Sweden's most powerful warship was meant to become a symbol of naval strength. Instead, the Vasa became one of history's most famous shipwrecks after sinking just 20 minutes into its maiden voyage. More than three centuries later, the ship would be found, raised from the seabed and carefully preserved.
Why did the Vasa warship sink
King Gustav II Adolf commissioned the Vasa in 1625, with construction beginning the following year under Dutch shipwright Henrik Hybertsson, as per a report.
The 226-foot-long, 164-foot-tall warship was designed to carry 64 cannons and fire 551 pounds of ammunition across multiple decks, as per a Popular Mechanics report. But its upper structure was too tall and heavy for the relatively small hull below the waterline, making the ship dangerously unstable.
There were warning signs before the launch. During a demonstration, 30 men ran across the deck to test the ship's stability. The Vasa rolled so alarmingly that an admiral stopped the test, fearing it could sink while still at the quay.
The launch went ahead anyway. On August 10, 1628, the Vasa began its maiden voyage as thousands watched from the shore. A heavy gust pushed the ship onto its port side, and water poured through the open gunports.
Within minutes, the warship sank 105 feet into Stockholm's harbour, just 4,000 feet from where its voyage had begun. Thirty crewmen died. The Vasa had lasted just 20 minutes.
How was the famous Vasa shipwreck found?
Attempts to salvage the ship failed because it was deeply embedded in the mud. Divers recovered most of its cannons 35 years later, but after interest faded, the Vasa's location was eventually lost, as per the Popular Mechanics report.
In 1954, Swedish navy fuel engineer and amateur archaeologist Anders Franzen began searching for the wreck.
For two years, he found nothing but objects such as rusty iron stoves, bicycles, Christmas trees and dead cats. Then, in 1956, after studying newly discovered archival records and changing his search location, Franzen pulled up a small piece of black oak, as per the Popular Mechanics report.
The discovery changed everything. Navy divers later raised a cannon in 1958, confirming the Vasa's location 331 years after it sank.
The Vasa returned to the surface after 333 years
Divers spent two years digging tunnels beneath the ship to place cables connected to floating pontoons. After freeing the Vasa from the mud, crews moved it underwater and spent another year preparing for the final lift.
On April 24, 1961, the Vasa was raised after 333 years beneath the water.
Preserving it was another major challenge. Crews spent 17 years pumping polyethylene glycol into the wood through 500 nozzles to replace the water that had kept the timber swollen.
Even after that, preservationists continued monitoring the ship's humidity and condition.
Today, the Vasa is the centrepiece of the most-visited museum in Scandinavia. The warship that could not survive 20 minutes at sea has now endured more than six decades on land, proving that Anders Franzen's “holy grail” was worth the search, as per the Popular Mechanics report.
