The archipelago fleet, officially the "fleet of the army", was a maritime branch of the Swedish Armed Forces which existed between 1756 and 1823. Its purpose was to protect the coasts of Sweden, which was surrounded by a natural barrier of archipelagoes. Throughout its existence, the fleet was a largely independent arm of the Swedish Army, separate from the Swedish Navy, with the exception of a few years in the late 1760s. In a number of respects, it was a precursor of the Swedish Coastal Artillery and its coastal fleet.
Archipelago fleet
An original three-tailed ensign of the archipelago fleet from the collections of the Maritime Museum in Stockholm
The battle of Svensksund in July 1790, one of Sweden's most decisive naval victories. Contemporary painting by Johan Tietrich Schoultz.
The battle of Ratan near Umeå, the final engagement of the Finnish War, where the archipelago fleet fought to hold off invading Russian land forces.
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.
Bramble-class gunboat, built for the Royal Navy in 1886
A model of a type of decked "gun yawl" designed by Fredrik Henrik af Chapman and used by the Swedish archipelago fleet
The screw gunboat USS Alliance, circa 1880
Insect-class HMS Ladybird (with larger-calibre guns installed in 1939)
