The Story of the Wasa - Part 1

It was August, 1628.  King Gustavas Adolphus of Sweden was engaged in a war with Poland/Lithuania.  However, he was concerned about the Protestant/Catholic  Thirty Year’s War which had engulfed Germany since 1618.   He wanted to continue Sweden’s transformation from an isolated State to a dominate force in the Baltic and beyond.  He knew that a strong navy was key to accomplishing his goal.

The King believed he needed a new type of ship to carry out his plans.  His current fleet consisted primarily of smaller ships with a single gun deck.  The strategy was to disable the opposing vessel, then board and capture it.  King Gustavas Adolphus wanted to employ a new strategy using heavy artillery to sink the enemy.  To this end, he commissioned a series of ships beginning with the Wasa (or Vasa) that would have two full gun decks and be equipped with much heavier guns.

During the period between 1620 and 1627 the Swedish fleet suffered several significant setbacks and the loss of many of its ships.  As a result the King made frequent changes to the Wasa’s requirements and delivery schedule.  Although he was in Poland leading the war campaign, he would not be dissuaded from the August launch date despite the vessel failing its pre-launch stability test.   Even then the launch was more than two weeks later than the King’s demand.

On the afternoon of her maiden voyage, August 10, 1628, the Wasa sailed about .75 miles before it encounter a very slight gust.  The ship lay over on its side and began taking on water through the gun ports.  She sank to the bottom in about 100 feet of water with a loss of 53 lives.

After the failure of initial salvage attempts the Wasa was mostly forgotten for over 325 years.  She was re-discovered in the 1950s and salvaged in 1961.  Her hull was mostly intact and still floated.  She is currently on display in a dedicated museum and has become one of Sweden’s premier tourist attractions.'

Read Part 2 - Construction of the Wasa.

Ship Models Online offers two Wasa tall ship models as well as other tall ship models of the same period.