HDMS Stora Sofia
# HDMS Stora Sofia

Stora Sofia (Danish: Grand Sofia) was a Danish ship of the line that sank on 25 May 1645 near Buskär outside the harbour of Gothenburg.

## Construction and design

The ship was built in 1627 on the Slottö shipyard in Nakskov in Denmark after a design of Scottish shipbuilder Daniel Sinclair. Stora Sofia was the flagship of the navy of the Danish king Christian IV. She was armed with 44 cannons on three decks; according to contemporary sources, she had four 48-pounders, eighteen 24-pounders, twenty 8-pounders and several smaller cannons.

## Service

During the short Torstenson War between Denmark-Norway and Sweden in 1645, Denmark put an embargo on the young city of Gothenburg, founded in 1621. Stora Sofia was the flagship of a Danish fleet under admiral Ove Gjedde that was ordered to enforce the embargo. Shortly after the arrival of the fleet, a storm broke loose and threw the Stora Sofia onto the rocks. The ship sank to a depth of 27 metres; her crew was saved.

## Discovery of the wreck

The wreck was rediscovered only in 1961. More thorough explorations and archeological studies began in the 1980s.

