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| Battle of Fredrikshamn | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theRusso-Swedish War (1788–90) | |||||||
 Battle of Fredrikshamn 15 May 1790 | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Sweden |  Russia | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Gustav III | BrigadierPyotr Slizov [ru] | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 106 ships of theArchipelago fleet | 1 frigate, 72 smaller ships[1] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| TurumaSällan Värre recaptured 25 smaller ships sunk or captured 270 men dead, wounded or captured[1] | |||||||
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Thebattle of Fredrikshamn was an attack by the Swedisharchipelago fleet on their Russian counterparts near the town of Fredrikshamn (Hamina) during theRusso-Swedish War (1788–1790).
Swedish coastal fleet was commanded byGustav III. It consisted of 1turuma, 1pojama and 2udema type archipelago frigates, 1xebec, 18galleys, 40gun sloops (kanonslup), 30gun yawls (kanonjolle), 9cannon longboats (kanonbarkass) and 4mortar longboats (mörsarbarkass).
Russian coastal naval unit was led by Pyotr Slizov. It consisted of 1turuma type archipelago frigate (Sällan Värre), 1galley, 10half-galleys, 59gun sloops and 2gun pramsTiger andLeopard. In addition to the naval units the Russians had an artillery battery on the shore supporting them.
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The battle started in the early morning of May 15, 1790 when the Swedish fleet approachedFredrikshamn. The Russian fleet at Fredrikshamn hastily scrambled and sailed to face them and a several-hour-long firefight commenced with devastating result for the Russians. The battle cost the Russians 26 ships sunk or captured including theturuma type archipelago frigateSällan Värre that for the second time entered Swedish service after it originally had been captured by the Russians in theFirst battle of Svensksund. Defenders heaviest vessels were unable to navigate to the shallow waters in the bay and were easily captured by the attacker.
After the battle the Swedish ships entered Fredrikshamn harbor and demanded the commander of the town fortifications to surrender along with the remainder of the Russian fleet. Any surprise initiative the Swedes had after the battle was lost when Gustav III allowed the Russian commander request of an hour of respite to value the demands of surrender. When the attack on the town resumed later that day the garrison was reinforced and ready. Any further Swedish attacks proved fruitless and in the evening of May 15 the Swedish fleet withdrew back to Svensksund.
According to several historians the Swedish archipelago fleet under KingGustav III lost golden opportunity when instead of attacking 14 May 1790 they chose to delay until 15 May. At the time neither the Russian coastal fleet squadron nor the fort had been properly manned and would have likely been both lost under determined attack by the archipelago fleet alone. Final chance to capture the fort was lost on 15 May when king allowed an hour of respite which made it possible for the Russians to gather reinforcements and prepare their defenses.[2]
