The Gotland Coastal Artillery Regiment (), designation KA 3, was a

Swedish Navy The Swedish Navy () is the maritime service branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet (), formally sometimes referred to as the Royal Navy () – as well as marine units, the Amph ...

coastal artillery Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of ...

regiment of the

Swedish Armed Forces The Swedish Armed Forces (, literally ''Defence Force'') are the Military, armed forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. It consists of four separate military branches, the Swedish Army, the Swedish Navy, the Swedish Air Force and the Home Guard (Swed ...

which operated between 1937 and 2000. The unit was based in

Fårösund Fårösund is a locality situated on the Swedish island of Gotland with 800 inhabitants in 2014. The village can be reached by car from Visby. The island of Fårö can be reached by ferry from Fårösund. Fårösund is the northernmost town in t ...

Gotland Gotland (; ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a Provinces of Sweden, province/Counties of Sweden, county (Swedish län), Municipalities of Sweden, municipality, a ...

History

The military presence in the areas around northern

began in connection with the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

. Fårösund became a strategically important place. English and French fleets used the sound as a base, stage station and observation point during the war against Russia. In 1885 there was a new concern between Russia and England. New ships were expected. Both

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

demanded that Fårösund be fortified if the

Swedish neutrality Sweden had a policy of Neutral country, neutrality in armed conflicts from the early 19th century, until 2009, when it entered into various mutual defence treaties with the European Union (EU), and other Nordic countries. It was the start of the

Swedish Coastal Artillery The Swedish Coastal Artillery () has its origin in the Archipelago Artillery that was raised in 1866. The Coastal Artillery was formed from the Archipelago Artillery, the Marine Regiment and parts of the Artillery in 1902. Kustartilleriet, abbr ...

, which was established in the early 1900s. The

bought land and buildings and hired people. In 1885 work began on fortifications in

Slite Slite is a locality situated in Gotland Municipality, Gotland County, on the island of Gotland, Sweden with 1,500 inhabitants in 2014. Geography Slite is situated on the northern east coast of Gotland. The town is divided by the Sjuströmmar in ...

and Fårösund where artillerymen from

Gotland National Conscription The Gotland National Conscription () was a Swedish Army infantry unit that traced its origins back to the 19th century. It was split into two new regiments in 1887. The regiment's soldiers were recruited on the island of Gotland. History Gotland ...

and

Göta Artillery Regiment The Göta Artillery Regiment (), designation A 2, was a Swedish Army artillery regiment that traced its origins back to the 17th century. It was disbanded in 1962. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited from Götaland, and it was also g ...

were brought. The facility and its crew had varying names: ''Flottans batterier och minpositioner i Fårösund'' ("Navy's Batteries and Mine Positions in Fårösund") and ''Fårösunds kustartilleriposition och Fårösunds kustartilleridetachement'' ("Fårösund Coastal Position and Fårösund Coastal Artillery Detachment"). In 1919 the facility was disbanded. Through the Defence Act of 1936, the

Riksdag The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliament and the parliamentary sovereignty, supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportional rep ...

decided that a new coastal artillery unit would be raised and based in Fårösund. The 1930 Defense Commission proposed that the unit be called Fårösund Coastal Artillery Corps. When the unit was raised on 1 July 1937, however, it was named Gotland Coastal Artillery Corps (KA 3). Four companies under the command of a major were organized. The entire area was 110 hectares. On 6 June 1939, at 08:00 in the morning, the flag was raised in front of the chancellery for the first time. In December of the same year, the coastal artillery was mobilized and the force was about 1,000 men. In May 1938, the Riksdag decided that SEK 669,000 would be allocated to the construction of service housing at Gotland Coastal Artillery Corps in Fårösund. Through the Defence Act of 1948, a new organization was established in 1949 for the Swedish Coastal Artillery. For Gotland Coastal Artillery Corps, the new organization meant that the training of air defense guns was transferred to the newly formed air defense forces within the

Swedish Army The Swedish Army () is the army, land force of the Swedish Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. Beginning with its service in 1521, the Swedish Army has been active for more than 500 years. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1 ...

. On 1 April 1960 in a

letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

, it was decided that Gotland Coastal Artillery Defense and Gotland Coastal Artillery Corps from 1 July 1961 were to have a joint commanding officer and joint staff and administrative bodies during peace time. Prior to the Defence Act of 2000, the

Swedish Government The Government of the Kingdom of Sweden () is the national cabinet of Sweden, and the country's executive authority. The Government consists of the Prime Minister and their cabinet ministers (). The Government is responsible for its actions ...

proposed that the future basic organization should contain two coastal artillery units where one of the two coastal artillery units would constitute a main unit, where the government considered that Vaxholm Coastal Artillery Regiment and the 1st Coastal Artillery Brigade (KA 1) would constitute the main unit. The reason for the fact that the unit had a very good proximity to the

Stockholm archipelago The Stockholm Archipelago () is the largest archipelago in Sweden, and the second-largest archipelago in the Baltic Sea (the largest being the Archipelago Sea across the Baltic in Finland). Part of the archipelago has been designated as a Rams ...

, with practice and training areas with designed terrain types. None of the other regiments were considered to have terrain conditions and infrastructure to constitute a main unit. Which regiment that would remain besides KA 1, stood between Karlskrona Coastal Artillery Regiment and the 2nd Coastal Artillery Brigade (KA 2), Gotland Coastal Artillery Regiment (KA 3) and

Älvsborg Coastal Artillery Regiment The Älvsborg Coastal Artillery Regiment (), designation KA 4, was a Swedish Navy coastal artillery regiment of the Swedish Armed Forces which operated between 1942 and 2000. The unit was based in Gothenburg. History After the Swedish Coastal A ...

(KA 4). KA 3, however, quickly fell away in the process, as the operations was considered limited and that the unit lacked sufficient and appropriate training areas. Regarding KA 4, it was also considered to have limited exercise conditions. KA 2 was considered to have the best conditions for acting as a second unit alongside KA 1. However, the Government considered that it was of great importance that

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

, as Sweden's second biggest city, also had a military presence. Furthermore, the Government considered retaining KA 4 as giving the

the opportunity to continue operations for the naval warfare units in Gothenburg. Hence, the government tried to keep KA 1 and KA 4 in the new basic organization. Through the Defence Act of 2000, it was decided at the same time that the Swedish Coastal Artillery would be disbanded and the remaining units would have a different focus. Hence, the Government considered that the units would be called amphibious regiments (or marine regiments), and that the service branch would be changed from the Swedish Coastal Artillery to the

Swedish Amphibious Corps The Amphibious Corps (, Amf) is the Marines, marine infantry arm of the Swedish Navy, with an emphasis on coastal defence. It has its roots in the Swedish Coastal Artillery, coastal artillery (, KA) but after the end of the Cold War it was seen as ...

. Hence, Vaxholm Coastal Artillery Regiment and the 1st Coastal Artillery Brigade (KA 1) and Älvsborg Coastal Artillery Regiment (KA 4) came to be disbanded as coastal artillery units on 30 June 2000. On 1 July 2000, the amphibian unit Vaxholm Amphibian Regiment (Amf 1) and Älvsborg Amphibian Regiment (Amf 4) were formed in its place. The Gotland Coastal Artillery Regiment, together with Karlskrona Coastal Artillery Regiment, were the two units that were disbanded last of all the units that were disbanded through the Defence Act of 2000, when the others were disbanded on 30 June 2000. The fact that the two regiments were disbanded so late was due to the fact that they completed the basic education of the last round of conscripts. From 1 November 2000, the operations were transferred to a decommissioning organization, until the disbandment would be completed no later than 31 December 2001. The decommissioning organization was in turn dissolved on 30 June 2001, when the disbandment of the unit was considered completed.

Operations

During 1994/1995, the Fårösund Marine Brigade (FMB) trained its first amphibious company (with

green beret The green beret was the official headdress of the British Commandos, a special-forces unit active during World War II. It is still worn by members of the Royal Marines after passing the Commando Course, and personnel from other units of the Roy ...

). In February, they were given the honorary assignment to be the honor guard at the launch of the submarine . The company's main armament was

Robot 17 Robot 17 (Robotsystem 17) is a Swedish anti-ship missile based on the American AGM-114C Hellfire, further developed by Bofors to work against sea targets and be transported and fired on land. The system is used by Swedish Amphibious Corps (''Am ...

and naval mines were assigned, but, despite the name, had no sea transport. During 1996/1997, the first archipelago rifle company that were assigned the

Bandvagn 206 Bandvagn 206 (bv 206) (meaning ''"Tracked Vehicle 206"'' in English) is a tracked articulated, all-terrain carrier initially developed and manufactured by the Swedish company Hägglund & Söner, and subsequently by BAE Systems Hägglunds, for ...

(on trial) and

12.7 mm machine guns 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

. On 30 September 2000, the last conscripts in the regiment were discharged.

Units

1937 Peacetime Organisation

The organization in 1937 consisted of the following: *1st Company, fixed naval artillery *2nd Company, fixed anti-aircraft artillery *5th Company, mobile naval artillery *8th Company, naval mine, signal and boat service. At the 8th Company financial and assistance personnel were also placed. In the late 1940s, the name of the companies changed to: *3rd Company, heavy naval artillery *14th Company, anti-aircraft and light naval artillery, naval mine, signal and boat service.

1949 War Organisation

The VII Military District's 1949 War Organisation for GK/KA 3: *Staff + tank platoon (5 x

Stridsvagn m/37 ''Stridsvagn'' m/37 (Strv m/37) was a Swedish-built version of the Czechoslovak ČKD AH-IV tankette. History The AH-IV was popular with Romania and Iran, and after a successful demonstration to Swedish authorities, during winter conditions in ...

) *Barrier Battalion TG: **3 x 15 cm gun m/98-36 **4 x 57 mm Battery Vialms (VA), at Notviken in the northern inlet to the Fårösund basin) ** AA section (40 + 20 mm) *Barrier Battalion BN: **3 x 15 cm gun m/98-36 **3 x 57 mm Battery Hällrevet (HR), at the southern inlet to the Fårösund basin at Peninsula) **3 x 57 mm Battery Österklint (ÖK), at the southern inlet to the Fårösund basin at Bungenäs Peninsula) **2 x 57 mm Battery Kalkbruket (KB), at the western shore of Bungenäs) **AA section (40 + 20 mm) *Barrier Battalion SE: **3 x (later 5) 12 cm gun m/94 **4 x 57 mm Battery Asunden (AN), at outside

) **AA section (40 + 20 mm) *Battery Hultungs (HG), at Hultungs gård, southeast of Bunge Church): **3 x 21 cm gun m/98 **AA section (40 + 20 mm) *Battery Bläse (BL), in at the northern shore of ) **4 x 57 mm gun m/89B *7th Coastal Artillery Battery: **3 x 15,2 cm gun m/37 **AA section (40 + 20 mm), mobile *1st Anti-Aircraft Battery: **3 x 7,5 cm anti-aircraft gun m/36, fixed *aid station etc. *depot

Barracks and training areas

The Gotland Coastal Artillery Regiment was based in Fårösund, about 55 km north of

Visby Visby () is an urban areas in Sweden, urban area in Sweden and the seat of Gotland Municipality in Gotland County on the island of Gotland with 24,330 inhabitants . Visby is also the episcopal see for the Diocese of Visby. The Hanseatic League, ...

. Initially, in 1904, a warehouse was rebuilt into a barracks. During the years 1939-1944, the majority of the barracks area was built which constituted the Fårösund Garrison. During the 1980s, among other things, a school building was added. In 2000, the government decided that the garrison area with airfield ( Bunge Airfield) should be listed. Four disbanded regiments in Sweden have received this legal protection. Thus, KA 3 became a national cultural heritage. After the disbandment, the state administration company Vasallen took over the area, with the task of selling or renting the premises to entrepreneurs. Among other things, there is today a film studio, Kustateljén, where a number of well-known Swedish films have been recorded. On 15 January 2018, the

Swedish Fortifications Agency The Swedish Fortifications Agency () is a Swedish government agency under the Ministry of Finance, tasked with managing government-owned defence-related buildings and land. The agency functions as the landlord for the Swedish Armed Forces (), m ...

entered into an acquisition agreement with Fastighets AB Bunge Kronhagen, with the purchase of the naval port in Fårösund for SEK 20 million. On 30 April 2018, the naval port of Fårösund was transferred to state property, which included the three properties Gotland Bunge Kronhagen 3:69, Bunge Kronhagen 3:70 and Bunge Kronhagen 3:71. File:KA 3 - Kasern Ankaret.JPG, Barracks ''Ankaret'' ("Anchor") File:KA 3 - Kasern Kanonen.JPG, Barracks ''Kanonen'' ("Cannon") File:KA 3 - Kanslihuset (1).JPG, Chancellery File:KA 3 - Sjukhuset.JPG, Hospital File:KA 3 - Skolbyggnaden (2).JPG, School building. Built in 1984. File:KA 3 - Matsalen.JPG, Restaurant File:KA 3 - vakten (2).JPG, Guardhouse

Artillery guns

The following guns were used at GK/KA 3 from 1880s until 2000: *12 cm gun m/1873; in use from 1880s until late 1890s *17 cm gun m/1869; in use from 1880s until late 1910s *57 mm gun m/1892; in use from late 1890s until late 1910s *15 cm gun m/1883; in use from mid to late 1910s * 10.5 cm kanon m/34 (rörlig); in use from mid 1930s until mid-1940s *15 cm gun m/1898–1936; in use from late 1930s until 1980s *21 cm gun m/1898; in use from late 1930s until early 1970s *57 mm gun m/1889 B; in use from late 1930s until mid 1960s * 12 cm kanon M/94; in use 1939 until 1978 (considerably modernized system) *15.2 cm gun m/37 (mobile); in use from mid 1940s *15.2 cm gun m/51 ("Siam"); in use from mid 1950s *7.5 cm gun m/05–12; in use from early 1950s until 1979 * 7.5 cm tornpjäs m/57; in use from late 1950s *7.5 cm gun m/65 (mobile); in use from 1971 until 1992 * Kustrobot 52 (Rb 52) (mobile); in use from early 1970s * 12 cm automatic turret gun m/70 ("ERSTA"); in use from late 1970s until 2000 File:12 cm tornautomatpjäs m70.JPG, 12 cm automatic turret gun m/70 ("ERSTA") at the KA 3 museum in Fårösund. File:7,5 cm tornpjäs m57.JPG, 7.5 cm tornpjäs m/57 at the KA 3 museum in Fårösund. File:12 cm kanon m94.JPG, 12 cm kanon M/94 at the KA 3 museum in Fårösund. File:15,2 cm Kanon m98.JPG, 15.2 cm gun m/98 at the KA 3 museum in Fårösund. File:15,2 cm Kanon m37.JPG, 15.2 cm gun m/37 at the KA 3 museum in Fårösund. File:15,2 cm Kustartilleripjäs M51.JPG, 15.2 cm gun m/51 at the KA 3 museum in Fårösund. File:Kustrobot 08.JPG, Robot 08 (Rb 08) at the KA 3 museum in Fårösund.

Heraldry and traditions

Colours, standards and guidons

On 1 June 1945, the first colour was presented at

Stockholm Palace Stockholm Palace, or the Royal Palace, ( or ) is the official residence and major royal palace of the Swedish monarch (King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia use Drottningholm Palace as their usual residence). Stockholm Palace is in Stadsholm ...

by His Majesty the King

Gustaf V Gustaf V (Oscar Gustaf Adolf; 16 June 1858 – 29 October 1950) was King of Sweden from 8 December 1907 until his death in 1950. He was the eldest son of King Oscar II of Sweden and Sophia of Nassau, a half-sister of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxe ...

. On the 60th anniversary of the regiment on 6 June 1998, Major General Bengt-Arne Johansson presented a new colour.

Blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

: "On red cloth in the centre the badge of the former

Coastal Artillery Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of ...

; two gun barrels of older pattern in saltire between a royal crown proper and a blazing grenade and waves, all in yellow. In the first corner the provincial badge of

; a white ram passant, armed yellow, a yellow crosstaff and a red banner with edging and five flaps in yellow." File:Fana för Fårösunds marinbrigad med Gotlands kustartilleriregemente.jpg, Colour

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of the Gotland Coastal Artillery Regiment (KA 3) from 1938 to 2000.

: "Azure, the provincial badge of Gotland, a ram passant argent armed or, crosstaff and banner gules with edging and five flaps or. The shield surmounted two gunbarrels of older pattern in saltire above a flaming grenade and waves, all of the last colour".

Medals

In 2000, the ''Gotlands kustartilleriregementes (KA 3) minnesmedalj'' ("Gotland Coastal Artillery Regiment (KA 3) Commemorative Medal") in silver (GotlkaregSMM) of the 8th size was established. The

medal ribbon A medal ribbon, service ribbon or ribbon bar is a small ribbon, mounted on a small metal bar equipped with an attaching device, which is generally issued for wear in place of a medal when it is not appropriate to wear the actual medal. Each cou ...

is of red moiré with two yellow lines on each side and a yellow line on the middle. File:AM.019803.jpg, Commemorative Medal m/2000 File:AM.019804.jpg, Miniature Commemorative Medal m/2000 File:AM.019805.jpg, Medal ribbon

Other

In 1953, the Gotland Coastal Artillery Regiment adopted "Nordergutarna" by Åke Dohlin as regimental march, which was established on 13 June 1996.

Commanding officers

Commanding officers of Fårösund Coastal Position/Fortress, KA 3, GK/KA 3, FMB and KA 3: * 1904-05-14 – 1908-03-31: CPT Nils Vilhelm Bille * 1908-04-01 – 1910-04-30: CPT Olof Wilhelm Brogren * 1910-05-01 – 1912-04-30: CPT Theodor Hasselgren * 1912-05-01 – 1914-04-30: CPT Nils Gustaf Henrik Wennerström * 1914-05-01 – 1915-01-31: CPT John Gustaf Johansson-Carell * 1915-02-01 – 1919-09-30: CPT Erik Ekström * 1938-07-01 – 1941-06-30: LTC/

COL A col is the lowest point on a mountain ridge between two peaks; a mountain pass or saddle. COL, CoL or col may also refer to: Computers * Caldera OpenLinux, a defunct Linux distribution * , an HTML element specifying a column * A collision sig ...

Gösta Möller Major General Sven Gösta Möller (15 June 1887 – 23 September 1983) was a senior officer in the Swedish Coastal Artillery and a track and field athlete who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics. Early life Möller was born on 15 June 188 ...

* 1941-07-01 – 1947-09-30: COL Emil Cederlöf * 1947-10-01 – 1951-09-30: COL Bo Lindeberg * 1951-10-01 – 1954-03-31: COL Sven Haglund * 1954-04-01 – 1957-09-30: COL Stig Stade * 1957-10-01 – 1961-09-30: COL Carl-Fredrik Gillberg * 1961-10-01 – 1962-09-30: COL Birger Ehnrot * 1962-10-01 – 1964-09-30: COL

Gunnar Eklund Lieutenant General Carl ''Gunnar'' Eklund (21 March 1920 – 11 January 2010) was a senior Swedish Coastal Artillery officer. Eklund's military journey began in 1941 when he became a second lieutenant in the Gotland Coastal Artillery Corps. Over ...

* 1964-10-01 – 1966-09-30: COL

Bo Varenius Generalmajor (Sweden), Major General Bo Gerhard Otto Varenius (3 November 1918 – 23 July 1996) was a senior Swedish Coastal Artillery officer. Varenius served as Chief of the Naval Staff (Sweden), Chief of the Naval Staff from 1972 to 1984. Ea ...

* 1966-10-01 – 1971-09-30: COL Erik Lyth * 1971-10-01 – 1974-09-30: COL Jean-Carlos Danckwardt * 1974-10-01 – 1976-09-30: COL Arne Lundell * 1980-10-01 – 1982-09-30: COL Torsten Engberg * 1982-10-01 – 1985-09-30: COL Urban Sobéus * 1985-10-01 – 1987-09-30: COL Håkan Söderlindh * 1987-10-01 – 1993-05-31: COL Anders Hammarskjöld * 1993-06-01 – 1996-12-31: COL Krister Arweström * 1997-01-01 – 2000-06-30: COL Tommy Jonsson

History

Operations

Units

1937 Peacetime Organisation

1949 War Organisation

Barracks and training areas

Artillery guns

Heraldry and traditions

Colours, standards and guidons

Coat of arms

Medals

Other

Commanding officers

Names, designations and locations

See also

Footnotes

References

Notes

Print

Web

Further reading