| From: [email protected] (raymond thomas pierrehumbert)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: Re: VASA
Date: 31 Jan 92 05:09:37 GMT
Sender: [email protected] (News System)
Organization: University of Chicago Computing Organizations
Of course, the Royal Shipwright knew perfectly well how to design a
seaworthy vessel. The Wasa sunk because the King, over the
shipwright's most strenuous objections, insisted on a third cannon-
deck, which made the ship top-heavy. On its maiden voyage, a mild wind
tilted it, and water poured into the cannon ports and that was the end.
At the Wasamuseet, there is a wonderful computer simulation of the
stability of the Wasa, where you can experiment with putting cannons on
the upper deck until the thing flips.
Life on one of these ships must have been pretty miserable. Made of
tarred wood and full of gunpowder, they were terrified of fire. The
only fires allowed on board were one under the general stew-pot, and a
small heater in the Captain's cabin (and even the officers had to sleep
in watches, because there weren't enough bunks to go around.)
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| Article: 9689
From: [email protected] (Robert Lindh)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: Re: VASA & Swedish Quality Engineering (tm)
Date: 1 Feb 92 16:32:49 GMT
Sender: [email protected]
Organization: Ericsson Telecom AB
In article <[email protected]> [email protected]
writes:
>
>It was several years since I visited the Vasa musem (hm, I probably ought
>to visit the new one when I get back to Stockholm), but I think that a
>sizeable part of the crew drowned when Vasa sunk. She sunk rather quickly,
>mind you. I think that the survival percentage on the lower decks was
>approximately zero.
>
If I remember correctly, approximately 5-15 people died when Wasa sunk.
(It was only sailors on board, the soldiers was not yet on board.
Concerning why Wasa sunk: She was too top-heavy, sure. The king,
Gustavus Adolphus, ordered her to built with an extra gun-deck on top,
possibly because his spies had told him that Denmark was building a
ship with two gun-decks or was planning to do so.
At the time (1628), Denmark and Sweden often were at war with each
other, fighting over the supremacy of the Baltic Sea. (So was Sweden
and Russia, Sweden and Poland, Poland and Russia? ...)
I also seem to remember that no ship of this size had ever been built
in Sweden before Wasa and that the main designer of Wasa (Master
Hendrik) was
1) old and somewhat sick when Wasa was ordered
2) died during the building of Wasa, one of his collegues continued as
good as he could to supervise the building afterwards
One of things they show in the film at the museum is the conclusions
from the investigation after the event. It was something like this:
"Now a scape-goat had to be found.
First, the ship-builder was called in, and asked why he has built the
ship so narrow and badly.
To that he answered, that he had built the ship according to the plans
given to him by Master Hendrik, and all people said it was well built.
Since Master Hendrik was dead and no one of the others could be pressed
to confess to anything, the case was closed and no one was held
responsible."
The admiral in charge of the fleet did make some tests before Wasa left
the quay. They showed clearly that something was very wrong indeed. (He
had to stop the test after only a few seconds after it was started,
otherwise Wasa would have sunk at the quay.)
He is quoted as having said: "Oh, if only his royal majesty was at
home." (The king was in Poland or Germany, leading the Swedish army in
battle.)
A visit to the museum I think is a must if you visit Stockholm.
Standard disclaimer: "Only my personal opinion, of course."
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| From: [email protected] (Wolfgang Diestelkamp)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: Re: Kronan
Date: 5 Feb 92 11:22:25 GMT
Sender: [email protected]
Organization: GMD-FIRST, Berlin
In article <[email protected]> [email protected] (Bertil Jonell)
writes:
> I think that is correct, but the Vasa (not the Wasa, btw) didn't have a
> full combat crew onboard when it sank. Likewise it wasn't provisioned and
> lacked many other things that a standard warship carried when they were
> out on a mission in that age.
> This is why the excavation of the Kronan, a ship that sank in combat
> against the Danes(?) after a powder room explosion, was so important.
Good point; it is really interesting to see it and I found the
exhibition in "Kalmar Laensmuseet" better than the Vasa exhibition in
Stockholm (well, at least more impressive, they have excavated lots and
lots of equipment etc.)
--
Wolfgang Diestelkamp
[email protected]
[email protected]
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