Hårsfjärden disaster

The Hårsfjärden disaster was an event in the Swedish Navy during World War II. A series of accidental explosions, it caused by far the worst damage to Swedish Navy units during the era of that war, in which Sweden was not a combatant.

This article is about the 1941 destroyer explosions. For the 1982 submarine activity, see Hårsfjärden incident.
The destroyer HSwMS Klas Uggla in flames during the Hårsfjärden disaster.

The disaster occurred on 17 September 1941.[1] Three Swedish Navy destroyers were berthed in Hårsfjärden fjord near Stockholm when the torpedoes[2] or oil tanks[3] of Göteborg exploded; flames then also enveloped Klas Horn and Klas Uggla in an inferno.[2][4]

The three destroyers were sunk,[4] and thirty-three sailors killed, a major blow to the Swedish Navy. All three ships were later raised. Klas Uggla never again saw service; the other two ships did, after repairs.[2][1]

An investigation into possible sabotage commenced. Theories also emerged that the cause was a bomb dropped accidentally by a Swedish plane on training maneuvers, or a torpedo demonstration gone wrong. But the cause was never established.[2][5]

References
  1. Adrian English (May 2012). "The Swedish Navy". Maritime History and Archaeology. Histarmar Foundation. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  2. Tursten, Helene (2015). The Treacherous Net (An Irene Huss Investigation). Translated by Marlaine Delargy. Soho Crime. p. 85. ISBN 978-1616954024. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
  3. Newsweek. Vol. 18. September 1941 https://books.google.com/books?id=lFAQAAAAIAAJ&q=H%C3%A5rsfj%C3%A4rden. Retrieved February 11, 2016. {{cite magazine}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. Gilmour, John (2011). Sweden, the Swastika and Stalin: The Swedish experience in the Second World War. Societies at War. Edinburgh University Press. p. 222. ISBN 978-0748627479. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  5. Lindgren, Astrid (2016). War Diaries, 1939–1945. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0300220049. Retrieved May 23, 2023.

Further reading
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