Being the only Swedish shipgirl, she is often portrayed with distinctive Swedish things (surströmming for example). She is also associated with sheep. This is probably due to her namesake island's coat of arms depicting a ram. Due to her unusually friendly and casual attitude with the Admiral, she is often portrayed as manipulating them and the shipgirls to think she was there since the beginning. This personality trait likely stems from the fact that Swedes are generally very casual with others, even those of a higher rank or standing, in contrast to the more formal Japanese.
The historical Gotland did not see any active combat during World War II due to Sweden's official stance of neutrality. She became known for spotting Bismarck as the latter broke out of the Baltic Sea, leading to the final battle of Bismarck. Gotland survived the war and was scrapped in 1963.
