Hugin-class destroyer


The Hugin class of destroyers consisted of and built for the Royal Swedish Navy built prior to the First World War. They were the first Swedish warships built with steam turbines. Both ships conducted neutrality patrols during the First World War, but Munin was too worn out to be modernized and was stricken from the navy list in 1940. Hugin conducted neutrality partols during the Second World War before she was scrapped in 1947.

Design and description

The Hugin-class ships were improved versions of the earlier and were the first Swedish warships built with steam turbines. The ships displaced at normal load and at full load. The destroyers measured long at the waterline and overall with a beam of and a draught of at normal load. The Hugins were powered by a pair of AEG-Curtiss direct-drive steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft using steam provided by four coal-fired Yarrow boilers. The turbines were designed to produce a total of for a maximum speed of. Both ships handily exceeded their designed speed with Hugin reaching and Munin. They carried enough coal to give them a range of at a speed of. The ships had a complement of 73 officers and ratings.
The Hugin class was armed with four 50-calibre m/05 guns in single mounts. One gun was situated on the forward superstructure and another on the stern; the other two were on the broadside amidships. The guns fired shells at a muzzle velocity of. The ships were also armed with two 457 mm torpedo tubes on single mounts located on the centreline between the stern gun and the funnel.

Modifications

The ships exchanged their single torpedo-tube mounts for twin-tube mounts in 1916 and Munin had her bridge elevated four years later. Both ships replaced their stern gun with a pair of twin-gun mounts for [Bofors 25 mm M/32|] Bofors anti-aircraft guns in 1939. They also had a pair of depth charge racks added at the stern. Hugin was reboilered in 1941–1942 and had her guns replaced.

Construction and careers

Hugin was built by Götaverken and launched on December 10, 1910 while Munin was constructed by Kockums and launched on 5 December 1911. Both ships made neutrality patrols during the First World War. Munin was decommissioned on 18 October 1940 and was sunk as a bomb target in 1946. Hugin made neutrality patrols during the Second World War as well and was scrapped at Karlskrona on 13 June 1947.