Hemmema

The hemmema was a specialized vessel for use in the shallow waters and narrow passages that surround the thousands of islands and islets extending from the Swedish capital of Stockholm into the Gulf of Finland.

Compared to galleys, the hemmema had a deeper draft and was slower under oars, but offered superior accommodation for the crew, carried more stores, was more seaworthy and had roughly ten times as many heavy guns.

The Swedes began to deploy inshore flotillas of shallow-draft vessels, beginning with smaller versions of the traditional Mediterranean galleys.

For two decades, the struggle for power between the Hats and the Caps, the dominant political factions at the time, and rivalries between army and navy brought about changes to the archipelago fleet.

The parliamentary victory of the Hats in the Riksdag in 1769–70 and the coup d'ètat by King Gustav III in 1772 secured the archipelago fleet's status as an independent branch of the army.

The Swedish armed forces invested considerable resources in the new army branch and made it a professional, independent organization.

The archipelago fleet attracted members of the social and cultural elite who enjoyed the protection and patronage of King Gustav III, who had established himself as an absolute monarch in the 1772 coup.

[5] Augustin Ehrensvärd argued for new archipelago vessels that combined firepower, maneuverability, seaworthiness, and decent crew accommodations.

[6] Chapman specifically designed the archipelago frigates for service off the south coast of Finland and named them after the Finnish provinces of Uusimaa, Pohjanmaa (Österbotten), Turunmaa (Åboland), and Hämeenmaa (Tavastia).

[10] Chapman's archipelago frigates provided better protection for their crew than the galleys they replaced, and up to three times the capacity for stores and provisions.

The new ship types also increased the archipelago fleet's firepower, provided it with better defensive capabilities, and made possible more efficient fire support in amphibious operations.

[15] The addition of diagonal bracers to reinforce the hull allowed the later hemmemas to carry guns more powerful even than those on the largest sailing frigates of the high seas navy.

[16] Due to their considerable firepower and relative size, naval historian Jan Glete has described the hemmemas as "super archipelago frigates".

[21] Birger Jarl sank in an accident in 1813[22] and Erik Segersäll was planned for conversion as a paddlewheel steam battery for coastal defense, though the idea was eventually abandoned and the ship scrapped in 1826.

Although it had superior firepower relative to galleys, its sailing qualities were somewhat mediocre and while highly manoeuvrable under oars, it was still difficult to propel while rowed.

[23] A hemmema had the potential to be an effective weapon against galleys, matching their forward firepower and severely outgunning them with its broadside armament.

Inside an enemy galley formation, it could wreak considerable havoc, but such a maneuver was never achieved in an actual battle, leaving that tactical role untested.

The Swedish hemmemas were all built to the same specifications, except for the early design Oden, and Birger Jarl and Erik Segersäll carried heavier armament than the others.

A scale model of a three-masted sailing rigged with square sails seen from the side at a right angle. It has 14 cannons protruding from gunports below the weather deck. Between the gunports are multiple smaller ports designed for oars. The hull is a light brown color, painted white below the waterline.
Contemporary model of the hemmema Styrbjörn from the collections of the Maritime Museum in Stockholm
A side view of a model of a small galley with two masts rigged with lateen (triangular) sails. Its outrigger folded up and the oars stowed on the deck. The hull above the waterline is painted red with decorative details in gold and blue. The bow has a raised platform (rambade) armed with 3 small cannons.
Contemporary model of an early 18th-century Swedish galley from the collections of the Maritime Museum in Stockholm. Small galleys like this one were a mainstay of the first Swedish coastal fleets.
A small vessel with three masts rigged with lateen sails with a low hull profile seen directly from the side. It has a row of five cannons protruding from gunports. The upper portion of its stern has a distinct protrusion towards the rear, which is typical of xebecs.
A Spanish xebec from the 1810s; the xebec's design inspired the design of the archipelago frigates
A sailing ship with raised sails seen from the stern. Along its sides it has a single row of cannons. Between the gunports, a single row of large oars is protruding.
Contemporary color drawing of Oden , the first hemmema
A dramatic rendering of a scene from a naval battle. Along the left edge is a row of Swedish sailing ships firing their guns at an oncoming Russian galley and a confused cluster of Russian sailing ships further off to the right with a row of Russian gunboats extending to the right of the image. At the bottom of the painting is a curved line of Swedish oared gunboats, firing onto a Russian gunboats. In the background there are still more ships engaged in battle. Virtually all vessels in the painting are firing, filling the air with dense, white gunpower smoke. In both the Swedish and Russian gunboat line, there are boats in the midst of powerful explosions, throwing men and debris high into the air.
Contemporary Swedish painting of the Battle of Svensksund where two of the larger hemmemas participated
The Styrbjörn depicted on a Finnish postage stamp from 1937