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Royal Netherlands Navy

Era: WW2 · Source: Naval Wargames Society

Complete order of battle and ship statistics for the Royal Netherlands Navy, including vessels lost in the Dutch East Indies campaign.

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The Royal Netherlands Navy in “Victory at Sea” Page 1 of 30 The Royal Netherlands Navy in “Victory at Sea” From its heyday in the 17th century the fleet that became Royal Netherlands Navy shrank to become one of the smaller but more professional navies of Europe. Dutch neutrality during WW1 left the Netherlands with a compact fleet and no ships bigger than a cruiser, although plans for a modest battleship were developed. In the post war environment the Dutch built a balanced fleet of cruisers and destroyers aimed primarily at patrolling their possessions in the Netherlands East Indies (NEI); in contrast the fleet at Home was little more than a coastal defence force; hopes of remaining neutral as they had done in 1914 were high in the minds of the Dutch government. A class of battlecruisers, modelled initially on the German “Scharnhorst” design, were planned but had not come to fruition by the time that war broke out. The rapid capitulation of the Netherlands to the German blitzkrieg in May 1940 saw the inevitable exodus of ships and personnel across the Channel and the formation of the Dutch Navy in exile, headquartered in London. However, the bulk of the Dutch fleet was based in the East Indies and thus became available to the Allied cause by virtue of their location. These forces were in the forefront of Allied efforts to thwart Japanese expansion immediately after Pearl Harbor and the sinking of Force Z, contributing to the Allied “ABDA” forces (America, Britain, Dutch, Australia). The main ABDA force, commanded by Dutch Admiral Doorman, fought a series of valiant but ultimately unsuccessful actions against the Japanese, finally being overwhelmed at the battle of the Java Sea in which both Java and De Ruyter were lost to Japanese torpedoes. Nevertheless the Royal Netherlands navy fought on alongside its allies, principally the Royal Navy. Although the RNlN did not operate conventional aircraft carriers they did man two Merchant Aircraft Carriers, Gadila and Macoma (MAC ships – essentially a transport ship with a flight deck added above the holds) from which the naval air arm of the RNlN operated Swordfish in the convoy protection role. The Dutch were also particularly keen on coastal forces vessels and took over dozens of RN torpedo boats and gunboats during the war. Although small the Dutch fleet did pioneer several interesting innovations; Dutch fire control equipment was (and still is today) amongst the finest in the world, the Hazemeyer stabilised AA gun mount was a fine piece of work especially when coupled to British fire control radar (perhaps ahead of its time, since reliability was an issue) whilst the Dutch also invented an interesting apparatus that allowed submarines to run their diesels whilst submerged; this was snapped up by the invading Germans and went to see on countless U Boats as the “schnorkel”. The Dutch were also nothing if not ambitious. The Dutch navy in exile was keen to take the fight to the enemy in any way they could, and seriously considered purchasing the old US battleships New York and Texas, although funding and manning issues made this plan a non-starter. However, for an interesting “what if” fleet the ship stats from the VAS rulebook can be used “as is”. It is interesting to speculate whether the former USS New York would have been renamed New Amsterdam in a reversal of the name change enjoyed by the city that bore the ship’s name! As with many “navies in exile” it is important to remember the distinctions between their original states and the form that they took once they had joined the Allied cause. A fleet representing the pre-1940 Netherlands navy should not therefore use ex-British ships, or use amended stats for ships refitted in Britain.

The Royal Netherlands Navy in “Victory at Sea” Page 2 of 30 The RNlN Fleet List The following forms the fleet list for the Royal Netherlands Navy. Priority Level: Patrol Van Ghent class destroyer Van Galen class destroyer Tjerk Hiddes class destroyer Isaac Sweers Class destroyer N Class Destroyer Flower class corvette Flores class gunboat (x2) Van Kinsbergen class sloop Tromp class cruiser K.XI class submarine O9 class submarine O12 class submarine K.XIV class submersible O16 class submersible O19 class submersible O21 class submersible Merchant Aircraft Carrier Brewster Buffalo (4 flights) Fokker D.XXI (4 flights) Fokker G.1A (3 flights) Fokker C.X (4 flights) Priority Level: Skirmish De Zeven Provincien class coastal defence ship Sumatra class cruiser De Ruyter class cruiser Provincien class cruiser Priority Level: Battle Project 1047 class battlecruiser Ex HMS Tiger

The Royal Netherlands Navy in “Victory at Sea” Page 3 of 30 Project 1047 class battlecruiser Ships of this class: Unknown (3 ships) This class of three ships was designed to defend Dutch possessions in the East Indies. Various design studies were completed, initially with German assistance based on the design of Scharnhorst. Later studies were completed in the Netherlands, to an improved design. German machinery was replaced with more reliable propulsion systems. The torpedo protection was improved over the German design and her armoured deck was well sited. The German main armament was retained, but hr secondary armament was dual purpose, serving in both the anti surface and anti aircraft role. The start of WW2 brought a premature close to the project. Had they been completed the ships of project 1047 would have been fine additions to the Royal Netherlands Navy. Speed: 7” Turning: 1 Target: 4+ Armour: 4+ Damage: 28/10 Crew: 42/14 Special Traits: Aircraft 3, Radar, Armoured Deck, Torpedo Belt In Service: 1944 (projected) Weapon Range AD DD Special A Turret (3 x 11in) 47” 3 1 B Turret (3 x 11in) 47” 3 1 Y Turret (3 x 11in) 47” 3 1 Secondary Armament 16” 3 1 Weak AAA 8” 6 - Length: 777 ft. Displacement: 27.950 tons Speed: 34 kts. Crew: 1,050

The Royal Netherlands Navy in “Victory at Sea” Page 4 of 30 Tiger class Battlecruiser Ships of this class: Tiger Tiger served with the Royal Navy through the First World War and into the 1920s before being decommissioned. At the time she was decommissioned in 1931 there was considerable interest from the Royal Netherlands Navy in purchasing the ship, the intention being to deploy her to the Dutch East Indies to replace some of the older armoured ships there. Unfortunately the plan came to naught, but if it had it was likely that Tiger would have been refitted in a similar manner to Renown. The stats below are conjectural, but are based on reasonable estimates of what could have been done/ Speed: 7” Turning: 1 Target: 4+ Armour: 4+ Damage: 36/12 Crew: 44/14 Special Traits: Torpedo Belt, Aircraft 2, Radar In Service: 1938 (refitted) Weapon Range AD DD Special A Turret (2 x 13.5”) 24” 2 2 AP B Turret (2 x 13.5”) 24” 2 2 AP X Turret (2 x 13.5”) 24” 2 2 AP Y Turret (2 x 13.5”) 24” 2 2 AP Secondary Armament 16” 3 1 Weak AAA 8” 6 - Length: 704 ft. Displacement: 36,000 tons Speed: 30 kts. Crew: 1,125

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