A follow-on to the name-ship of the class, Oden, Thor differed in having improved Harvey steel armour, a greater use of electric power and two additional casemate-mounted 12 cm (4.7 in) guns.

After an upgrade between 1914 and 1916, the warship operated in support of Sweden's neutrality in the First World War, participating in the Invasion of Åland in 1918.

Originally ordered to be a lone ship type, Oden proved to be such a success that the Swedish Navy ordered two similar vessels on 5 May 1896 to create a three-ship class of first-class coastal defence ships, or Pansarskeppen, able to take a place in the Swedish battle line.

The new ships differed from their predecessor in having improved steel, which allowed a reduction of 200 long tons (200 t) in weight, and thus the addition of two more casemate-mounted 12 cm (4.7 in) guns.

A full load of 280 long tons (280 t) of coal was carried, which gave a design range of 2,500 nautical miles (4,600 km; 2,900 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).

[1] After reconstruction in 1914 and 1915, coal capacity was expanded to 300 long tons (300 t), which gave a design range of 2,530 nautical miles (4,690 km; 2,910 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).

[7] Armament consisted of two single 25.4 cm (10.0 in) M1894 B guns mounted in turrets on the ship's centreline, one fore and the other aft.

They were manufactured by the French company Société Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée as the Swedish armament industry was not capable of manufacturing weapons of this calibre at the time, although this changed with the construction of Thor's sister ship Niord.

[10] A similar visit took place to Dover on 4 June 1913, this time alongside the torpedo cruiser Jacob Bagge.

[17] A German fleet consisting of the dreadnought battleships Rheinland and Westfalen arrived on 5 March and a stand-off ensued, which was resolved peacefully two days later.

[5] After attempts to find a private yard that wanted to purchase the vessel for scrapping failed, the ship was broken up by the team at Karlskrona in 1942.