''K XIV'' was one of five s built for 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 ...

. She served during

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

The submarine was laid down in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

at the shipyard of Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij on 31 May 1930. The launch took place on 11 July 1931. On 6 July 1933 the boat was commissioned in the

Dutch 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 ...

. On 7 February 1934 ''K XIV'' and left the Netherlands 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 ...

. The route they took led through the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...

. On 6 September 1938 she took part in a fleet show at Surabaya. The show was held in honour of the Dutch Queen

Wilhelmina of the Netherlands Wilhelmina (; Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria; 31 August 1880 – 28 November 1962) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 until her abdication in 1948. She reigned for nearly 58 years, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Her reign saw World War ...

who celebrating her 40th year as head of state. More than 20 navy ships participated in the show. During the Second World War ''K XIV'' attacked a Japanese invasion convoy that was landing troops on 23 December 1941, at the mouth of the Santubong River in western Sarawak. The convoy reached the river mouth about 1800 hrs and started to put troops ashore. At either 2040 hrs or 2240 hrs (sources differ), ''K XIV'' torpedoed four ships. ''Katori Maru'' and another troop ship, ''Hiyoshi Maru'' (also called ''Hie Maru''), were sunk at position and the transport ships and another ship, either or ''Nichiran Maru'', were damaged. ''Hokkai Maru'' was so heavily damaged that she was grounded to avoid sinking, but was later refloated and repaired. On 1 March 1942, ''K XIV'' made visual contact with the and attacked, launching two torpedoes from , but both either missed or were duds. The Japanese made six

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...

attacks, dropping about 25 depth charges, but ''K XIV'' survived and escaped via the

Sunda Strait The Sunda Strait ( id, Selat Sunda) is the strait between the Indonesian islands of Java island, Java and Sumatra. It connects the Java Sea with the Indian Ocean. Etymology The strait takes its name from the Sunda Kingdom, which ruled the weste ...

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. ''K XIV'' survived the war and was decommissioned on 23 April 1946. On 1 June 1946 she was stricken.

Summary of raiding history

Ships sunk and damaged by ''K XIV''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:K XIV, HNLMS 1931 ships Ships built in Rotterdam K XIV-class submarines Submarines built by Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij