected by nickel-steel armour, the turrets having a face thick, sides thick and a roof thick. The conning tower was protected by armour. Flat to the belt was deck armour that was thick. Two searchlights and a rangefinder were later fitted.
Construction and career
Tapperheten was ordered from Kokums in October 1898 at a cost of SEK 2,390,000. The vessel was the second to be named , meaning courage, the first being a ship of the line launched by the same shipyard in 1785. Laid down on 12 October, the ship was launched on 7 November 1901 and completed in 1902. The ship was commissioned into the coastal defence fleet based at Karlskrona.
On 3 August 1907, the vessel joined with and two other ships of the Swedish Navy at a naval review by Edward VII in The Solent. Four days later the ship led the squadron into Portsmouth where the sailors were hosted by staff of the Royal Naval Barracks and HMS Excellent. On 28 January 1914, Tapperheten ran aground off the coast of the island of Sandön while manoeuvring in the Stockholm Archipelago. Despite numerous attempts, it was not possible to refloat the ship until 10 July. During this time, the vessel was repeatedly battered by waves and yet stayed generally unharmed with all bulkheads remaining watertight and the hull in good condition, gaining the nickname , or Permanence, in the process. After a short repair, Tapperheten was recommissioned into the coastal defence fleet, the process sped up due to the ongoing First World War. The cost of the damage and repair was SEK 1,340,808. The ship served for the remainder of the conflict protect the nation's trade routes and shipping fleet due to Sweden's neutrality in the war. In 1927, the warship received a second nickname, , meaning anchor losing, in honour of the loss of an anchor in the English Channel.
At the start of the Second World War, the warship was used as a flagship. The ship's weaponry was considered outdated and so was upgraded between 1939 and 1940. The torpedo tubes were removed and four and two anti-aircraft guns added. The vessel was transferred to Karlskrona. On 17 September 1941, the warship was at anchor at Hårsfjärden when the destroyer exploded in the Hårsfjärden disaster. Tapperheten was undamaged in the incident. During that year, the vessel was allocated to the squadron based at Stockholm, before returning to Karlskrona the following year. After the war, Sweden decided to retire the whole fleet of coastal defence ships. On 13 July 1947, Tapperheten was taken out of service and, in 1952, was sold to AB Vrng to be broken up at Oxelösund.
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