The 1st Submarine Flotilla () is a

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 ...

unit 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 ...

, established in 1901 and based at the

Karlskrona Naval Base The Karlskrona naval base () is the largest naval base of the Swedish Navy. Located in Blekinge in southern Sweden, the base has close ties with the city of Karlskrona. It has an exceptionally well-sheltered location: arcs of islands provide a ...

within the in

Karlskrona Karlskrona (, , ) is a locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with a population of 66,675 in 2018. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only baroque city and is host to ...

, Blekinge County. The flotilla shares its location with the 3rd Naval Warfare Flotilla.

History

The first form of the flotilla was established in 1904 as unit subordinate to the

Coastal Fleet The Coastal Fleet (, Kfl) was until 1994 a Swedish Navy authority with the main task of training the naval ships commanders and crews. After the formation of the authority Swedish Armed Forces in 1994, the Coastal Fleet remained as a unit until ...

, following the creation of the Swedish Navy's submarine force with the arrival of its first submarine, ''Hajen''. In 1918 the unit was formally named the 1st Submarine Division (''1. undervattensbåtsdivisionen''). By 1934, it had expanded into a three-division unit, now named the Submarine Department (''Ubåtsavdelningen''). In 1951, the unit was assigned its current name, and was part of the Coastal Fleet as the 1st Submarine Flotilla. During the 1970s, the Navy Diving School (''Flottans dykarskola'') was added to the flotilla, which later formed the Diving Division (''Dykdivisionen''), which included

submarine rescue ship A submarine rescue ship is a surface support ship for submarine rescue and deep-sea salvage operations. Methods employed include the McCann Rescue Chamber, deep-submergence rescue vehicles (DSRV's) and diving operations. List of active su ...

s. On 1 July 1994, the flotilla was organized as the First Submarine Department (''Första ubåtsavdelningen'', 1. UbA). This was due to all units within the Swedish Armed Forces being cadre-organized and receiving permanent structures. On 1 January 1998, the flotilla was given its current name, the 1st Submarine Flotilla (). According to the Defence Act of 2004, it was decided that the flotilla and its staff would be relocated from

Hårsfjärden The Hårsfjärden, or Horsfjärden (), is a fjard off the Baltic Sea near Stockholm, Sweden. About long, it has surface area of . It is the location of three Swedish naval bases: Märsgarn, Muskö, and Berga Berga () is the capital of the ''C ...

. As of 1 January 2005, the flotilla has been based at the

Organization

See below the composite of the submarine force at different time points. During the 1930s, the submarine force was included in the Winter Squadron (''Vintereskadern''), which was the equipped part of the Swedish Navy during winter time. Parts of the submarine force were included in the

Gothenburg Squadron Gothenburg Squadron (, GE) was a naval squadron of the Swedish Navy which has operated in various forms from 1939 to 1951. The unit was based at Gothenburg naval base at Nya Varvet in Gothenburg. History The oldest written evidence of a naval st ...

and the Karlskrona Department (''Karlskronaavdelningen'') during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Heraldry and traditions

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of the 1st Submarine Division (''Första ubåtsavdelningen'') 1994–1998 and the 1st Submarine Flotilla since 1998.

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 ...

: "Or, from a wavy base azure a trident issuant sable".

Flag

The flag is a double swallow-tailed

Swedish flag The national flag of Sweden () consists of a yellow or gold Nordic cross (i.e. a horizontal cross extending to the edges, with the crossbar closer to the hoist than the fly) on a field of light blue. The Nordic cross design traditionally represe ...

. It was presented to the then 1st Submarine Division by the Supreme Commander, General

Owe Wiktorin General (Sweden), General Owe Erik Axel Wiktorin (born 7 May 1940) is a retired Swedish Air Force officer. Wiktorin had a distinguished military career, culminating in his role as Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces during the late 1990 ...

at the Artillery Yard in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

on 30 April 1996.

Commanding officers

*1951–1951: Lieutenant Commander

Åke Lindemalm Admiral (Sweden), Admiral Åke Fredrik Lindemalm (26 February 1910 – 30 April 2004) was a Swedish Navy officer. He was Acting Chief of the Naval Staff (Sweden), Chief of the Naval Staff from 1960 to 1961 and Chief of Navy (Sweden), Chief of the ...

*1951–1952: Lieutenant Commander Gustav Lindgren *1952–1964: ? *1964–1965: Commander

Rolf Rheborg Rear Admiral Rolf Sigurdsson Rheborg (7 March 1922 – 8 August 1983) was a Swedish Navy officer. Rheborg served as head of the Royal Swedish Naval Academy (1969–1971), as head of Section 3 in the Naval Staff (1971–1973) and as Chief of Staf ...

*1966–1969: Captain Hans Petrelius *1969–1971: Captain Rolf Skedelius *1971–1972: Captain

Bengt Rasin Rear Admiral Bengt Göran Rasin, né ''Larsson'' (17 April 1922 – 2 January 2013) was a Swedish Navy officer. His senior commands include Commander-in-Chief of the Coastal Fleet, commanding officer of the West Coast Military Command and comman ...

*1973–1976: Captain

Jan Enquist Rear Admiral Jan Fredrik Enquist (3 August 1925 – 21 August 2005) was a Swedish Navy officer. Enquist's senior commands include as Commander-in-Chief of the Coastal Fleet from 1982 to 1985 and as Commanding Admiral of the Western Military Distr ...

*1976–1978: Captain

Bror Stefenson Admiral Bror Per Harald Stefenson (4 September 1929 – 3 October 2018) was a Swedish Navy officer. Stefenson's senior commands include Chief of the Defence Staff and military commander of the Eastern Military District (Milo Ö) as well as Com ...

*1978–1981: Captain Bertil Daggfeldt *1981–1983: Captain Roderick Klintebo *1983–1987: Captain

Sten Swedlund Rear Admiral Sten Gustaf Ivar Swedlund (13 March 1937 – 14 July 2014) was a Swedish Navy officer. Swedlund's senior commands include as commander of the South Coast Naval Base from 1987 to 1990 and Commander-in-Chief of the Coastal Fleet from ...

*1987–1994: ? *1994–1997: Captain Bertil Björkman *1997–2000: Captain Curt Lundgren *2000–2003: Captain Bo Rask *2004–2006: Captain Anders Järn *2006–2007: Captain Gunnar Wieslander *2007–2010: Captain

Jonas Haggren Vice Admiral Jonas Björnson Haggren (born 8 April 1964) is a senior officer in the Swedish Navy. From 1 July 2023, he serves as Swedish Military Representative to the EU and NATO in Brussels. Prior to that, Haggren served as the Chief of Defen ...

*2010–2013: Captain Fredrik Norrby *2013–2016: Captain

Jens Nykvist Rear Admiral Jens Gunnar Peter Nykvist (born 23 August 1968) is a Swedish Navy officer. He currently serves as Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff from 1 July 2023. Prior to that, he served as commanding officer of the 1st Submarine Flotilla and t ...

*2016–2016: Lieutenant Commander Stefan Östrand (acting) *2016–2020: Captain Mats Agnéus *2020–2023: Captain Fredrik Lindén *2023–present: Captain Paula Wallenburg

Names, designations and locations

Footnotes

References

Notes

Print

* * * * * *

Web

External links

* {{Use dmy dates, date=May 2025 Naval units and formations of Sweden Military units and formations established in 1904 1904 establishments in Sweden Haninge Garrison Karlskrona Garrison