HSwMS Wale

HSwMS Wale was a destroyer built for the Royal Swedish Navy in the first decade of the 20th century.

Design and description

Wale was an improved version of the. The ship normally displaced and at full load. She measured long overall with a beam of, and a draft of. Wale was propelled by two 4-cylindervertical triple-expansion steam enginess, each driving one three-bladed propeller using steam from four Yarrow boilers. The engines were designed to produce a total of for an intended maximum speed of. On Wales sea trials, she reached from. The ship carried enough coal to give her a range of at. The ship's crew numbered 69.
Wales main armament consisted of two M/05 guns, one gun each at the forecastle and stern. Her secondary armament included M89/B guns positioned on the main deck amidships, two guns on each broadside. The ship was equipped with two torpedo tubes in rotating mounts located between the rear funnel and the stern gun.

Construction and career

Wale was built by Kockums Shipyard, launched on 21 September 1907 and delivered to the fleet on 11 April 1908. She was the first destroyer to be built in Sweden and was influential in the development of the destroyers in that nation. After Wale, in the years 1907–1911, another five destroyers followed built to essentially the same design. These were two ships of the and three ships of the. Wale was decommissioned on 18 November 1940. She was sunk as a target outside Fårösund by the Swedish Coastal Artillery and the on 26 September 1946.