The name of Steen Andersen Bille is closely associated with one extended Bille family of Danish naval officers over several generations.
In a direct line from one Vice-Commandant of the City of Copenhagen in the later 17th century, a long list of distinguished Danish naval officers emerged – including six admirals, two commanders and six captains. Many of these had the same name as their progenitor.
Progenitor
Colonel and Vice-Commandant of Copenhagen, Steen Andersen Bille (1624–1698).
Many members of the Bille family from Steen Andersen Bille (1751–1833) and his wife onwards are buried at the Cemetery of Holmen (Danish: Holmens Kirkegård) in Copenhagen.
Bille
Two ships have been named Bille in relatively recent times in the Royal Danish Navy:[4]
Bille (1946) a torpedo boat with a speed of 29 knots. Decommissioned 1959[5][6]
Bille (1976) a Willemoes-class torpedo boat, later fitted with two harpoon missiles. Named after Admiral S A Bille (1751–1833)[7][8]
Notes
^Captain Just Bille may have been an army captain, as he left a debt to the Bornholm Infantry regiment. He does not have his own section in the Topsøe-Jensen book on naval officers
^Mathias Bille died after a hurricane on Ireland’s NW coast.
^Søren Bille was with the brig Lougen in 1793-4 in the Danish West Indies. In 1801 he was second-in-command of the blockship Cronborg when he was wounded in the Battle of Copenhagen, but still assumed command after the death of the captain. He recaptured Allart on 10 August 1809. In 1814, when Norway and Denmark separated, he joined the Norwegian navy.
^A further seven Danish naval officers with the surname Bille, but apparently unrelated to Steen Andersen Bille, are listed by Topsøe-Jensen. These are Anders, Christian Lodberg, Gabriel, Gerhardt Sivert, Hans Martin, Jørgen, and Lars.
(in Danish)T. A. Topsøe-Jensen og Emil Marquard (1935) “Officerer i den dansk-norske Søetat 1660-1814 og den danske Søetat 1814-1932“. Volume 1 and Volume 2