Battle of Dynekilen

The naval Battle of Dynekilen (Slaget ved Dynekilen) took place on 8 July 1716 during the Great Northern War.

Background

On 28 October 1709 Frederik IV of Denmark, the Danish-Norwegian king declared war against Sweden. The war declaration came after the Swedish defeat at the Battle of Poltava, which resulted in a decisive victory for Peter I of Russia over Charles XII of Sweden.

In the naval enactment, a light Danish-Norwegian force under Peter Tordenskjold trapped and defeated a similar Swedish force in Dynekilen fjord, just north of Strömstad, on the west coast of Sweden. 80 percent of the sailors and 90 percent of the soldiers in Tordenskjold's force were Norwegian. The Swedes had been escorting troops from Göteborg to Fredrikstad.

The Danish-Norwegian flotilla defeated the Swedes, who had arranged their ships and boats defensively, and destroyed a small island fort equipped with six 12-pounder guns. The largest Swedish ship, Stenbock, surrendered, after which the lighter vessels were run aground and abandoned. A Swedish land force then arrived, forcing Tordenskjold to quickly leave, taking with him some of the captured Swedish ships. The rest was destroyed. The Dano-Norwegian force suffered 76 casualties.

Ships involved

Denmark-Norway (Tordenskjold)

• Hjælper 47 (barge)
• Hvide Ørn 30 (frigate)
• Vindhund 16 (frigate)
• Charlotte Amalia 7 (galley)
• Louisa 7 (galley)
• Prinds Christian 7 (galley)

Sweden

• Stenbock 24 (barge) - Surrendered
• Proserpina 5 (galley) - Captured
• Ulysses 5 (galley) - Captured
• Lucretia 12 (galley) - Captured
• Wreden 21 (galley) - Sunk, later salvaged by the Swedes.
• Achilles 5 (half-galley) - Captured
• Pollux 5 (half-galley) - Captured
• Hector 5 (half-galley) - destroyed.
• Castor 5 (half-galley) - Sunk, later salvaged by the Swedes
• Biorn 4 (double-sloop) - Captured
• Svarte Maeren 4 (double-sloop) - Captured
• Schelpaden 12 (Gallioth) - Sunk, later salvaged by the Swedes
• TRANSPORTS - 5 captured, 3 destroyed

All according to Tordenskiolds own report. (printed at pages 229- 230, in the book, "Tordenskiolds Brev" (by Komandor, Olav Bergersen 1963)

Sources

• Adamson, Hans Christian Admiral Thunderbolt;: The spectacular career of Peter Wessel, Norway's greatest sea hero (Chilton Co., Book Division. 1959)
• Andersson, R.C. Naval Wars in the Baltic 1522-1850 ( Francis Edwards Ltd. 1969) ISBN 978-0-902476-00-4
• Bergersen, Olav "Tordenskiolds Brev" (Universitetsforlaget, Trondheim 1963)
• Bjerg, Hans Christian Tordenskiold: Glimt af Wessel (Borgan. 1990) ISBN 978-87-7466-181-8
• Christiansen, Per Jeg vil synge om en helt: et biografisk skrift i anledning 300-arsjubileet for Peter Wessel Tordenskiolds fødsel (Ringve museum. 1990) ISBN 978-82-990305-5-7
• Kavli, Guthorm I Tordenskjolds Kjølvann (Schibsted. 1990) ISBN 82-516-1352-3