The ''Douwe Aukes'' class (also known as the ''Van Meerlant'' class and the ''Aukes'' class) were two

minelayer A minelayer is any warship, submarine, military aircraft or land vehicle deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for ins ...

s built for the

Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy (, ) is the Navy, maritime service branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It traces its history to 8 January 1488, making it the List of navies, third-oldest navy in the world. During the 17th and early 18th centurie ...

during the 1920s. The two ships were built at the Gusto shipyard in

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

. Construction began in 1919 and was completed in 1922. Built to serve in the Dutch territorial waters, both ships were still in service during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and they both escaped to the United Kingdom, on 14 May and on 18 May 1940. Both vessels were transferred to the British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. ''Van Meerlant'' was sunk by a

mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging *Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun M ...

in 1941 while in British service. ''Douwe Aukes'' was returned to the Royal Netherlands Navy following the war and was used as a

depot ship A depot ship is an auxiliary ship used as a mobile or fixed base for submarines, destroyers, minesweepers, fast attack craft, landing craft, or other small ships with similarly limited space for maintenance equipment and crew dining, berthing an ...

until sold for

scrap Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap can have monetary value, especially recover ...

in 1962.

Description

The ''Douwe Aukes'' class was an improved version of the preceding s. The ''Douwe Aukes'' class had a

standard displacement The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into wei ...

of and at normal loads. They measured

long between perpendiculars Length between perpendiculars (often abbreviated as p/p, p.p., pp, LPP, LBP or Length BPP) is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the stern ...

with a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Radio beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially lo ...

of and a draught of . The minelayers were powered by steam from two

Yarrow boiler Yarrow boilers are an important class of high-pressure water-tube boilers. They were developed by Yarrow Shipbuilders, Yarrow & Co. (London), Shipbuilders and Engineers and were widely used on ships, particularly warships. The Yarrow boiler desi ...

s to two

vertical triple expansion A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure (HP) cylinder, then having given up heat ...

engines each turning a

shaft Shaft may refer to: Rotating machine elements * Shaft (mechanical engineering), a rotating machine element used to transmit power * Line shaft, a power transmission system * Drive shaft, a shaft for transferring torque * Axle, a shaft around whi ...

. The system was rated at . The vessels carried of

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

as fuel and had a maximum speed of . The ''Douwe Aukes'' class had a complement of 60 officers and ratings. Both vessels were initially armed with three single-mounted 40-

calibre In guns, particularly firearms, but not artillery, where a different definition may apply, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel bore – regardless of how or wher ...

semi-automatic guns and two single-mounted

anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...

(AA) machine guns. They carried 60

naval mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive weapon placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Similar to anti-personnel mine, anti-personnel and other land mines, and unlike purpose launched naval depth charges, they are ...

s. Though they were larger than the ''Hydra'' class, they carried ten less mines. In British service, ''Douwe Aukes'' was converted to a

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

escort and re-armed with one 75 mm gun AA gun, two single-mounted 2-pounder guns and two cannon.

Ships in class

Construction and career

Following the end of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the Dutch government created a commission to give recommendations about the future of naval planning in light of developments during the war and in the treaties that followed. The commission recommended that in the Netherlands coastal waters,

priority was to be given to defend approaches to river mouths as the mostly like source of attack was by land. In response to that recommendation, ''Van Merleent'' launched in 1920 and completed in 1922. ''Douwe Aukes'' was launched and completed that same year. With the

German invasion of the Netherlands The German invasion of the Netherlands (), otherwise known as the Battle of the Netherlands (), was a military campaign, part of Case Yellow (), the Nazi German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands) and Fran ...

in 1940, and the defeat of the nation, ''Douwe Aukes'' and ''Van Merleent'' both sailed for the United Kingdom in May. ''Van Merleent'' was transferred to British

service on 14 March 1941. ''Douwe Aukes'' was converted to a convoy escort leader and transferred to Royal Navy service on 29 April 1941. ''Van Merleent'' did not survive much longer when on 4 June 1941, the vessel was mined and sunk in the

Thames River The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the ...

estuary. ''Douwe Aukes'' survived the war and was returned to the Royal Netherlands Navy in 1945. In 1948, the vessel was converted to a

and remained as such until

scrapped Scrap consists of recyclable Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. This concept often includes the recovery of energy from waste materials. The recyclability of a material depends on i ...

in 1962.

Notes

Citations

Sources

* * *

External links

netherlandsnavy.nl : Douwe Aukes-class minelayers
{{WWII Dutch ships Mine warfare vessel classes