Sweden's Naval Museum: Starring Hajen I (the "Shark")

/Kjell had kindly provided the video above (and here) about Sweden's Naval Museum at Karlskrona.

50 seconds into the video is Sweden's first submarine the Hajen I ("Shark" in Swedish) launched in 1904. It was intended for (but it didn't fight in) such Baltic confrontations as the "union conflict" between Sweden and Norway. I've never heard of this conflict. Nothing to do with trade unions, but a complex 1905 dissolution of the union of Sweden and Norway involving royalty, nationalism, democracy (for men only!) and constitutions.  

The Museum explains https://www.marinmuseum.se/en/exhibitions/submarine-exhibition/the-hajen The Hajen I has only three torpedoes, top speed of nine knots, and no heating equipment whatsoever. However, in 1904, when launched, the Hajen was a terrifying state-of-the-art naval war weapon.

(Photo courtesy Sweden's Naval Museum)

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Carl Richson (above) born 1857 was a civilian marine engineer and designer, not a naval officer, despite his uniform). Richson was Hajen I’s main creator. Richson, a crofter's son and "social climber" from the Swedish province of Södermanland, lived in the US for ten years. There, he took various jobs before eventually becoming head of the design office of the naval dockyard in New York, and became a very well-known ship designer.

In 1897 Richson moved back to Sweden, where he started working at the Maritime Administration and was soon placed in a position that would prove highly important as the Swedish fleet prepared to enter the new century.

Alongside the work on the fleet surface vessels, Richson began early on to lay the technical foundation for the upcoming Swedish submarine weapon. In the fall of 1900, Richson was ordered to return to the US to obtain knowledge of the construction of submarines there. One reason for this was probably that the US Navy the year before purchased a submarine designed by (main inventor of the modern submarine) the Irish American J P Holland. Richson, brought home a 26-page design from the "Electric Boat" company building Holland's submarines.

Hajen I in dry dock. (Photo courtesy Sweden's Naval Museum)

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(Hajen I surfaced. Not designed for high seas! (Photo courtesy Sweden's Naval Museum)

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After returning to Sweden, Richson, in 1901–1903 prepared the drawings for Hajen I. It was built at the Naval Shipyard in Stockholm and launched in July 1904. The difficulties in the construction of Hajen I were many and complicated, but all were quickly solved by Richson in a satisfactory manner. More detailed specifications are that Hajen I had only a length of 21.6m, diameter 3.6m, displacement 111 tons, with a crew of eight. It had a surface speed of 7–8 knots, and 6 knots submerged. It had three 450mm torpedoes and maximum diving depth of 30m. The propeller was directly connected to an electric motor, which when surfaced received power from a kerosene-powered engine and from a battery when submerged. Hajen I was rebuilt in 1915–16, with a more reliable and less fire prone diesel engine replacing the kerosene engine. It re-entered service in the last year of the First World War and was decommissioned in 1922.

Neptun (Neptune) when in service. Its resemblance to the much larger Collins is obvious.

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1 minute 43 seconds into the video In June, 2014, a new section of the museum opened where visitors can visit a more modern submarine His/Her Swedish Majesty's Ship (HSwMS) Neptun, a Swedish Näcken-class submarine about 980 tonnes (surfaced) and 19 officers/crew,

6 x 533mm torpedo tubes and 2 x 400mm (Baltic corvette "friendly") torpedo tubes. Neptun was in service 1980 to 1998. 

Pete