The Psilander affair saw Britain seize neutral Swedish warships in 1940, testing the limits of neutrality rights and the doctrine of angary in wartime.
Key Facts
- Date of seizure
- 20 June 1940
- Ships captured
- 4 destroyers, 1 passenger ship, 1 tanker
- Date of release
- 2 July 1940 (returned); departed 5 July
- Compensation paid by Britain
- £50,000
- Destroyers' origin voyage
- La Spezia, Italy to Gothenburg, Sweden
- Swedish commander
- Lieutenant Commander Torsten Hagman
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Four Swedish destroyers recently purchased in Italy were sailing home through waters where Britain feared German interception. Citing the right of angary, British authorities concluded that if the ships passed through the North Sea, Germany might seize them and press them into German naval service, prompting a decision to intercept them at the British-occupied Faroe Islands.
On 20 June 1940, the Royal Navy intercepted the Swedish convoy in Skálafjørður. Swedish commander Torsten Hagman, unwilling to engage British forces and aware Sweden was not at war with the UK, withdrew crews to the passenger ship Patricia and allowed British sailors to board and sail the destroyers toward Scapa Flow.
After diplomatic negotiations and Britain's payment of £50,000 for any damage, all vessels were released on 2 July and reached Gothenburg on 10 July. Hagman was court-martialed but neither convicted nor acquitted. The episode prompted Sweden to issue a secret order forbidding surrender of any warship to a foreign power without explicit government authorization.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent
Torsten Hagman.