The Hvalen dinghy

About the object

• Description
  The small collapsible dinghies are sometimes called Berthon boats after their inventor and designer, the English vicar E. L. Berthon. The idea of this type of boat came to him after a maritime disaster when the steamer Orion foundered in 1849 and 150 people perished. He wanted to create a life boat that was simple to use and eas...

  The small collapsible dinghies are sometimes called Berthon boats after their inventor and designer, the English vicar E. L. Berthon. The idea of this type of boat came to him after a maritime disaster when the steamer Orion foundered in 1849 and 150 people perished. He wanted to create a life boat that was simple to use and easy to stow aside. Ordinary life boats were bulky, and the area they occupied could be used as a promenade deck or for social activities.

  For submarines collapsible life boats were an excellent alternative, since they could easily be stored on board. Before these collapsibles were introduced, submarines used to have wooded life boats tied to ther deck, an unwieldy and impractical solutions.

  The collapsible alternative to the wooden life boats are made of canvas treated with oil or paint to make it withstand water and wear. At the bottom are two board that fold against each other when the boat is not in use.

  Due to the fragile nature of the canvas, the museum has chosen to keep one of the boats folded and the other unfolded.

  The submarines to which they once belonged were name Hvalen (the Whale) and the Gäddan (the Pike). The Hvalen was the second submarine in the navy (the first was called Hajen, the Shark and was built at the Galärvarvet in great secrect and lanched in 1904). Submarine No. 2 Hvalen was built in La Specia in Italy in 1909. She took herself all the way from Italy to Sweden, by then the longest journey ever undertaken by a submarine. The Hvalen was decommissioned as early as 1919.

  The Gäddan was built at the Örlogsvarvet (the naval dockyard) in Karlskorna in 1915. For her day she was very advanced and could reach a depth of 35m. The Gäddan was taken out of service in 1935.

  Both dinghies were donated to the National Maritime Museum by the Stockholm naval dockyard in 1966.

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• DesignationRoddbåt
• Precise designation
  • Hopfällbar jolle tillhörig ubåten Hvalen
  • Berthon-båt
• IdentifierSM 21235.A - J
• Indexing termHopfällbar jolle tillhörig ubåten Hvalen Roddbåt
• Type Thing

• Inscription
  • Påförd text: Jol F d Hvalen No 11 på relingen, F på durk
  • Stämpel/Sign: J 11 F, F 11 A på ryggstöd

• Dimensions value
  • Height350.0 mm
  • Length2280.0 mm
  • Width900.0 mm

• MaterialsTrä Järn Presenning

• ColourMörkt grågrön

• Other information

  Rederi: Kungliga Flottan

  Varv (sannolikt): Fiat-San Giorgio, Ort: La Spezia, Italien. År: 1909

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