HSwMS Hälsingland (Hgd)

HSwMS Hälsingland (Hgd), was the second submarine of the Västergötland class. The vessel was named after Hälsingland, Sweden. The submarine was launched on 31 August 1987 and entered service with the Swedish Navy on 20 October 1988. Hälsingland served with the Swedish Navy until 1997 when the submarine was decommissioned. In 2005 Hälsingland and sister boat HSwMS Västergötland were sold to Singapore where Hälsingland was renamed RSS Archer and entered service on 2 December 2011. Archer remains in service.

History
Sweden
Name: HSwMS Hälsingland
Namesake: Västergötland, Sweden
Ordered: 1 January 1984
Builder: Kockums
Launched: 31 August 1987
Commissioned: 20 October 1988
Decommissioned: 1997
Motto: Maximus Caprorum ("Largest among bucks")
Nickname(s): Hgd
Fate: Sold to Singapore in 2005
Singapore
Name: RSS Archer
Namesake: Archer
Acquired: 4 November 2005
Commissioned: 2 December 2011
Homeport: Changi Naval Base, Singapore
Status: Active
General characteristics
Class and type:
Displacement:
  • 1,400 t (1,378 long tons) surfaced
  • 1,500 t (1,476 long tons) submerged
Length: 60.5 m (198 ft 6 in)
Beam: 6.1 m (20 ft 0 in)
Propulsion:
  • 2 × Hedemora Diesel generators
  • 2 × Kockums v4-275R Sterling AIP units
Speed:

8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) (Surfaced)

15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) (Submerged)
Complement: 28 officers and enlisted
Armament:

Development

The submarine design combined the best properties from the preceding Swedish Sjöormen and Näcken classes. Submarines of the Västergötland class had greater submarine hunting capacity than previous classes, partly due to the fact that they were equipped with a new modern submarine torpedo. The submarines in the Västergötland class were able to fire up to six heavy and six light wire-guided torpedoes at the same time against different targets, a world record of perhaps dubious benefit that probably still stands today.[1]

The Västergötland class included the submarines HSwMS Södermanland and HSwMS Östergötland. After significant upgrades, these two submarines were reclassified to a new Södermanland class.

Service in Sweden

The submarine served in the Swedish Navy for almost 25 years and was then sold to Singapore in 2005 together with HSwMS Västergötland.

Service in Singapore

HSwMS Hälsingland was renamed RSS Archer. Singapore's Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) signed an agreement with Kockums for the supply of two Archer-class (formerly Västergötland-class) submarines to the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) on 4 November 2005. More than 20 years old and previously in reserve with the Swedish Navy, the submarines were transferred to the RSN on completion of the modernisation and conversion for operation in tropical waters. RSS Archer was launched on 16 June 2009. RSS Archer has undergone sea trials following its launch and is now operational. The second submarine, RSS Swordsman, was launched on 20 October 2010. The Archer-class submarines entered service in 2013 and replaced the Challenger-class submarines that were retired in 2015.[2]

  • HSwMS Hälsingland & RSS Archer gallery
  • HSwMS Hälsingland's badge

References
  1. "Baltic Sea". Corporal Frisk. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
  2. Ahlquist, Erik. "HMS Östergötland på slutövning". Försvarsmakten (in Swedish). Retrieved 2020-07-30.


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