Admiralen class destroyer
Encyclopedia

The Admiralen Class were eight destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

s built for the Royal Netherlands Navy
Royal Netherlands Navy
The Koninklijke Marine is the navy of the Netherlands. In the mid-17th century the Dutch Navy was the most powerful navy in the world and it played an active role in the wars of the Dutch Republic and later those of the Batavian Republic and the Kingdom of the Netherlands...

 between 1926 and 1931. All ships fought in World War II and were scuttled or sunk. As is the tradition in the Dutch Navy they were named after Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...

s.

Design

These ships were built in the Netherlands with assistance from the British company Yarrow
Yarrow Shipbuilders
Yarrow Limited , often styled as simply Yarrows, was a major shipbuilding firm based in the Scotstoun district of Glasgow on the River Clyde...

 (at that time the leading builder of destroyers in the world). The Dutch ships were based on the British destroyer . The guns were bought from the Swedish company Bofors
Bofors
The name Bofors has been associated with the iron industry for more than 350 years.Located in Karlskoga, Sweden, the company originates from the hammer mill "Boofors" founded 1646. The modern corporate structure was created in 1873 with the foundation of Aktiebolaget Bofors-Gullspång...

. A novel feature was the provision of a seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...

 for scouting. There was however no catapult, the plane being lowered into the sea by a crane.


Ships

First Group
Name Builder Launched Commissioned Fate
HNLMS Van Ghent (ex-De Ruyter)
HNLMS Van Ghent (1926)
HNLMS Van Ghent was an , launched on 13 October 1926, commissioned on 31 May 1928 as HNLMS De Ruyter, and renamed in 1935.Van Ghent served in the Netherlands East Indies as part of Rear Admiral Karel Doorman's command. She was involved in the salvage of the . She ran aground and was scuttled on 15...

KM de Schelde 13 October 1926 31 May 1928 Served in the Netherlands East Indies as part of Admiral Karel Doorman's command. Ran aground and was scuttled on 15 February 1942.
HNLMS Evertsen
HNLMS Evertsen
Seven ships of the Royal Netherlands Navy have been named HNLMS Evertsen, after a family from Zeeland with many sea heroes:*Admiral Evertsen , cannon schooner;*Admiral Evertsen , ship-of-the-line;...

Bergerhout 29 December 1926 31 May 1928 Served in the Far East. Sunk by the Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...

 on 1 March 1942.
HNLMS Kortenaer Bergerhout 30 June 1927 3 September 1928 Served in the Far East. Sunk by a torpedo from the Japanese cruiser Haguro
Japanese cruiser Haguro
|-External reference links: -External links:**...

 during the Battle of the Java Sea
Battle of the Java Sea
The Battle of the Java Sea was a decisive naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, that sealed the fate of the Netherlands East Indies....

 on 27 February 1942.
HNLMS Piet Hein Bergerhout 2 April 1927 25 January 1928 Served in the Far East. Sunk by Japanese destroyers during the Battle of Badung Strait
Battle of Badung Strait
The Battle of Badung Strait was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the night of 19/20 February 1942 in Badung Strait between the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command and the Imperial Japanese Navy...

 on 19 February 1942.


Second Group
Name Builder Launched Commissioned Fate
HNLMS Van Galen Fijenoord 28 June 1928 22 October 1929 Based in the Netherlands at the start of World War II, the ship was dispatched to help with the defence of Rotterdam
Rotterdam Blitz
The Rotterdam Blitz refers to the aerial bombardment of Rotterdam by the German Air Force on 14 May 1940, during the German invasion of the Netherlands in World War II. The objective was to support the German troops fighting in the city, break Dutch resistance and force the Dutch to surrender...

. Targeted by German bombers in the narrow river she suffered bomb damage and sank on 10 May 1940. The wreck was salvaged and scrapped by the Germans.
HNLMS Witte de With Fijenoord 12 September 1928 20 February 1930 Scuttled on 2 March 1942 on account of damage incurred during the Battle of the Java Sea
Battle of the Java Sea
The Battle of the Java Sea was a decisive naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, that sealed the fate of the Netherlands East Indies....

.
HNLMS Banckert Bergerhout 14 November 1929 14 November 1930 Damaged by Japanese bombers and scuttled in Surabaya
Surabaya
Surabaya is Indonesia's second-largest city with a population of over 2.7 million , and the capital of the province of East Java...

dockyard. Salvaged by the Japanese, but not repaired and returned to the Dutch after the war. Sunk as a target in September 1949.
HNLMS Van Nes Bergerhout 20 March 1930 12 March 1931 Sunk after a two-hour battle by Japanese aircraft on 17 February 1942, while escorting a refugee ship (which was also sunk).
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