Fredrik Chapman Swedish shipbuilder, shipbuilding theorist. Date of Birth: 09.09.1721 Country: Sweden

Biography of Fredrik Chapman

Fredrik Chapman was a Swedish shipbuilder and theoretician of shipbuilding. He was born on September 9, 1721, in Gothenburg. His father, Major Thomas Chapman (1679-1770), migrated from England in 1715 and served in the Gothenburg squadron, while his mother was Susanna Colson. At the age of 15, Chapman went to Stockholm to study shipbuilding. After completing his education, he embarked on a trip abroad.

During his stay in England in 1741, Chapman's private visits to shipyards raised suspicion, and he was arrested but soon released. Following this incident, Chapman was offered a position in the English service, which he declined. After working as a carpenter in London for over two years, he returned to Gothenburg in 1744 where he co-founded a shipyard with a companion.

From 1752 to 1756, Chapman continued his education by visiting France, England, and the Netherlands. In 1757, he was appointed as a junior shipbuilder in the Swedish naval fleet. Field Marshal Augustin Ehrensvard, who aimed to create a fleet suitable for operations in the archipelago, approached Chapman with this idea. According to his own designs, Chapman was tasked with building several ships to protect the coast of Finland. The construction took place in Stralsund, where two ships belonging to the new type were launched and named "Turum" and "Udema."

As a shipbuilder, Chapman was assigned to the Finnish squadron in the rank of shipbuilding master. In 1760, he moved to Sveaborg, where he created two more types of vessels called "Hemmemu" and "Poiemu." In 1764, he was appointed as the chief shipbuilding master and recalled to Stockholm, where his ideas for creating new types of ships garnered interest.

In 1768, the first gunboat was built according to Chapman's plans, followed by several gun yawls. In 1764, Chapman was selected to be part of a delegation on the classification of types of warships. Later, during the reign of Gustav III, he was appointed as a member of the committee for creating a new military fleet. In 1776, his plan for the construction of new ships was accepted. In the same year, he became a colonel at the Admiralty and a member of the Admiralty Board. In 1781, he was entrusted with the supervision of ship construction at the Karlskrona shipyard. In 1782, he also took charge of ship outfitting and artillery supply.

In 1783, Chapman received the rank of Rear Admiral, and in 1791, Vice Admiral. He retired in 1793, but his salary was retained. From 1781 to 1790, he oversaw the construction of eleven line-of-battle ships, an equal number of frigates, and several smaller vessels. In 1768, he published the work "Architectura Navalis Mercatoria," which was quickly translated into many languages. In 1775, he published "Tractat om skeppsbyggeriet" (Treatise on Shipbuilding). In the following years, he released several smaller works, and in 1806, he published "An Attempt at Theoretical Justification for Giving Line-of-Battle Ships and Frigates Their Correct Forms."

Chapman became a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1767 and an honorary member of the Military Academy in 1804. He passed away on August 19, 1808, and was never married. His works include "Architectura Navalis Mercatoria" (1768), "Tractat om skeppsbyggeriet" (1775), and "An Attempt at Theoretical Justification for Giving Line-of-Battle Ships and Frigates Their Correct Forms" (1806).