Sovereign of the Seas – The ship was designed in 1634 by Phineas Pett and was the first ship to have three full gun decks, carrying 102 guns on the orders of King Charles I instead of the 90 originally planned. No expense was spared in her construction. All her guns were made from bronze instead of cast iron which meant their construction was four times more expensive.

The construction of Sovereign of the Seas was part of Charles I's plan to overawe possible enemies, primarily the Dutch and Spanish, with England's naval power. Her first engagement was the Battle of Kentish Knock during the First Dutch War on 28 September 1652. Her career came to an abrupt end when she accidentally caught fire at Chatham on 27 January 1696.

During the Thirty Years' War King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden ordered the building of a considerable number of large warships. They included the WASA which was already under construction and was originally to be called NY WASSAN. The total cost of building the vessel was approximately 100,000 imperial talers.

By July the 31st of 1628 all the cannons were on board and an the 10th of August of 1628 between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. the WASA set sail on her maiden voyage. Once she was some way out to sea, she caught the wind in her sails. A few minutes later, a sudden squall forced the ship onto her side and first attempts to right her were unsuccessful. At the island of Beckholmen the WASA sank in 32 m of water. Salvage Operations began on l3th August 1628 and succeeded in bringing the WASA onto an even keel. However, it was not until 20th August 1959 that she was able to be raised for the first time by means of two pontoons. After 28 days a tug-boat towed the WASA 500 m to shallow water. By April 24th of 1961 all the preparations for raising the WASA out of the water had been completed.