Sinking of the Vasa

Background. Vasa was built between 1626 and 1628 on the orders of King Gustavus Adolphus as part of Sweden's military expansion during the war with Poland-Lithuania. The ship was constructed at the navy yard in Stockholm under a contract with private entrepreneurs. It was armed primarily with bronze cannons cast specifically for the vessel in Stockholm.

Construction. Master Henrik and Arendt de Groote signed a contract in 1625 to build four ships. Master Henrik laid the keel for the larger ship in early 1626 but fell ill and handed supervision to Henrik Jacobsson. The king ordered seventy-two 24-pound guns for the ship in August 1626, a number too many to fit on a single gun deck.

Sinking. On 10 August 1628, Captain Söfring Hansson ordered Vasa to depart on her maiden voyage to the naval station at Älvsnabben. The ship sank after sailing roughly 1,300 meters into the harbor. At the time of sailing, eight of the planned 72 guns had not yet been delivered to the vessel.

Aftermath. A full inquest before a tribunal of members of the Privy Council and Admiralty took place at the Royal Palace on 5 September 1628. The ship fell into obscurity after most of her valuable bronze cannons were salvaged in the 17th century. The wreck was located again in the late 1950s in a busy shipping area in Stockholm harbor.