When the Second World War was at its height, Bremön and her crew were sent on high-risk missions. Today the minesweeper Bremön is moored at the dock outside the Naval Museum.
From our collection: Radio direction finding receiver
Named after a lighthouse station, Brämön, in the Swedish province of Medelpad, the minesweeper Bremön was launched in June 1940.
Bremön is the only preserved warship of the original 14 ships of the so-called Arholma class that were built between 1937 and 1940. Bremön and her sister ships were minesweepers. Their job was to disarm as well as lay out mines, escort commercial ships, and prevent foreign ships from entering Swedish waters.
Bremön is driven by two steam turbines of 1 600 horsepower each, has a height of 56.7 meters, and is 7.6 meters wide. The ship is armed with two cannons and during its service in the Navy, it had 40 mines and 50 depth bombs on board.
During the war years
The war years, 1939–1945, entailed great trials for the Swedish military, and particularly for the Navy. Although Sweden was declared neutral, there were many mines in Swedish waters, and Bremön and her crew lived a hectic and dangerous life. In November 1941, the ship was working on disarmament, just south of the island Öland, when a mine exploded. The rescue picket boat 282 Lebonon, which participated in the work, exploded in the air and ten men died.
An important mission for Bremön during the war was to protect the merchant ships. The risk that they would be subjected to airstrikes, artillery fire, or torpedoes was always present. During the war years, approximately 4.000 mines along the Swedish coast were disarmed and around 16.000 merchant ships were escorted to safety.
The only preserved minesweeper of its kind
Several years after the Second World War ended, Bremön was still in service and used for clearing up mines in Swedish waters. In the 1960s, she became a mother ship to the Swedish Navy's first mini-submarine Spiggen.
Bremön is the only minesweeper of the Arholma class that escaped the scrapyard. In 1987, she was donated to the Naval Museum.