HNLMS Koning der Nederlanden
 Koning der Nederlanden after she became an accommodation hulk
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Royal Netherlands Navy | |
| Name | Koning der Nederlanden |
| Namesake | King of the Netherlands |
| Builder | Rijkswerf, Amsterdam |
| Laid down | 31 December 1871 |
| Launched | 28 October 1874 |
| Commissioned | 16 February 1877 |
| Decommissioned | 1 April 1895 |
| Reclassified | 1 December 1899 as accommodation and guard ship |
| Fate | Scuttled 2 March 1942 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Ironclad turret ship |
| Displacement | 5,400 metric tons (5,300 long tons) |
| Length | 268 ft 4 in (81.8 m) (p/p) |
| Beam | 49 ft 10 in (15.2 m) |
| Draught | 19 ft 3 in (5.9 m) |
| Installed power | 4,630 ihp (3,450 kW) |
| Propulsion | list error: <br /> list (help) 2 shafts, 2 Compound steam engines 7 boilers |
| Sail plan | Barque-rigged |
| Speed | 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Complement | 256 |
| Armament | list error: <br /> list (help) 2 × 2 - 11-inch (279 mm) muzzle-loading rifles 4 × 1 - 120 mm (5 in) Krupp breech-loading guns 6 × 1 - 37-millimetre (1.5 in) Hotchkiss 5-barreled revolving guns |
| Armour | list error: <br /> list (help) Belt: 150–200 mm (6–8 in) Gun turrets: 230–305 mm (9–12 in) |
HNLMS Koning der Nederlanden (Dutch: Zr.Ms. Koning der Nederlanden) was an iron-hulled ironclad turret ship built for the Royal Netherlands Navy in the early 1870s. She was the largest ship to serve in the Dutch Navy during the 19th century. The ship was converted to a barracks ship in the late 1890s and stationed in Surabaya in the Dutch East Indies. Koning der Nederlanden was scuttled in Surabaya on 2 March 1942, during the Battle of Java, to prevent her capture by the Japanese.
Design and description
HNLMS Koning der Nederlanden was the largest ship built for the Dutch Navy during the 19th century.[1] She was fitted with a ram that protruded 1.22 meters (4 ft 0 in) from the bow. The ship's gun turrets were only 3.3 meters (10 ft 10 in) above the waterline, but the freeboard could be increased by use of hinged bulwarks. The turrets were rotated by hydraulic machinery.[1]
The ship had an length between perpendiculars of 268 feet 4 inches (81.8 m), a beam of 49 feet 10 inches (15.2 m), and a draught of 19 feet 3 inches (5.87 m). She displaced 5,400 tonnes (5,300 long tons). Her crew consisted of 256 officers and men.[1]
Propulsion
Koning der Nederlanden had two compound steam engines, built by Penn and Sons,[2] each driving a single 4.876-meter (16.0 ft) propeller. The engines were powered by seven boilers. The engines produced a total of 4,630 indicated horsepower (3,450 kW) which gave the ship a maximum speed of 11.95 knots (22.13 km/h; 13.75 mph) during her sea trials that began on 26 July 1877. She carried 620 long tons (630 t) of coal and had three funnels. The ship was barque-rigged with three masts and had a total sail area of 847 square meters (9,120 sq ft).[3]
Armament
The ship mounted a pair of Armstrong 11-inch (279 mm) rifled muzzle-loading guns in each gun turret. Each gun weighed 25.4 long tons (25.8 t). Four 120-millimeter (4.7 in) Krupp breech-loading guns were mounted on the upper deck and six 37-millimeter (1.5 in) Hotchkiss 5-barrel revolving guns were also fitted in the ship's superstructure.[4] They fired a shell weighing about 1.1 lb (0.50 kg) at a muzzle velocity of about 2,000 ft/s (610 m/s) to a range about 3,500 yards (3,200 m). They had a rate of fire of about 30 rounds per minute[5] The ship was initially armed with spar torpedoes, but they were removed shortly after completion.[1]
Armor
Koning der Nederlanden had a complete waterline belt of wrought iron that was 200 millimeters (7.9 in) thick amidships, but reduced to 150 millimeters (5.9 in) at the bow and stern. Each gun turret, and its base, was protected by 230-millimeter (9.1 in) armor plates, although the total thickness around the gun ports was 305 millimeters (12 in). The deck was unarmored.[3]
Service
Koning der Nederlanden was laid down at the Rijkswerf in Amsterdam on 31 December 1871. She was launched on 20 October 1874 and commissioned on 16 February 1877.[1] During construction the ship designed by B.J. Tideman was renamed from Matador to Koning der Nederlanden.[6] The 37-millimeter guns were replaced by two quick-firing, 75-millimeter (3.0 in) guns and four 37-millimeter quick-firers by 1890. The ship decommissioned on 1 April 1895 and began her conversion to an accommodation and guard ship at Surabaya Dockyard in August 1896. She retained all four of her 120-millimeter and two of her 37-millimeter guns when she recommissioned on 1 December 1899.[1] From 1916 to 1923 she based in Soerabaja in the Dutch East Indies and was attached to the Submarine Service and served as submarine depot ship. The Koning der Nederlanden was relieved from this role by the ship Pelikaan.[7] She was set on fire in Surabaya and then scuttled to prevent her capture by the Japanese during World War II on 2 March 1942.[1]
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g Dutch Ironclads Prins Hendrik and Konig der Nederlanden, pp. 200–201
- ^ Silverstone, p. 341
- ^ a b Dutch Ironclads Prins Hendrik and Konig der Nederlanden, p. 201
- ^ Dutch Ironclads Prins Hendrik and Konig der Nederlanden, p. 200
- ^ "United States of America 1-pdr (0.45 kg) 1.46" (37 mm) Marks 1 through 15". Navweps.com. 15 August 2008. Retrieved 22 December 2009.
- ^ "scheepvaartmuseum.nl :: Maritieme kalender 1872". Retrieved March 12, 2013.
- ^ "Tender Koning der Nederlanden". Dutchsubmarines.com. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
References
- Gardiner, Robert, ed. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4.
- "Dutch Ironclads Prins Hendrik and Konig der Nederlanden". Warship International. IX (2). Toledo, OH: Naval Records Club: 199–200. 1972.
- Silverstone, Paul H. (1984). Directory of the World's Capital Ships. New York: Hippocrene Books. ISBN 0-88254-979-0.