Muskö naval base
Encyclopedia
Muskö naval base is a Swedish underground naval facility
on the island of Muskö
just south of Stockholm
in Haninge Municipality
(Haninge Komun).
The construction of the base started in 1950 and was completed 19 years later in 1969. During the construction about 1.5 million tons of rock was removed. It has 3 docks, originally designed for destroyer
s and submarine
s. The underground base itself has an area of several km² and is connected by 20 km (12.4 mi) of underground roads. A 3 km (1.9 mi) long, dangerously narrow road tunnel running some 70 metres (229.7 ft) under the sea level connects the mainland and Muskö island.
During the Cold war
the underground facility was kept highly secret and not much information about it was known to the public. In 2004 the Swedish government decided that the navy should be concentrated to one base only, the Karlskrona naval base
, and much of the Muskö base was closed. Today some parts of the facility is still used by the military. The underground shipyards are operated by Kockums AB and Muskövarvet AB.
One of the Swedish submarine incidents
in October, 1982, took place at Muskö naval base.
A survey carried out in 2000, concluded that sedimentation in the tunnels leading to docks contained PCBs, organotin
compounds and heavy metals, mainly mercury and copper.
Swedish Navy
The Royal Swedish Navy is the naval branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet – as well as marine units, the so-called Amphibious Corps .In Swedish, vessels of the Swedish Navy are given the prefix "HMS," short for Hans/Hennes...
on the island of Muskö
Muskö
Muskö is a locality situated in Haninge Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 287 inhabitants in 2005....
just south of Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
in Haninge Municipality
Haninge Municipality
Haninge Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in Handen.Haninge Municipality was formed in 1971 when Västerhaninge and Österhaninge were united....
(Haninge Komun).
The construction of the base started in 1950 and was completed 19 years later in 1969. During the construction about 1.5 million tons of rock was removed. It has 3 docks, originally designed for destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s and submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
s. The underground base itself has an area of several km² and is connected by 20 km (12.4 mi) of underground roads. A 3 km (1.9 mi) long, dangerously narrow road tunnel running some 70 metres (229.7 ft) under the sea level connects the mainland and Muskö island.
During the Cold war
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
the underground facility was kept highly secret and not much information about it was known to the public. In 2004 the Swedish government decided that the navy should be concentrated to one base only, the Karlskrona naval base
Karlskrona naval base
Karlskrona naval base is the largest naval base of the Swedish Navy located in Blekinge in southern Sweden. The naval base has intimate ties with the city of Karlskrona. It has an exceptionally well sheltered location: arcs of islands provide a strong defense not only from the sea but also from...
, and much of the Muskö base was closed. Today some parts of the facility is still used by the military. The underground shipyards are operated by Kockums AB and Muskövarvet AB.
One of the Swedish submarine incidents
Swedish submarine incidents
The submarine hunts or submarine incidents were a series of several incidents involving foreign submarines that occurred in Swedish territorial waters during the Cold War, more specifically during the 1980s...
in October, 1982, took place at Muskö naval base.
A survey carried out in 2000, concluded that sedimentation in the tunnels leading to docks contained PCBs, organotin
Organotin
Organotin compounds or stannanes are chemical compounds based on tin with hydrocarbon substituents. Organotin chemistry is part of the wider field of organometallic chemistry. The first organotin compound was diethyltin diiodide, discovered by Edward Frankland in 1849...
compounds and heavy metals, mainly mercury and copper.