Its sister warship, Applet (Apple), was constructed across the similar time because the Vasa on the orders of Swedish King Gustav II Adolf.
In contrast to the Vasa, which keeled over and sank simply minutes after leaving port in 1628, the sister ship was launched with out incident the next yr and remained in lively service for 3 many years. It was sunk in 1659 to turn into a part of an underwater barrier imply to guard the Swedish capital from enemy fleets.
The precise location of the wreck was misplaced over time however marine archaeologists working for Vrak — the Museum of Wrecks in Stockholm — say they discovered a big shipwreck in December 2021 close to the island of Vaxholm, simply east of the capital.
“Our pulses spiked after we noticed how comparable the wreck was to Vasa,” stated Jim Hansson, one of many archaeologists. “Each the development and the highly effective dimensions appeared very acquainted.”
Specialists had been capable of verify that it was the long-lost Applet by analyzing its technical particulars, wooden samples and archival knowledge, the museum stated in a press release on Monday.
Components of the ship’s sides had collapsed onto the seabed however the hull was in any other case preserved as much as a decrease gun deck. The fallen sides had gun ports on two completely different ranges, which was seen as proof of a warship with two gun decks.
A second, extra thorough dive was made within the spring of 2022, and particulars had been discovered that had up to now solely been seen in Vasa. A number of samples had been taken and analyses made, and it emerged that the oak for the ship’s timber was felled in 1627 in the identical place as Vasa’s timber only a few years earlier.
Specialists say the Vasa sunk as a result of it lacked the ballast to counterweigh its heavy weapons. Applet was constructed broader than Vasa and with a barely completely different hull form. Nonetheless, ships that measurement had been tough to maneuver and Applet in all probability remained idle for many of its service, although it sailed towards Germany with greater than 1,000 folks on board through the Thirty Years’ Conflict, the Vrak museum stated.
No resolution has been taken on whether or not to lift the ship, which might be a expensive and sophisticated endeavor.
