Wikimedia

Nearly 400 years on, warship still yielding secrets

STORY BY STEPHEN J. THORNE

Commissioned by Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus amid his eight-year war with Poland-Lithuania, it was to be the most powerful warship to sail the Baltic Sea.

But Vasa, top-heavy with lavish decor—much of it celebrating the king’s family history—and 64 bronze guns, twice as many as its original design called for, barely sailed a kilometre when a wind gust toppled the 69-metre vessel on Aug. 10, 1628.

Water flooded its gunports, which had been opened to fire a salute as the ship set out on its maiden voyage. It was unable to right itself.

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Wikipedia

CAF to the rescue: the hundred-year flood

STORY BY PAIGE GILMAR

April 17, 2019, was just like any other rainy night in southern and northern-central Ontario.

But within a span of the evening, rainfall spread to southern Quebec and New Brunswick—and would be on and off again until early May.

By April 20, however, coupled with gusty winds between 90-100 km/h, the rainfall had totalled from 35 to 60 millimetres.

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More from Military Milestones

• Vancouver’s ship killer
• James Forbes-Robertson and the Monchy Ten
• The Lion of the First World War

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