Holland-class cruiser

The Holland class was a class of six protected cruisers[lower-alpha 1] of the Royal Netherlands Navy. The class was built in two groups, each consisting of three ships.

HNLMS Noordbrabant
Class overview
Name: Holland class
Builders:
Operators:  Royal Netherlands Navy
Preceded by: Koningin Wilhelmina der Nederlanden
Succeeded by: Java-class cruiser
In commission: 1898-1940
Completed: 6
Retired: 6
General characteristics
Type: Protected cruiser
Displacement:
  • 3,900 tons (first 3 ships)
  • 4,033 (last 3 ships)
Length:
  • 93.3 m (306 ft 1 in) (first 3 ships)
  • 94.7 m (310 ft 8 in) (last 3 ships)
Beam: 14.8 m (48 ft 7 in)
Draught: 5.41 m (17 ft 9 in)
Propulsion: 10,000 ihp (7,500 kW), two shafts
Speed: 20 knots (37 km/h)
Complement: 324
Armament:
  • 2 × 5.9 in (15 cm) (2 × 1)
  • 6 × 4.7 in (12 cm) (6 × 1)
  • 4 × 3 in (7.6 cm) (4 × 1)
  • 4 × 1pdr (4 × 1)
  • 2 × 45 cm (18 in) torpedo tubes
Armour: 5 cm (2.0 in) deck

Design

The design was based on the British Apollo-class cruiser.[1] The first three ships of the class were 93.3 metres (306 ft 1 in) long while the last three were 94.7 metres (310 ft 8 in) long, had a beam of 14.8 metres (48 ft 7 in), a draught of 5.41 metres (17 ft 9 in), and had a displacement of 3,900 tons. The last three ships were slightly larger and displaced 133 tons more than the first three ships.[2] The ships were equipped with two shaft reciprocating engines, which were rated at 10,000 ihp (7,500 kW) and produced a top speed of 20 knots (37 km/h). The ships had 5-centimetre (2.0 in) deck armour. The main armament of the ships were two 5.9 in (15 cm) single guns. Secondary armament included six single 4.7 in (12 cm) guns and four 3 in (7.6 cm) single guns.

Construction

The class was built in two groups each consisting of three ships. The ships were laid down at Rijkswerf in Amsterdam, Koninklijke Maatschappij de Schelde in Flushing and Nederlandsche Stoomboot Maatschappij in Rotterdam.

Name Laid down Launched Commissioned Decommissioned Builder
First group
Holland 1895 4 October 1896 1 July 1898 1920 Rijkswerf, Amsterdam
Zeeland 1895 20 March 1897 1 June 1898 1924 Koninklijke Maatschappij de Schelde, Flushing
Friesland 1895 4 November 1896 16 January 1898 1913 Nederlandsche Stoomboot Maatschappij, Rotterdam
Second group
Gelderland 1 November 1897 28 September 1898 15 July 1900 17 May 1940 Nederlandsche Stoomboot Maatschappij, Rotterdam
Noordbrabant 31 August 1897 17 January 1899 1 March 1900 17 May 1940 Koninklijke Maatschappij de Schelde, Flushing
Utrecht 1897 14 July 1898 1 March 1901 1913 Rijkswerf, Amsterdam

Service history

On 19 October 1900 Gelderland transported Paul Kruger to Europe during the Second Boer War. Holland together with Koningin Wilhelmina der Nederlanden and the Evertsen-class coastal defence ship Piet Hein were sent to Shanghai to defend Dutch interests during the Boxer Rebellion. Holland and Zeeland together with the coastal defence ships Hertog Hendrik, Koningin Regentes and De Ruyter assisted the KNIL during the Aceh War. In 1908 Friesland, Gelderland and the coastal defence ship Jacob Van Heemskerck were sent to patrol the Venezuelan coast during the second Castro crisis. Friesland and Utrecht were decommissioned in 1913 with the remaining four being modernized. During World War I all remaining ships were stationed in Dutch home waters. Holland and Zeeland were decommissioned in 1920 and 1924 while Noordbrabant became an accommodation ship in 1920. A role she fulfilled until she was damaged during the German invasion in World War II. Gelderland became a training ship in 1920. She was captured by Germany in 1940, renamed Niobe and sunk during the war in Kotka harbour in Finland on 16 July 1944.

Notes
  1. In the Dutch navy the ships where classified as "pantserdekschepen" literally translated: armored deck ships.
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References
  1. "netherlandsnavy.nl". Retrieved 2011-02-15.
  2. "steelnavy.com". Retrieved 2011-02-15.

Bibliography
  • Johnson, Harold & Marshall, Peter A. (2015). "Question 9/51: Dutch Cruiser Gelderland". Warship International. LII (1): 79–81. ISSN 0043-0374.
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