HNLMS ''Jan van Gelder'' was a of the

Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy ( nl, Koninklijke Marine, links=no) is the naval force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. During the 17th century, the navy of the Dutch Republic (1581–1795) was one of the most powerful naval forces in the world an ...

that served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Service history

''Jan van Gelder'' was damaged by her own mines off

Terschelling Terschelling (; fry, Skylge; Terschelling dialect: ''Schylge'') is a municipality and an island in the northern Netherlands, one of the West Frisian Islands. It is situated between the islands of Vlieland and Ameland. Wadden Islanders are k ...

on 1 October 1939. At least five men were killed. After initial repairs at

Willemsoord, Den Helder Willemsoord is a large former naval base of the Royal Netherlands Navy in Den Helder. It is now connected to the city center of Den Helder, and focuses on entertainment and tourism. Nieuwediep harbor: Origin of the naval base In the seven ...

, she received a new stern at Gusto, Schiedam, and was recommissioned on 17 April 1940.Scheepswrak: WILLEM VAN EWIJCK
/ref> During the invasion of the Netherlands by Germany in May 1940, she escorted the Dutch submarine ''O-13'' to England. Later that month, on 29–31 May, she escorted the Dutch passenger ship ''Batavier II'' to

Cherbourg Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Feb ...

, to pick up 280 Dutch troops. Refitted and rearmed in 1940, she was assigned to serve with the British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

's 11th Minesweeping Flotilla, stationed in

Milford Haven Milford Haven ( cy, Aberdaugleddau, meaning "mouth of the two Rivers Cleddau") is both a town and a community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, an estuary forming a natural harbour that has ...

, Wales. Later in 1941 she served with the 9th Flotilla off

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

. She mainly acted as buoy ship, marking the swept channels. From October 1941, she swept acoustic mines off

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-on- ...

and the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

. Later she was sent to Scotland and served as an escort ship with a British submarine flotilla. On 26 March 1943 she was transferred to the Royal Navy. She was returned to the Netherlands in 1946 and was recommissioned in the Royal Netherlands Navy. She sailed for the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

where she served as patrol ship until 1950. After her return, she was rebuilt as

boom defence vessel A net laying ship, also known as a net layer, net tender, gate ship or boom defence vessel was a type of naval auxiliary ship. A net layer's primary function was to lay and maintain steel anti-torpedo or anti-submarine nets. Nets could be laid ...

. Struck in 1961, she was then transferred to the '' Zeekadetkorps Nederland'' (Dutch Sea Cadets). She was assigned to the '

Jacob van Heemskerck Jacob van Heemskerck (3 March 1567 – 25 April 1607) was a Dutch explorer and naval admiral. Early life Jacob van Heemskerck was born in Amsterdam in 1567. He is described as having delicate feature, large brown eyes, a thin high nose, ...

' unit in the town of

Schiedam Schiedam () is a city and municipality in the west of the Netherlands. It is located in the Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan area, west of Rotterdam, east of Vlaardingen, and south of Delft. In the south the city is connected with the village ...

, and moored at the same shipyard where she was launched 25 years earlier. The sea cadets removed the boilers for additional space, making the ''Jan van Gelder'' a stationary training ship ('floating clubhouse'). Because of severe leaking in the engine room, she was replaced in 1979, and scrapped.

Citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jan Van Gelder Jan van Amstel-class minesweepers 1937 ships World War II minesweepers of the Netherlands Ships built by Gusto Shipyard