Tromp-class cruiser
_(2158_004039).jpg) Lead of her class Tromp c. 1938
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Tromp class |
| Builders | Nederlandsche Scheepsbouw Mij |
| Operators |  Royal Netherlands Navy |
| Built | 1936–1940 |
| In commission | 1938–1969 |
| Planned | 2 |
| Completed | 2 |
| Retired | 2 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Flotilla leader or light cruiser |
| Displacement | 3,787 long tons (3,848 t) |
| Length | 131.9 m (433 ft) |
| Beam | 12.4 m (41 ft) |
| Draught | 4.6 m (15 ft) |
| Installed power | 56,000 shp (42,000 kW) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | |
| Armament |
|
| Armour |
|
| Aircraft carried | 1 × Fokker C.XIW floatplane (Tromp) |
The Tromp-class was a two ship series of light cruisers operated by the Royal Netherlands Navy between 1939 and 1969. Officially designated as flotilla leaders, the ships were built to also operate as torpedo and scout cruisers. The two ships, Tromp and Jacob van Heemskerck, were intended to defend the Dutch East Indies against Japan. By the start of World War II, only Tromp was in service: the uncompleted Heemskerck fled to the United Kingdom and was converted into an air-defense cruiser following the Invasion of the Netherlands. The two ships operated with either British or American fleets throughout Asia for the rest of the war, and participated in Allied offensives throughout the Indonesian Archipelago and western Pacific. During the early Cold War, the ships participated in several fleet maneuvers before they were reassigned as training ships and decomissioned in the late 1960s.
Development
[edit]During the Interwar period, the Dutch Navy was split between defending the Netherlands and the Dutch East Indies, particularly the island of Java. While the European fleet focused around minelaying, the flotilla in Asia relied on a combination of aircraft, destroyers, and submarines to identify and destroy an invading force near the coastline. Cruisers were vital in this doctrine, as they had the capability to sail out to sea and attack enemy convoys outside the Indonesian archipelago and serve as powerful escorts for allied vessels.[1]: 73–74
By 1927, the Great Depression had sapped the budget and strength of the Dutch military. Recognizing the need for post-depression rebuilding, the Navy proposed the Vlootplan Deckers (Deckers Fleet Plan) in 1930 to expand the East Indies fleet to a satisfactory size.[2]: 16–17, [14] The plan included two additional light cruisers, described as torpedo cruisers and scout cruisers, intended to operate as flotilla leaders. The two ships were envisioned as a fiscally efficient response to the Japanese Fubuki-class destroyers that outmatched comparable Dutch destroyers. doctrine called for the two ships to be fast enough to lead destroyers in combat while being armed well enough to overpower Japanese cruisers and destroyers.[2]: 21
,_presentatie_van_zij-_en_bovenaanzicht_van_de_dekken_(2158_011744).jpg)
Design
[edit]After the design was enlarged to the size of a cruiser for service in the East Indies, the ships displaced 3,787 long tons (3,848 t) and measured 131.9 m (433 ft) in length, with a beam of 12.4 m (41 ft) and a draft of 4.6 m (15 ft). Four oil-fired boilers turned two turbines and two propellers, which produced 56,000 shp (42,000 kW) and a design speed of 33.5 knots (62.0 km/h; 38.6 mph), although Tromp reached 34.5 knots (63.9 km/h; 39.7 mph) during her sea trials.[3]: 136–137
Their hulls were longitudinally subdivided into 17 torpedo bulkheads between 20–30 mm (0.79–1.18 in) thick that was reinforced by a double hull which extended for about 60% of the ships' length. The main deck was 15–25 mm (0.59–0.98 in) thick and was joined by a lower deck 25 mm (0.98 in) thick above the forward magazine and 16 mm (0.63 in) over the steering gear and aft magazine.[4]: 194 The turrets and barbettes were also 16 mm (0.63 in) thick, and the conning tower was protected by 13 mm (0.51 in) of armor.[3]: 137
Tromp was the only ship built to the initial design. She was fitted with three twin 15 cm (5.9 in) turrets–two mounted on the bow and one stern–and an anti-air compliment that consisted of two[a] twin 4.0 cm (40 mm) Bofors at the back of her forecastle deck and two twin 1.3 cm (.5 in) machine guns. She was also equipped with two triple 53 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes located midship on either side, a Fokker C.VIX floatplane, and a crane that lowered the aircraft into the water.[4]: 194 Jacob van Heemskerck was uncompleted when she fled the Netherlands during the German Invasion, and was instead fitted out by the Royal Navy who envisioned her as an anti-air cruiser. As such, she was fitted with five twin 260 cm (102 in) Mk XVI turrets: three in the same location as Tromp, and a turret on each side where the torpedo tubes and aircraft were planned. She was also given an additional mast to carry a British air-search radar, two depth charge racks, six 20 mm (0.79 in) guns, and a quad 2-pounder naval gun, although the exact armament of both ships changed over time.[3]: 137
Ships
[edit]Tromp
[edit]After she entered service in 1938, Tromp initially operated in the Mediterranean and off the European coast. In 1939, she was sent to reinforce the East Indies, where the Dutch government believed a war against Japan was inevitable. Following the outbreak of World War II and Dutch capitulation, the cruiser operated under Royal Navy command and escorted vital convoys throughout the region. By February 1942, the Dutch East Indies was invaded from multiple sides by Japan as allied forces were overwhelmed. In an effort to coordinate resistance, elements of the British, Dutch, and American navies formed the Combined Striking Force. Tromp sailed with the fleet and withstood several air attacks before she was badly damaged by Japanese destroyers during the Battle of Badung Strait. She was repaired in Australia and attached to the US 7th Fleet for anti-submarine patrols in the western Pacific throughout 1943. In January of the next year, she joined the British Eastern Fleet for a series of aircraft carrier raids agaist the occupied Indonesian islands. During Operation Cockpit, Crimson, and Transom, she shelled enemy land instillations before she supported the invasions of Rangoon and Borneo in 1945. At the end of the war, she accepted the surrender of Belitung and returned to Europe. For the rest of her career, she joined allied forces in the North Atlantic before she was demoted to a training ship.[5]: 29–47, [25]
Jacob van Heemskerck
[edit]
When the Netherlands was invaded by Germany, Jacob van Heemskerck was still working up. Her commissioning was hastened, and she fled for Great Brittain on the night of 14 May. Armed with just 20 mm (0.79 in) guns, she escorted members of the Dutch royal family to Canada before she sailed to Portsmouth for conversion into an air-defense cruiser in June. Work was done in February 1941, and she patrolled parts of the North Atlantic before she was deployed to the Pacific with the British East Indies Fleet in 1942. She then participated in the Invasion of Madagascar and patrolled the Indian Ocean, escorting convoys and sinking the German blocade runner Ramses in the process. By 1944, the cruiser returned to Britain and continued to escort convoys in the Mediterranean and Atlantic for the rest of the war. Following German capitulation, she became the first ship to warship to visit Amsterdam after its liberation. After the war, she became the flagship of HNLMS Karel Doorman's task force and was reduced to an accommodations ship in 1955.[4]: 196 [3]: 140–141
| Name | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Decommissioned |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tromp | NSM, Amsterdam | 17 January 1936 | 24 May 1937 | 18 August 1938 | 10 December 1968 |
| Jacob van Heemskerck | 31 October 1938 | 16 September 1939 | 10 May 1940 | 27 February 1970 |
See also
[edit]Cruisers of comparable role, configuration, and era
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ van Oosten, F. C. (1 January 1974). Warship Profile 40: Her Netherlands Majesty's Ship De Ruyter. Profile Publications. ASIN B0007C1ABY. ISBN 9780853830627.
- ^ a b Noppen, Ryan K. (2020). The Royal Netherlands Navy of World War II. New Vanguard Series. Paul Wright (1st ed.). London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. ISBN 978-1-4728-4191-9.
- ^ a b c d Schedel, Charles W. (2001). "Ask Infoser". Warship International. 38 (2): 129–143. ISSN 0043-0374.
- ^ a b c d Whitley, M. J. (Michael J. ) (1995). Cruisers of World War Two : an international encyclopedia. London : Arms and Armour Press. ISBN 978-1-85409-225-0.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link) - ^ Mulder, Jantinus (2012). Cruiser HNLMS Tromp. Lanasta - Warship Series (1st ed.). Amsterdam: Uitgeverij Lanasta. ISBN 978-90-8616-191-1.
External links
[edit]
- netherlandsnavy - Breakdown of equipment on both ships
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