H.M Pansarskepp Oscar II (1939)
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H.M Pansarskepp Oscar II was a coastal defense ship in the Swedish navy and the only ship of her class. Named after the then ruling King of Sweden Oscar II, she was built in 1905 by Lindholmens varv in Gothenburg and put into service in 1907. She joined the navy right as the tides of change within naval technology had come, making her capability in the new Dreadnought dominated seas less than what was expected when ordered. Nevertheless she was a step-up from the existing CDS’s and carried on serving as intended, guarding the Swedish coast through not one but two world wars in various configurations, though this post will suggest the refit she received right as ww2 started in 1939. Post war it was clear that the era of the Coastal defense ships was over and she was retired from battle duty in 1947 to being used for repair and protective measures training, staying like this until she was scrapped in 1974.
History and related information
In 1901, a Swedish naval committee was handed the task to decide if the currently serving Äran class of coastal defense ships should receive additional ships for its class or if the navy should invest in an upgraded and more powerful class of ships to combat the rapidly growing and evolving navies of Europe. After a year of hard thinking without results the government chose for them and decided to give the green light on another ship of the Äran class that would become HM Pansarbåt Manligheten. Still in 1903, the naval committee finally presented their decision and the result was the recommendation for the order of a new type of ship, faster and more powerful than the Äran whilst still not trying to match the major naval powers ships, going for a middle ground option that prioritized speed and tactics to win a fight, aka a better ship than whats currently being fielded that didn’t go overboard with a design that of a true battleship, think of a ship with the power of a heavier cruiser with the armor of a lighter battleship.
The result, H.M Pansarskepp Oscar II, though i have seen Pansarbåt as well, strange huh?
The idea was accepted and soon enough the funds for her construction was granted. In 1905 she was launched by Lindholmens varv in Gothenburg and later joined the navy in 1907. Though she arrived in a post dreadnought world and was as such considered outdated, with two 8" cannons as her primary armament and eight 6" cannons as her secondaries she was still the most powerful ship operating in the Swedish navy and would continue to be until the arrival of HM Pansarskepp Sverige in 1917.
During her early years she sailed through Europe visiting her neighbors and showing off her power, enjoying the calm of the world. But as war came to Europe she went through some changes, upgrading her AA armament and making some changes to her control tower, using this form during the invasion of Åland in Febuary of 1918.
Oscar II whilst visiting Portsmouth.
During the leadup to ww2 she was due for a modernization, upgrading her main and secondary cannons to have extended range and aim, receiving new ammunition and the older fire control systems from the Sverige class CDS as well as installing a central sight in a new topmast. Her old 57mm cannons were removed and replaced with new AA guns, all boilers were replaced with newer ones with two being modified for oil power, the torpedo tubes were removed, she received sonar, spotlights and even anti-mine gear with a paravane. In 1939 she was finished and joined the navy once more, serving near Karlskrona.
As she appeared during ww2.
Of course with her being Swedish, she saw no action in ww2 and spent her days patrolling the coast, waiting to be called in to battle. As the war ended, so did the need for a ship of her caliber and it was decided to retire her, as a final mission she was to carry the remains of Prince Gustav Adolf to Karlskrona after he died in Copenhagen from a plane crash. In 1947 she was to rest in Karlskrona where she would stay until being officially decommissioned in 1950. She would enjoy her retirement being repurposed as a ship used for repair and protective measures training, how to fight fires and repair gas leaks and what not, remaining in use until the 70’s where she was scrapped in 1974.
Young men of the sailor school practicing aboard the old Oscar II.
Armament and stats
Displacement: 4,930 tons
Length: 95.6 m
Beam: 15.4 m
Draught: 5.49 m
Speed: 17.8 knots
Complement: 335 men
Armor (This is disputed mixing Jane’s with Wikipedia gives us this):
Belt: 100 to 150 mm
8" Turrets: 190mm
6" Turrets: 125mm
Bulkheads: 150mm
Deck: 50 mm
Bridge: 10 to 57 mm
Conning tower: 175 mm
(Focus on the armor layout as the other info is her pre-modernization performance.)
Her main armament was 2 x 210mm/44cal Bofors M/98 cannons in two single turrets, one forward and one aft. Slow firing but sure to pack a punch, really most of the action would be with the 6" cannons due to the low fire rate.
Her secondary armament was 8 x 152mm/50cal Bofors M/03 cannons in four twin turrets, two on each side of the ship.
Her Anti-Air armament was 4 x 57mm Lvk M/89-38, 2 x 25mm akan m/32 and 4 x 8mm machine guns m/36 in dual mounts.
Sources
HSwMS Oscar II - Wikipedia (Both are Wikipedia yes but the English and Swedish versions both hold exclusive information so i used both.)