Gothenburg Maritime Museum, Sweden

Gothenburg is Sweden's second largest city. It is situated on Sweden's south western coast, close to the border with Norway and only a short sea voyage south to Denmark and Germany. Because of its position it is a major port and industrial hub for Sweden. The enormous Volvo factory occupies a huge area north of the port facility and Saab, now defunct as an automaker, is located in the town Trollhatten, about half an hour further north.

With a maritime history going back more than a millennium, it should come as no surprise that Gotheburg has a fine maritime museum. The museum is located at Packhuskajen Quay, at the harbourside, a short ten minute walk from the Gothenburg central train and bus station, beside the Gothenburg Opera House. Interestingly, there is no barrier preventing you from viewing the collection from the quayside or on one of the many harbour tours.

For details of opening hours, ticket prices and activities, check their website: https://www.maritiman.se/en/planning-your-visit

Steamer

Here is a mix of vessels, on the lee side of the barge is the Storm Princess, harbour vessel (https://www.maritiman.se/en/fleet/port-towboat-stormprincess), on the far side, the tugboat Hercules (https://www.maritiman.se/en/fleet/towboat-herkules) and behind, the destroyer HMS Smaland.

Lightship No 29 Fladen https://www.maritiman.se/en/fleet/lightship-no-29-fladen

Patrol boat HMS Hugin https://www.maritiman.se/en/fleet/patrol-boat-hugin

The HMS Hugin was built in 1978 serving as a coastal and riverine fast patrol boat.



Ferry boats Juno and Wilhelm Tham



Steamer Bohuslan



The steamers

We also did a harbour cruise which gives you a good view of the fleet from the seaside.

This is one of the most interesting ships in the collection, the Monitor Solve.

The Solve was one of seven domestically built Hildur class coastal monitors constructed in Norrkoping in 1875. The Solve and her sisters were armed with a singe 9 inch gun in a small turret. They were on active service protecting Sweden's enormous Baltic coastline until after the Great War, by which time they were long obsolete. She was decommissioned in 1919, stripped of her armor, armament and machinery and converted into an oil barge. In 1992 she was purchased by the Gothenburg Maritime Museum.

Model of the Hildur class as originally constructed. The 9 inch gun was not mounted in a true turret but a partially rotating mount that allowed the gun to traverse 45 degrees from the centreline. The museum has plans to restore the ship to its 1875 configuration but this has not commenced as yet. 

HMS Smaland https://www.maritiman.se/en/fleet/destroyer-smaland

Steamer Marieholm

Four masted barque 'Viking'

The big crane of Gothenburg.

Frigate Presidente Sarmiento, Buenos Aires, Argentina

The steam frigate ARA Presidente Sarmiento was built in Birkenhead, UK in 1897 for the Argentine navy. Although armed with four deck mounted 5 inch gun mounts, her primary role was as a training ship. During her career she undertook six round the world trips before she was retired as an ocean going vessel in 1938. She continued to serve in a coastal role until in 1958 she was restored to her 1898 rig as a museum ship at Puerto Madero in Buenos Aires.

Puerto Madero is a gentrified old port development. Dockside warehouses have been converted into restaurants, bars and shops. It is a very pleasant area and well worth a visit.

The Presidente Sarmiento is a very handsome ship that is a pleasant tourist drawcard.

ARA Uruguay

In the adjoining harbour is the ARA Uruguay, an older steam corvette built in England in 1874.

The Uruguay was built as a steam corvette and gunboat, however, being built in a time of technological flux, quickly became obsolete and after ten years service she was relegated to a training role. Nevertheless, she had an adventurous career as she became an Antarctic exploration vessel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARA_Uruguay

Buenos Aires is a beautiful city and can entertain a tourist for many days just wandering its streets. The Puerto Madero basin and the two museum ships are well worth a visit. Entry fees to the ships is very cheap and of course all fees go towards the upkeep of the ships. 

Royal Belgian Military Museum, Brussels, Belgium

Here's a collection of photos from our visit to the Royal Military Museum in Brussels in 2011. The collection was extensive, starting with a large gallery of Belgian Napoleonic War relics. Unfortunately all the galleries closed at 12pm for lunch the day we visited so we didn't get a full look through the World War One section.

Napoleonic uniforms

Artillery from World War One.

A wonderful WWI Renault FT light tank. It's one of my favorite tanks and remained in use right through to the Second World War, although it was totally obsolete.

A gigantic WWI British Mark II tank. The Mark II was first used during the Battle of Somme, although its performance was terrible as almost all broke down before they saw action. They were slowly improved throughout the war, eventually becoming a decisive weapon on the Western Front.

A French Renault UE Chenillette gun carrier in German livery. After the Nazis conquered France they commandeered all manner of vehicles for their war effort. Although obsolete for front line service by the time the war started, they were useful for supporting roles, such as ammunition carriers and gun carriages.

The tank gallery in a outside courtyard. Most of the tanks however were Cold War era and therefore not particularly interesting to me.



Me with a Russian tank and German tank destroyer.

A WWII German Hetzer (significantly modified). After experiencing defeats against the Russians on the Eastern Front, the Germans introduced a new type of tank, the Jagdpanzer or tank destroyer. As the Jagdpanzer was designed to ambush other tanks and would be engaging head on, it was able dispense with a turret in favor of mounting a heavier gun with thicker frontal armour. It also had the advantage of a lower profile, making it easier to hide. As the war progressed and German fortunes turned for the worst, more and more jagdpanzers were built as their lack of a traversing turret meant they were quicker and less complicated to manufacture.

A post war German tank destroyer.

Polar explorer

Ship models in the naval section. Unfortunately we didn't get to look through that section because it was closing.

All of the photos above were taken in 2011. After we had visited the Aero Museum next door, we discovered the military museum was about to close so we did a very quick run through, hence the very few photos. In 2018 we returned to Belgium and took a much more leisurely tour through both museums.

2018 Visit

The Napoleonic Wars

An officer's hat

The Napoleonic period was distinguished by its extraordinarily elaborate uniforms and headwear.

German pickelhelms. They appear to be steel but were in fact made of tanned pigskin.

Steel cuirassiers helms

Tall hats and distinctive plumes signified rank and unit.

More cavalry helments and headwear.

Liberty or Death!

This cap was based on a Roman 'emancipation cap' worn by freed slaves. It became popular as a revolutionary headwear.

Grenadiers headwear

German pickelhelms of the Franco-Prussian War 1870

Medieval and Early Modern Era

14th and 15th century armour and helmets

Full armour suits from 15th Century

15th Century

With the advent of gunpowder, armour was reduced to chest and head armour.

Jousting armour

Russian Imperial Uniforms of the Tsars (special exhibit 2018)

The dress uniform of Tsar Alexander III

Dress uniform Tsar Alexander II

Russian Imperial uniforms 19th Century

Russian Imperial dress uniforms 19th Century

Tsarevitch Alexei

Russian summer uniform and equipment from the Great War.

Russian Imperial decorations

Russian winter uniform

German First World War Helmets

Like the other powers of Europe, the German army entered the war equipped with weaponry and uniforms largely unchanged from peacetime ceremonial wear from the 1890s. This included cavalry helmets with ostrich feather plumes and bedecked bear fur busbys. Totally impractical for the war that was about to be fought.

German ceremonial cavalry headwear was, like in other armies of the time, more about show than practicality.

Cavalry and officer ceremonial helmets

Pickelhelms

After the first months of war, the elaborate, pigskin pickelhelm was being replaced with something a little less 'visible.' Dust covers in mud brown became standard issue. By 1915 the ubiquitous 'stahlhelm' (steel helmet) would be standard issue.

First World War Tanks

Mark A Whippet tank. https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww1/gb/British_medium_Mark-A_whippet.php

Whippet "Firefly"

Renault FT17

Mark IV "Male." The Male version was armed with 6 pounder naval guns. The Female version was armed only with Vickers machine guns.

Mark IV from the rear https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww1/gb/tank_MkIV.php

Artillery pieces

Link to our photos from our visit to the neighbouring Brussels Airforce Museum https://militarymuseum.blogspot.com/2019/06/brussels-aeroworld-brussels-belgium.html