HSMS Valahalla (AC-1908 (TS-1927))

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Armoured Cruiser equivalents to the Odin class battleships, the ships would have been much better received if they had been Dreadnought-cruisers. When completed they were still the pride of the fleet and they compared favourably with the German, French and British cruisers of the same ilk. The two ships took their place as senior ships of the Inner Leads Patrol, which contained the Scandinavian Navies best ships. They were in turn replaced by the Gotaland class in 1914 when the ships were transferred to Malmo as part of the Oresund Patrol.

They were based on the Odin class battleships that preceded them, and this included the superimposed forward turrets. The 1903 design showed the ships with a mix of four 210mm and twelve 150mm guns in a standard layout. The world had watched the Russians being humbled by the Japanese at Tsushima and the major lesson learnt was the concentration of guns into one caliber only, which lead to the Dreadnought revolution. The Scandinavians also took the lesson and the Valhalla class changed from the mixed caliber design to the single 210mm gun size. This gave the ships the impressive broadside of fourteen 210mm (8.3") guns. For their type they were fast at 23 knots but were outclassed by the 25-26 knot battlecruisers that were being completed around them.

The single gun size meant that they lasted in service longer than most other countries armoured cruisers and they were not reduced to secondary service till the completion of the Drottning Ulrika class from 1926. The Valhalla was slowly transformed into a training ship with the main armament being reduced till only the three twin turrets were left of the 210mm. The forward boiler room was gutted and converted to more accomodation and class rooms for trainees. The single 210mm were replaced with more superstructure for accomodation and modern guns were fitted to give the trainees practice in their use.

The Ragnarok followed the same path as the Valhalla from 1928 to 1936 at which stage the ships designation and usage was changed from a training ship to a trials/training ship. The Bofors armoury was starting to have the future fully automatic 50mm, 100mm and 210mm guns undergo early land trials on their trials ground at Karlskoga. The first three completed 210mm guns were fitted in the new triple turret being designed and built for the Tre Kronor class cruisers, and sent down to Goteborg for fitting on the Ragnarok for sea trials. As the 50mm and 100mm guns were ready for sea trials they were also fitted to the Ragnarok who ran the trials out in the Skagerak. Bofors had long been interested in offensive rocketry from Alfred Nobels trials in 1895-7. When they received notice (and hmmm some stolen plans from the Germanic States) of the joint design work between the Japanese long range oxygenated torpedoes and German rocketry and homing technologies, Bofors was very interested as a network of these mountings would close the Oresund and the fjords to enemy incursions. Mounted on fast patrol boats, no Soviet ship would be able to leave harbour without incurring some serious hardware in the rear of the ship. Bofors first trial units were mounted on the Ragnarok in 1943 on a trainable mounting with elevation capabilities. These were Rocket Assisted Projectiles, where the torpedo had a rocket launching system that would propel the torpedo to a 'can't miss' range at which stage the torpedo would seperate and enter the sea at which time the homing unit would become active and guide itself to the target.

Aft 210mm twin turret 1905 model.

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