HDMS Sophia Amalia
The Sophia Amalia was a ship of the Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy[4] named after Sophia Amalia, the wife of King Frederick III.
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History | |
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Name | Sophia Amalia |
Namesake | Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg |
Launched | 1650[1] |
Refit | 1673 |
Fate | Scrapped, 1687[2] |
General characteristics | |
Type | Ship of the line |
Displacement | 2,700–2,800 t (2,657–2,756 long tons) |
Length | 51.81 m (170 ft 0 in)[1] |
Beam | 12.64 m (41 ft 6 in)[1] |
Draught | 6.3 m (20 ft 8 in)[1] |
Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
Complement | 430-885[3] |
Armament | 86-108 guns[3] |
Construction and design
The ship was built at Hovedøen in Christiania under the direction of English shipbuilder James Robbins and was launched in 1650. She was 51.8 meters long and at that time one of the largest naval vessels in the world. She was commissioned by King Christian IV specifically to surpass the British ship HMS Sovereign of the Seas. The ship was manned by a crew of 680 and had an armament of 108 guns, surpassing Sovereign of the Seas by eight guns.
Captains
- Rasmus Clemmensen 3 June 1667[5]
- Simon Fochs de Boer May 1673[6]
- Niels Juel August 1675[7] as head of vanguard in the Baltic Sea Fleet under Cort Adelaer with the admiral's flag raised in the Sophie Amalia
- Gustavus Meyer (junior lieutenant on board in 1684)[8]
Legacy
![](../I/Ship_of_the_line_Sophia_Amalie%252C_pic2.JPG.webp)
A model of the ship is in the holdings of the Royal Danish Naval Museum.
HDMS Sophia Amalia is one of two ships depicted on what is believed to be the two oldest ship portraits of Danish ships. They are in the collections of Gavnø Castle.[9]
References
- "Ship model of Sophia Amalia (1650)". Royal Danish Naval Museum. 2010. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
- "Sophia Amalia (1650)". koti.mbnet.fi. 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
- "Great ships in 17th century (at least 100 guns)". kotiposti.net. 2004. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
- Skibregister - Record card for Sophia Amalia (1650)
- Topsøe-Jensen Vol 1 page 254
- Topsøe-Jensen Vol 1 page 384
- Topsøe-Jensen Vol 1 page 686
- Topsøe-Jensen Vol 2-page 177
- Ole. "Konvoh" (PDF) (in Danish). Orlorgsmuseet. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
External links and citations
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- Norwegian Defence web site
- Royal Danish Naval Museum - Skibregister
- (in Danish)T. A. Topsøe-Jensen og Emil Marquard (1935) "Officerer i den dansk-norske Søetat 1660-1814 og den danske Søetat 1814-1932“. Two volumes. Volume 1 and Volume 2