Armoured lice – from American naval battle to Swedish archipelago defence

On Thursday 10 May 2012 the exhibition Armoured lice – from American naval battle to Swedish archipelago defence opened to the public. The exhibition was about the American civil war and the famous naval battle at Hampton Roads which took place 150 years ago. The battle between the North’s USS Monitor and the South’s CSS Virginia created naval history because the three-hour-long artillery duel was the first clash ever between two armoured vessels.

The exhibition also highlighted the man behind the design – Swede John Ericsson, the Swedish armoured ships which followed in the wake of the USS Monitor and, of course, Maritiman’s monitor, the Sölve. The Sölve is a third class armoured vessel and today represents the world’s only floating 19th century monitor. The exhibition was housed inside an original object!

The exhibition was produced in close cooperation with the state network Swedish Military Heritage (SMHA), with Leif Nilsson as project leader. Objects were loaned from the Naval Museum’s collections. Visitors could view the exhibition throughout the 2012 season.