The ''Van Straelen'' class was a ship class of sixteen minesweepers that were built in the Netherlands 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 ...

(RNN).van Amstel, pp. 76-78. They were taken into service of the RNN between 1960 and 1962 and served until 1 March 1983.Raven, p. 185.

Design and construction

The ships were designed in the Netherlands and build between 1958 and 1962 at several different Dutch shipyards. The costs of the class was split between the United States and the Netherlands. The United states paid under the

Mutual Defense Assistance Program The Mutual Defense Assistance Act was a United States Act of Congress signed by President Harry S. Truman on 6 October 1949. For US Foreign policy, it was the first U.S. military foreign aid legislation of the Cold War era, and initially to Eur ...

(MDAP) for the construction of eight ships and the Netherlands paid for the other eight ships.Woudstra, p. 154. To sweep mines the ships were equipped with the ''W Mk 7'', ''ME 31'' to ''ME 33'' and the ''AX Mk 6B'' or ''4V''. Furthermore, they could be equipped with the ''M Mk 6h'' which would give the ships a magnetic sweeping ability.

Service history

The minesweepers were used to sweep mines in shallow and narrow inland waters.Woudstra, p. 151.

Ships in class

The ships were named after officers, sailors and other personnel of the Royal Netherlands Navy that distinguished themselves during the

Second World War 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 ...

and/or the

Indonesian War of Independence The Indonesian National Revolution, or the Indonesian War of Independence, was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between the Republic of Indonesia and the Dutch Empire and an internal social revolution during postwar and postcoloni ...

and were awarded posthumously either the

Military Order of William The Military William Order, or often named Military Order of William (Dutch: , abbreviation: MWO), is the oldest and highest honour of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is named after St. William of Gellone (755–814), the first Prince of Oran ...

or Bronze Cross for their service.

Notes

Citations

References

* * * * * {{Post1945DutchShips Mine warfare vessel classes Minesweepers of the Royal Netherlands Navy