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Figure 1. A scale model of the Vasa with the original painted wooden sculptures, designed to show the world the might and power of the King of Sweden, in display at the Vasa Museum, Stockholm, Sweden.
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Sweden was behind the rest of the worlds navies and only able to build single-gun deck ships. Gustavus II wanted two decks of guns to project Swedens world power. But, the design of ships was an art, passed down from father to son. No designer in the shipyards of Skeppsgarden, nor in the entire Swedish Empire knew the numbers for dimension and ballast to ensure stability with the height and weight of two gun decks. The original designer, Henrick Hyberstsson, had tried a conservative design and specified 24 pound guns for the lower deck and lighter weight, 12 pound guns for the upper deck. He died a year before construction finished. The King decided he wanted to project more power and ordered 24 pound guns for the upper deck as well. The new ship builders went along, since the King had signed off on the design. As part of the stability testing of every ship, 30 sailors would run from side to side ten times to try to capsize the ship. When testing the Vasa, the ship master, Joran Matsson, had to halt the test after three cycles, for fear the ship would capsize. Admiral Klas Fleming, one of the most influential admirals in the Navy, witnessed the test. It was his responsibility to tell the King and halt the design, but he was too frightened of the Kings response and never mentioned the stability problem. At 4 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, Aug. 10, 1628, the ship was officially launched with 90 sailors and their familieswives and childrenaboard to celebrate the pride of the Swedish Navy. It was to be a short cruise around the bay and back again. Using only four of her 10 sails, she pulled away from the pier. The Council of the Realm described the events in a letter to the King, who was still away waging war in Prussia: When the ship left the shelter of Tegelviken, a stronger wind entered the sails and she immediately began to heel over hard to the lee side. She righted herself slightly again until she approached Beckholmen, where she heeled right over and water gushed in through the gun ports until she slowly went to the bottom, under sail, pennants and all. The maiden voyage lasted for 1,300 meters, at the end of which 25 men, women and children lay entombed in the sunken ship. An inquiry was held a month later. After hearing testimony from the captain, the sailors, the shipbuilder and the admiral, no one was ultimately punished for the disaster. On the morning of April 24, 1961, 333 years after she sank, the Vasa was raised from the sea floor and now is preserved, intact, in the Vasa Museum in Stockholm.
Figure 2. The Vasa, brought up from the bay after 333 years and restored to nearly her original condition, on display in the Vasa museum in Stockholm, Sweden.
Why did the Vasa sink? Ultimately, it was a combination of being top heavy with too much weight in the masts and the two decks of guns, with not enough ballast. Even the ballast was not designed well. It was composed of round, river rocks which would roll with the ship, adding positive feedback to induce the ship to roll even more.
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Figure 3. A model of the cross section of the Vasa showing the two gun decks and the rock ballast in the keel. Too much weight above the waterline and not enough ballast contributed to her sinking.
The legacy of the Vasa, suggests a few pointers for advanced product development that might still apply, almost 400 years later: Express your concerns when management changes the specs in the middle of the product design. If you are pushing the envelope of performance, there is no substitute to having an analytical model to accurately predict performance before you commit to hardware. When you do have first article and perform test and measurements, use the data to verify how well it matches the predictions and when it doesnt, use the data to hack into the design to determine its limitations. Never hesitate voicing your concerns to management. The last thing they want is a surprise.