The 94-gun Svärdet was the Swedish admiral Claes Ugglas flagship. The ship was shot to pieces and set on fire by a Danish / Dutch fleet at the Battle of Öland's southern point. 600 seamen perished, including the admiral.

Marine archaelogist Lars Einarsson explained to Swedish media that substantial parts of the hull remains and that vessel can be visualised. Cannon has been observed. Marine Archaeology Professor Johan Ronnby said he is convinced the newly discovered wreck is that of Svärdet, making it one of four giant warships from the 16th and 17th centuries that have been recovered in the Baltic Sea.

Battle of Öland

The battle of Öland was a naval battle between an allied Dano-Norwegian-Dutch fleet and the Swedish navy in the Baltic Sea off the east coast of the island of Öland on 1 June 1676. The battle was a part of the Scanian War (1675–79) that was fought for supremacy over the southern Baltic. Sweden was in an urgent need of transferring reinforcements to its north German possessions while Denmark sought to ferry an army to Scania in southern Sweden to open up a front on Swedish soil.

Just as the battle begun the Swedish flagship Kronan foundered and sank with a loss of almost the entire crew, including the Admiral of the Realm and commander of the Swedish Navy, Lorentz Creutz. The allied force under the leadership of the Dutch admiral Cornelis Tromp took full advantage of the ensuing disorder on the Swedish side. The acting Swedish second-in-command after Creutz' sudden demise, admiral Claes Uggla, was surrounded and his flagship Svärdet battered in a drawn-out artillery duel and eventually set on fire by a fireship.