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January 2013 www.sname.org/sname/mt combined weight of shot that could be red from the cannon of one side: 588 pounds. e USS Constitution, 169 years later, had roughly the same repower, but had a displacement of approximately 2,200 tons compared to some 1,210 tons for the Vasa .Note that, at that time, and for centuries to follow, ships had no permanent battery. e guns and cannon were designed to be com- pletely portable, and often were exchanged between ships as situations warranted. e Vasa was completed and on August 10, 1628, on her maiden voyage, she foun- dered and sank in Stockholm harbor after sailing less than a nautical mile. Clearly the ship had insucient stability and buoyancy. She had considerable weight high in the ship from her armament and other outt, but did not have sucient buoyancy to add compensating ballast without bring- ing her lower gun ports close to the waterline. The hasty decision to set sail was the result of a combination of factors. e king, who was leading the army in Prussia at the time as part of the irty Years War, was anx- ious for his new agship to join the Baltic eet. At the same time, the kings subordinates lacked the courage to discuss the ships stabil- ity problems frankly and to have the maiden voyage postponed until they were resolved. An inquiry was organized to nd personal responsibility for the disaster, but in the end nobody was punished for the asco. History suggests the following list of characters all held some responsibility for the outcome: ? Vice Admiral Fleming. As procurement o- cer, he was present before the ship sailed, when Captain Hansson had demonstrated the ships lack of stability. e admiral was heard to say that he wished the king were there. ? King Gustav II Adolfus. He ordered a large ship with many high-caliber cannon, and approved the ships dimensions. ? Master shipwright Henrik Hybertsson. He was a talented shipbuilder who had deliv- ered several successful ships to the navy, but he had little experience with building ships with two gun-decks such as the Vasa .? Captain Söfring Hansson. e captain of the Vasa must hold some responsibility for the sinking of the ship, even if the design was awed. It would have been safer to sail the ship with the lower gunports closed as he knew Vasa was unstable. ere are lessons learned from this inci- dent that are still relevant today. When you are pushing the boundaries, make sure you develop and test things well, and have the design xed before you embark on the con- struction. Dont change project managers in the middle of a project. Dont let procurement ocers make technical decisions. When you nd a problem, own it and x it. And dont let the king (or others in authority) make unin- formed decisions; speak truth to power. The rest of the story After most of its bronze cannon were salvaged in the 17th century, the wreck of the Vasa lay forgotten in the mud of Stockholm Harbor for some 300 years, until it was discovered? in the late 1950s. In 1961, the largely intact hull was salvaged and was moved to a tem- porary location for major conservation and repair work to take place. In 1987, the ship was moved to her permanent home in the Vasa Museum in Stockholm. Today Vasa sits fully restored in her museum with more than 90% of the mate -rial in her hull original from the 17th century. e museum hosts approximately 30 million visitors per year and, in addition to the Vasa herself, there are many artifacts that were recovered from the wreck that help us understand life in northern Europe almost 400 years ago. MTPeter Noble is chief naval architect at ConocoPhillips and is president of SNAME. See his article on the Baltic ferries, also in this issue. Maiden Voyage Lessons continued (historical note) VASA PARTICULARS TONNAGE1,210 tons displacement LENGTH Sparred length: 69 m (226 ft.) Between perpendiculars: 47.5 m (155.8 ft.) BEAM11.7 m (38 ft.) HEIGHT 52.5 m (172 ft.) DRAFT 4.8 m (16 ft.) PROPULSION Sails?1,275 sq. m (13,720 sq. ft.) CREW145 sailors, 300 soldiers ARMAMENT64 guns, including: ?24-pounders:48 ?3-pounders:8 ?1-pounders:2 ?howitzers:6 With the help of lifting pontoons, the wreck of the Vasa breaks the surface during salvaging operations, April 24, 1961. Photo courtesy the Swedish National Maritime Museums.