The K class was a class of three

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular ...

s designed in the late 1930s to replace the aging s of the Royal Netherlands Navy. Originally seven ships were planned of which three ships were laid down and two more ordered (which were canceled after the German invasion). Still incomplete at the start of the

German invasion of the Netherlands The German invasion of the Netherlands ( nl, Duitse aanval op Nederland), otherwise known as the Battle of the Netherlands ( nl, Slag om Nederland), was a military campaign part of Case Yellow (german: Fall Gelb), the Nazi German invasion of t ...

and not yet launched, the ships were found undamaged by the German forces. The

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with th ...

ordered the completion of ''K1'', ''K2'' and ''K3'', then commissioned them for service in Norwegian and German home waters. After the war only ''K3'' entered Dutch service as the ''Van Speijk''.

Construction

''K1'' and ''K3'' were laid down at the P. Smit Jr, Rotterdam shipyard in 1939. ''K2'' was laid down at Gusto N.V., Schiedam shipyard also in 1939. Still incomplete at the start of the German invasion of the Netherlands and not yet launched, the ships were found undamaged by the German forces and the Kriegsmarine ordered the completion of ''K1'', ''K2'' and ''K3''. ''K1'' was launched on 23 November 1940. Both ''K2'' and ''K3'' were launched in 1941 on 28 June and 22 March. The ships were commissioned in 1941 and 1942.

Service history

The ships saw service in Norwegian and German home waters. ''K1'' sank near

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwes ...

on 5 May 1945. ''K2'' was found in

Horten is a town and municipality in Vestfold in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway—located along the Oslofjord. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Horten. The municipality also includes the town of Åsgårdstrand ...

in 1945 and towed back to the

Delfzijl Delfzijl (; gos, Delfsiel) is a city and former municipality with a population of 25,651 in the province of Groningen in the northeast of the Netherlands. Delfzijl was a sluice between the Delf and the Ems, which became fortified settlement in ...

where she sank by accident in November of that year. The ship was raised the next year on 26 July and towed 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 ...

where she was sold for scrap in October 1947 after inspection. After the war only ''K3'' entered Dutch service as the ''Van Speijk'' after she was repaired at the Rijkswerf at Amsterdam. The ship was sold for scrap 29 August 1960.

Ships

External links

Description of class
{{WWII Dutch ships Sloops of the Royal Netherlands Navy Ships built in the Netherlands World War II naval ships of Germany