HNLMS ''Tonijn'' (Dutch: ''

Thunnus ''Thunnus'' is a genus of ocean-dwelling, ray-finned bony fish from the mackerel family, Scombridae. More specifically, ''Thunnus'' is one of five genera which make up the tribe Thunnini – a tribe that is collectively known as the tunas. Also ...

'') was a ''Potvis''-class

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

(modified ) of the

Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy ( nl, Koninklijke Marine, links=no) is the naval force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. During the 17th century, the navy of the Dutch Republic (1581–1795) was one of the most powerful naval forces in the world an ...

Ship history

The submarine was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

on 26 October 1962 at the ''Wilton-Fijenoord'' shipyard in

Schiedam Schiedam () is a city and municipality in the west of the Netherlands. It is located in the Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan area, west of Rotterdam, east of Vlaardingen, and south of Delft. In the south the city is connected with the village ...

and launched on 14 June 1965. 24 February 1966 she was commissioned in the Dutch navy. While on exercise northwest of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, she received the news that the submarine ''

Walrus The walrus (''Odobenus rosmarus'') is a large pinniped, flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in ...

'' had gone missing. ''Tonijn'' participated in the search for the boat on 16 December 1968. It turned out ''Walrus'' was not lost but had lost radio contact due to a malfunction. From 18 to 28 July 1976 ''Tonijn'' made a visit to

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...

to participate in the

Kieler Woche The Kiel Week (german: Kieler Woche) or Kiel Regatta is an annual sailing event in Kiel, the capital of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the largest sailing event in Europe, and also one of the largest Volksfeste in Germany, attracting m ...

. Later that year she visited

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

from 11 to 14 September. In September 1979 after fires broke out in the port engine room and starboard engine room assisted in towing the boat to

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. The boat was in serious trouble as she also suffered from ''battery depletion'' that was performed at the time the fires broke out leaving the boat with 10% battery power. Den helder - texel 033

On 16 October a refit of the boat began at a dry-docked in Rotterdam. This lasted until 11 December 1979. In 1984 the boat participated in an exercise at

Zeebrugge Zeebrugge (, from: ''Brugge aan zee'' meaning "Bruges at Sea", french: Zeebruges) is a village on the coast of Belgium and a subdivision of Bruges, for which it is the modern port. Zeebrugge serves as both the international port of Bruges-Zeeb ...

with and the . The boat made a trip to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

in 1990 and later that year to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. On 10 January 1991 the boat was decommissioned. ''Tonijn'' is preserved as a museum boat at the

Dutch Navy Museum The Dutch Navy Museum is a naval museum in Den Helder, Netherlands. The museum is dedicated to the history of the ''Koninklijke Marine'' ( Royal Netherlands Navy). The most important ships the museum owns are: * (minesweeper) * ( ironclad ram) ...

Den Helder Den Helder () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Den Helder occupies the northernmost point of the North Holland peninsula. It is home to the country's main naval base. From here the Royal TESO fe ...

and open to the public since the summer of 1994.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tonijn 1965 ships Ships built by Wilton-Fijenoord Dolfijn-class submarines Museum ships in the Netherlands Submarines built by Wilton-Fijenoord