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Holland-class destroyer

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For other ship classes, see Holland-class.
HNLMS Holland
Class overview
NameHolland class
Builders
Operators
Preceded byTemplate:Sclass-
Succeeded byTemplate:Sclass-
Built1950-1955
In commission1954–1986
Planned6
Completed4
Cancelled2
General characteristics [1]
TypeDestroyer
Displacement
  • 2,150 long tons (2,185 t) standard
  • 2,600 long tons (2,642 t) full load
Length113.1 m (371 ft 1 in)
Beam11.4 m (37 ft 5 in)
Draught5.1 m (16 ft 9 in)
Propulsion2 shaft geared turbines, 2 boilers, 45,000 hp (33,556 kW)
Speed32 knots (37 mph; 59 km/h)
Range4,000 nmi (7,400 km) at 18 kn (33 km/h)
Complement247
Armament

The Holland-class destroyers were built for the Royal Netherlands Navy in the 1950s. They were the first major ships designed and built by the Dutch after World War II. In contrast to previous Dutch Navy practice the ships were named after provinces rather than admirals.

History

The Second World War had a devastating impact on the fleets of the Royal Netherlands Navy, many surface vessels and submarines were detroyed, either in battle or by mines, and some were scuttled to prevent capture by the enemy.[2][3] The most noteably surface vessels that were destroyed during the war were the HNLMS Java, Sumatra and De Ruyter. This meant that the Royal Netherlands Navy lost its teeth and was dependend on outdated and less powerfull ships such as the light cruisers HNLMS Tromp and HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck. Thus when important members of the navy were able to meet for the first time in The Hague in 1945, they were faced with a huge challenge of rebuilding the fragile fleet of the Royal Netherlands Navy at the time. The navy leadership had not sit still during the Second World War and had laid out what kind of ships needed to be built and how many of each class.[4] The only obstacle was that there was barely any money left in the defence budget to put these plans into motion. The reason for this was that the Netherlands and its biggest colony, the Dutch East Indies had been occupied by foreign invaders during the war and a lot of infrastructure had been damaged during the fighting.[5] This meant that a lot of money had to be dedicated to rebuilding infrastructure and to get the economy going again.

Nonetheless, the navy did what it could do and started designing new ships and making sure that preparatory work for rebuilding the fleet was started. Destroyers were one of the ship classes prioritized during the rebuilding effort, since they had shown their worth during the Second World War and the Netherlands had decided to specialize in Anti-Submarine Warfare.[6] Dutch naval experts at the time were especially urging the Royal Netherlands Navy to invest into submarine destroyers, since they predicted that these kind of ships would play a major role in future naval conflicts.[7][8] This jugdement was based on how the role of submarines had evolved since the First World War when looking back at the how succesfull they were in the following Second World War. They also recommended how they should be equipped and what tactics should be used to succesfully counter submarines in battle.[9] The base requirements set by the Royal Netherlands Navy for the Submarine dsestroyer 1947-class destroyers, as they were known at this time, reflected these recommendations.[2] However, besides being able to take out enemy submarines the requirements also included protection against radioactivity and the ability to perform coastal bombardments. On the other hand, torpedo attacks on other surface ships were not included in the design of the destroyers.[4]

In 1948, six hunters of the twelve planned destroyers were ordered.[10] The four Holland-class destroyers were to be built by three different shipyards. The HNLMS Holland was built by the Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij and the HNLMS Gelderland by Wilton-Fijenoord, while Koninklijke Maatschappij de Schelde built the remaining two ships; HNLMS Noord-Brabant and the HNLMS Zeeland. The construction of took longer than expected because they were the first destroyers designed after the Second World War. The Royal Netherlands Navy had not built any new ships for more than five years and there had been many technological advancements in the meanwhile, to implement these advancements took more time than expected.[11] There was also serious doubts about the stability of the new vessels, which resulted in extra measures such as building the mast construction with aluminum instead of steel.[2] Another reason why the construction of the destroyers were delayed was due to financial problems of the Dutch navy. The navy spend a lot of money to perform maintenance on the old and oudated ships that it had in its inventory. Furthermore, the construction of the Holland-class destroyers costed more than estimated. To save costs and especially time, the navy was in dire need of modern ships to replace some of its pre-war material, the four destroyers were provided with equipment that was built during the Second World War for the German Navy.[4] In addition to these four submarine destroyers, two more other destroyers were planned to be built, but due to cost savings the construction of these ships was postponed.[2] Nonetheless, on 30 December 1954 the first Holland-class destroyer,Holland, was completed and takin into active service.[12] She was followed by the Zeeland, Noord-Brabant, Gelderland, these ships were commissioned in 1955.

All four destroyers of the Holland-class served for many years in the Royal Netherlands Navy until they were taken out of service in the 1970s.

Design

These ships were unusual as they were the first destroyers built without large calibre anti-ship torpedoes. Their primary role was anti-submarine warfare and convoy defence. The specification was issued in 1947 and construction was approved in 1948.[13]

Armament

The armament comprised two twin Bofors 120 mm guns which were capable of 45 rounds per minute. The mountings were automated and stabilised with radar control and 720 rounds were stored per mounting. Initially British 4.5 inch twin Mk 6 mountings were considered but rejected due to complexity, man power requirements (19 men per mounting) and dependence on hydraulics for operation.[14] The close range anti aircraft armament was reduced to a single Bofors 40 mm gun due to the heavy top weight of the 120 mm mountings. Anti-submarine weaponry consisted of two quadruple Bofors 357mm anti-submarine mortars sited in B position forward of the bridge.

Machinery

The turbine machinery was ordered before the war for the Template:Sclass-s and hidden during the German occupation. The turbines were built by Werkspoor and four boilers were used. The ships had a unit machinery layout with alternating boiler rooms and turbine rooms.

Sensors

The radars were designed by Hollandse Signaal Apparaten; The ZW-01 provided surface warning, the DA-01 provided medium range surveillance and the LW-02 long range surveillance. Fire control was provided by the GA-03 and KA-01 radars. Sonars PAE-1N and \\cwe-10 were also fitted.[15]

The superstructure was built of aluminium alloy in order to reduce weight and electric welding was used throughout.

The Netherlands navy considered replacing the after 120 mm turret with a guided missile system in the late 1950s but this project was cancelled.

Ships

Ship Pennant
number 		Builder[4] Laid down Launched Commissioned Fate
Holland D808 RDM, Rotterdam 21 April 1950 11 April 1953 31 December 1954 Sold to the Peruvian Navy in 1978, as the BAP García y García, struck 1986
Zeeland D809 KM de Schelde, Vlissingen 21 January 1951 27 June 1953 1 March 1955 Decommissioned 1979
Noord-Brabant D810 KM de Schelde 1 March 1951 28 November 1953 1 June 1955 Decommissioned 1974, following damage in collision
Gelderland D811 Wilton-Fijenoord, Schiedam 10 March 1951 19 September 1953 17 August 1955 Decommissioned 1973

References

Notes
  1. ^ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995
  2. ^ a b c d "Onderzeebootjagers". www.navyinside.nl. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  3. ^ Harry de Bles, Graddy Boven and Leon Homburg, "Onderzeeboten!" (2006) p. 95.
  4. ^ a b c d "Hollandklasse onderzeebootjagers". Retrieved 2015-03-29.
  5. ^ "Een eeuw onderzeeboten". www.maritiemnederland.com. 20 September 2006. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  6. ^ Eric W. Osborne, "Destroyers: An Illustrated History of Their Impact (Weapons and Warfare)" (2005) p.126-127
  7. ^ J.G. Cox, "Onderzeeboot-bestrijding" in: Militaire Spectator - Wetenschappelijke jaarberichten 118 (1949) p.26.
  8. ^ J.F.W. Nuboer, "Zeestrijdkrachten" in: Militaire Spectator - Wetenschappelijke jaarberichten 117 (1948) p.19.
  9. ^ J.G. Cox, "Onderzeeboot-bestrijding " in: Militaire Spectator - Wetenschappelijke jaarberichten 118 (1949) p.25-29.
  10. ^ "Onmiddelijke bouw van zes onderzeebootjagers: Zelfstandige verdediging van onze belangen niet mogelijk" in: Dagblad De Tijd van 30 September 1948 - Jaargang 4 No. 33933 (1948) p.2
  11. ^ Onderzeebootjager "Holland", RDM-Personeelsblad "De Wekker", March 1954, p. 2.
  12. ^ Hr. Ms. "Holland", RDM-Personeelsblad "De Wekker", January 1955, p. 2
  13. ^ Hank Visser, The Netherlands type 47A destroyer in Warship 2016 Conway's Maritime Press pp182-185
  14. ^ Hank Visser, The Netherlands type 47A destroyer in Warship 2016 Conway's Maritime Press pp182-185
  15. ^ Hank Visser, The Netherlands type 47A destroyer in Warship 2016 Conway's Maritime Press pp182-185
Sources
  • Gardiner, Robert (ed.) (1995). Conway's all the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995. London: Conway Maritime. ISBN 0-85177-605-1. OCLC 34284130. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help) Also published as Gardiner, Robert; Chumbley, Stephen; Budzbon, Przemysław (1995). Conway's all the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-132-7. OCLC 34267261.
  • Amstel, W.H.E. van (1991). De schepen van de Koninklijke Marine vanaf 1945. Alkmaar: De Alk. ISBN 9060139976.
  • Brobbel, Henk (2008). Hr. Ms. Holland: de parel van het eskader. Soest: Boekscout VOF. ISBN 9789088342820.
  • Moens, J.; Muller, W.; Bernhard, R. (1970). D810: Hr. Ms. Noord-Brabant.
  • Mark, Chris (2005). Onderzeebootjagers van de Holland- en Friesland-klasse. Amsterdam: Stichting Vrienden van de Koninklijke Marine. ISBN 9051230044.


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