HSwMS ''Springaren'' (Sp), was the sixth boat of the ''Draken''-class

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

of the

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 ...

Construction and career

HSwMS ''Springaren'' was launched on 31 August 1961 by

Saab Kockums Saab Kockums AB is a shipyard headquartered in Malmö, Sweden, owned by the Swedish defence company Saab AB. Saab Kockums AB is further operational in Muskö, Docksta, and Karlskrona. While having a history of civil vessel construction, Kocku ...

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

and commissioned on 7 November 1962. On September 24, 1980, ''Springaren'' was extremely close to colliding with an unknown submarine east of Huvudskär. During an exercise, she operated together with one of the Navy's anti-submarine helicopters. The

hydrophone A hydrophone () is a microphone designed for underwater use, for recording or listening to underwater sound. Most hydrophones contains a piezoelectric transducer that generates an electric potential when subjected to a pressure change, such as a ...

operator on ''Springaren'' reads a hydrophone effect. It sounds like a rattling moped at high speed. The connecting helicopters also detect the visitor, and immediately classify it as a submarine. The incident was followed by a two-week submarine hunt. She was decommissioned on 1 October 1987 and later scrapped in

Muskö Muskö is an island in the southern part of Stockholm archipelago, which forms part of Haninge Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden. It is best known for the Muskö Naval Base. There are also two urban areas (''tätort'') on the island: Muskö ...

in 1999.

Gallery

File:HMS Springaren.jpg, HSwMS ''Springaren'' in 1962 File:HMS Springaren D 14969-51.jpg File:HMS Springaren D 14969-52.jpg File:HMS Springaren D 14969-58.jpg, HSwMS ''Springaren'' in 1963

References

Draken-class submarines Ships built in Malmö 1961 ships {{Sweden-stub