Wikipedia:Today's featured article/September 4, 2015
A hemmema was a type of warship built for the Swedish archipelago fleet and the Russian Baltic Navy in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It was designed by Swedish naval architect Fredrik Henrik af Chapman in collaboration with Augustin Ehrensvärd, commander of the archipelago fleet. The hemmema was a specialized vessel for use in the shallow waters and narrow passages that surround the thousands of islands and islets extending from the Swedish capital of Stockholm into the Gulf of Finland. It replaced the galley as a coastal warship since it had better crew accommodations, was more seaworthy and heavily outgunned even the largest galleys. It could be propelled by either sails or oars but was still smaller and more maneuverable than most sailing warships, which made it suitable for operations in the confined waters. The 12 hemmemas that were built served on both sides of the Russo-Swedish War of 1788–90 and the Finnish War of 1808–09. (Full article...)