HNLMS ''Buffel'' is a 19th-century

ironclad An ironclad is a steam engine, steam-propelled warship protected by Wrought iron, iron or steel iron armor, armor plates, constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships ...

ram ship. She was one of the main attractions of the

Maritime Museum Rotterdam The Maritime Museum Rotterdam is a maritime museum in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Dedicated to naval history, it was founded in 1874 by Prince Henry of the Netherlands. Next to the Maritime Museum lies the open-air Maritime Museum Harbour, whic ...

, also known as the Prince Hendrik Museum, named after its founder, Prince Henry (Hendrik) "The Navigator", who had a naval career and established the basis of the museum back in 1874. In October 2013 the ship moved to

Hellevoetsluis Hellevoetsluis () is a small city and municipality in the western Netherlands. It is located in Voorne-Putten, South Holland. The municipality covers an area of of which is water and it includes the population centres Nieuw-Helvoet, Nieuwenh ...

and is again open for public.

Construction and design

Built in 1868 by

Robert Napier and Sons Messrs Robert Napier and Sons was a famous firm of Clyde shipbuilders and marine engineers at Govan, Glasgow founded by Robert Napier in 1826. It was moved to Govan for more space in 1841. His sons James and John were taken into partnership in 1 ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

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 th ...

, HNLMS ''Buffel'' was the first ship of the Royal Netherlands Navy without sails but with a

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be ...

and two

propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

s, that gave her a maximum speed of almost . Her radius of action at was about . Her main task as an armor-clad ram ship was to play a role in the Dutch coastal defense together with two

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...

s and two monitors. Her armament was first of all the ram on her bow, mainly against wooden ships, and originally two , Armstrong guns, with a total weight of 25

metric ton The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United State ...

s, in one turret. These were later replaced by a single gun, and the armament was enhanced by a couple of smaller guns; two , four , and two

Hotchkiss revolving cannon The Hotchkiss gun can refer to different products of the Hotchkiss arms company starting in the late 19th century. It usually refers to the 1.65-inch (42 mm) light mountain gun; there were also a navy (47 mm) and a 3-inch (76&nbs ...

s. The crew consisted of 150 officers, petty officers, and sailors.

Service record

The ship's only ocean voyage took place on her maiden trip in 1868 from Glasgow to

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 ...

. During the voyage, the vessel rolled very much and took on a lot of water. From that day on ''Buffel'' remained in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

(in accordance with her role) and her only foreign port of call was Antwerp, Belgium in 1871. ''Buffel'' participated in many national exercises with the

Royal Netherlands Army The Royal Netherlands Army ( nl, Koninklijke Landmacht) is the land branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Though the Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, its origins date back to 1572, when the was raised – making the Dut ...

until 1894 when she was retired from active duty. This was followed by a short, two-year period as a

training ship A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house classr ...

for and from 1896 she acted as a lodging or accommodation ship. She was berthed in several naval establishments in the Netherlands, the last 25 years mainly in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. She had the (

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

)

pennant number In the Royal Navy and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth of Nations, ships are identified by pennant number (an internationalisation of ''pendant number'', which it was called before 1948). Historically, naval ships flew a flag that iden ...

A 884 on her bow, A for Auxiliary and 8 as the first cipher for all Royal Netherlands naval ships. In 1973 ''Buffel'' was decommissioned. In 1974, the vessel was sold to the city of

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

to be modified into a

museum ship A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small num ...

. From 1979 she was opened for visitors. The ship was moved to Hellevoetsluis in 2013 in order to cut costs. ''Buffel'' arrived there on 5 October and was moored temporarily in the brick-built Jan Blanken dry dock. This was all done on a three-year lease. On 7 February 2015 she arrived at her final berthing place at the Koningskade 2, in Het Groote Dock in Hellevoetsluis, where a historic naval quarter has been developed. Positioned here are: ''Buffel'', ''Bernisse'', an old

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

, and ''Noord Hinder'' a former

lightship Lightship may refer to: * Lightvessel, a moored ship that has light beacons mounted as navigational aids * '' The Lightship'', a 1985 American drama film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski *''The Lightship (novel)'', by Siegfried Lenz on which the film ...

on the North Sea. The ship is now operated by volunteers from Stichting Museumschip de Buffel. In October 2016 Stichting Museumschip de Buffel decided not to renew the three year lease. The group of volunteers then took up the idea to try to save the historical value of the ship for the future. In co-operation with the municipal councils of Rotterdam and Hellevoetsluis, this will be tried out in the coming year 2017.

Bibliography

* * *

External links

Photo-collection on Dutch ironcladsStichting Ramtorenschip Buffel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buffel Museum ships in the Netherlands 19th-century naval ships of the Netherlands 1868 ships Tourist attractions in Rotterdam Naval ships of the Netherlands captured by Germany during World War II Buffel-class monitors Ships built on the River Clyde

Construction and design

Service record

See also

Bibliography

External links