HSwMS Västergötland (Vgd)

	HSwMS Västergötland on 7 February 2005.
History
Sweden
Name	Västergötland
Namesake	Västergötland
Ordered	10 January 1983
Builder	Kockums
Launched	19 July 1986
Commissioned	27 November 1987
Decommissioned	1997
Motto	Unum, sed leonem ; (One, but one lion);
Nickname(s)	Vgd
Fate	Sold to Singapore in 2005
Singapore
Name	Swordsman
Namesake	Swordsman
Acquired	4 November 2005
Commissioned	30 April 2013
Homeport	Changi
Motto	Strike with Valour. Triumph in Unity.
Status	Active
General characteristics
Class and type	Västergötland-class submarine; Archer-class submarine;
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	6 × 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes; 3 × 400 mm (16 in) torpedo tubes;

HSwMS Västergötland (Vgd) was the lead ship of the Västergötland-class submarines, named after Västergötland, Sweden. The submarine was launched on 19 July 1986 and entered service with the Swedish Navy on 20 October 1988. Västergötland served with the Swedish Navy until 1997 when the submarine was decommissioned. In 2005 Västergötland and sister boat HSwMS Hälsingland were sold to Singapore, where Västergötland was renamed RSS Swordsman and entered service on 30 April 2013.

Development

The submarine design combined the best properties from the preceding 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 Hälsingland.

Service in Singapore

HSwMS Västergötland was renamed RSS Swordsman. 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 underwent 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]

In October 2018, RSS Swordsman participated in Exercise Bersama Lima as part of the Five-Power-Defence-Arrangement exercise and was noted to have performed well, remaining undetected by the participating ships in the anti-submarine warfare exercise. ^[3]

In November 2018, the Republic of Singapore Navy announced on its official Facebook page that RSS Swordsman successfully conducted a live torpedo firing in the Andaman Sea.^[4]

Gallery

HSwMS Västergötland & RSS Swordsman gallery
HSwMS Västergötland's badge.
RSS Swordsman alongside Changi Naval Base in 2019.

References

^ "Baltic Sea". Corporal Frisk. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
^ Ahlquist, Erik. "HMS Östergötland på slutövning". Försvarsmakten (in Swedish). Retrieved 2020-07-30.
^ "A rare look at RSN submarine training: Crew can now take out adversary within minutes". The Straits Times. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
^ "Republic of Singapore Navy on Facebook". Facebook. Archived from the original on 2022-04-27.^{[user-generated source]}

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[1] "Baltic Sea". Corporal Frisk. Retrieved 2020-07-30.

[2] Ahlquist, Erik. "HMS Östergötland på slutövning". Försvarsmakten (in Swedish). Retrieved 2020-07-30.

[3] "A rare look at RSN submarine training: Crew can now take out adversary within minutes". The Straits Times. Retrieved 16 November 2022.

[4] "Republic of Singapore Navy on Facebook". Facebook. Archived from the original on 2022-04-27.^{[user-generated source]}

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Västergötland-class submarines
Swedish Navy	Västergötland Hälsingland Södermanland^† Östergötland^†
Republic of Singapore Navy Archer class	Archer (ex-Hälsingland) Swordsman (ex-Västergötland)
^† - converted to Södermanland class Preceded by: Näcken class Followed by: Gotland class List of submarines of the Swedish Navy