HNLMS Karel Doorman (R81)
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HNLMS ''Karel Doorman'' (R81) (
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
: Hr.Ms. ''Karel Doorman'' (R81)) was a of the Royal Netherlands Navy. Formerly the British ship , she was sold to the Netherlands in 1948 as a light attack carrier. In 1960, she was involved in the decolonization conflict in
Western New Guinea Western New Guinea, also known as Papua, Indonesian New Guinea, or Indonesian Papua, is the western half of the Melanesian island of New Guinea which is administered by Indonesia. Since the island is alternatively named as Papua, the region ...
with
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
. In the mid 1960s, her role was changed to
anti-submarine warfare carrier An anti-submarine warfare carrier (ASW carrier) (US hull classification symbol CVS) is a type of small aircraft carrier whose primary role is as the nucleus of an anti-submarine warfare hunter-killer group. This type of ship came into existenc ...
and only ASW aircraft and helicopters were carried. An engine room fire took her out of service in 1968. She was sold to
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
in 1969 and renamed .


Purchase

Built at Cammell Laird in
Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...
on 3 December 1942, ''Venerable'' was launched just over a year later and commissioned on 17 January 1945. In 1948, ''Venerable''s short career in the
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 ...
came to an end when she was sold to the Netherlands and recommissioned as HNLMS ''Karel Doorman'', replacing a smaller of the same name while in Dutch service. In 1955-58 she was rebuilt with an 8° angled flight deck, new elevators, new island, 40 mm anti-aircraft guns, steam catapult, and all new aviation facilities and electronics were fitted, including a Dutch-built new radar. At the same time, a similar Dutch rebuild was done to her sister ship, the .


Cruises

''Karel Doorman'', frigate ''Johan Maurits van Nassau'', and light cruiser ''Jacob van Heemskerck'' made a voyage to the Netherlands Antilles on 2 January 1950. Embarked on ''Karel Doorman'' was
Prince Bernhard , house = Lippe , father = Prince Bernhard of Lippe , mother = Armgard von Cramm , birth_date = , birth_name = Count Bernhard of Biesterfeld , birth_place = Jena, Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Germany , death_date = ...
. The ships returned to the Netherlands on 4 May. In 1954, during a North American cruise, she visited
Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...
, Canada for an air show appearance. Early in 1959 the ship made a trip to the United States (
Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...
and Fort Lauderdale, Florida) and then continued on to visit the Antilles again. In 1960, during the Dutch decolonization and planned independence of Western
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...
, a territory which was also claimed by
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
, ''Karel Doorman'' set sail along with two destroyers and a modified oil tanker to "show the flag". In order to avoid possible problems with Indonesia's ally Egypt at the Suez Canal, she instead sailed around the Horn of Africa. She arrived in Fremantle, Australia, where the local seamen's union went on strike in sympathy with Indonesia; the crew used the propeller thrust of aircraft chained down on deck to nudge the carrier into dock without tugs. In addition to her air wing, she was ferrying twelve Hawker Hunter fighters to bolster the local Dutch defence forces, which she delivered when she arrived at Hollandia, New Guinea. ''Karel Doorman'' was also to have visited
Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...
, Japan during this Asian cruise to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the establishment of Japanese-Dutch diplomatic relations but, due to Indonesian and local protests, Japan withdrew its invitation. After the 1964 refit, ''Karel Doorman'' served the rest of her career mostly conducting NATO anti-submarine patrols in the north Atlantic, no longer carrying strike or fighter aircraft as part of her regular air wing. ''Karel Doorman'' also regularly conducted various exercises near Scotland during her career.


Western New Guinea Crisis

During the 1960 crisis,
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
prepared for a military action named
Operation Trikora Operation Trikora was an Indonesian military operation which aimed to seize and annex the Dutch overseas territory of Netherlands New Guinea in 1961 and 1962. After negotiations, the Netherlands signed the New York Agreement with Indonesia on ...
. For an invasion, the Indonesian Air Forces (TNI-AU) hoped to sink this aircraft carrier with Soviet-supplied Tupolev Tu-16KS-1 Badger naval bombers using AS-1 Kennel / KS-1 Kometa anti-ship missiles (six planes were intended for the attack on ''Karel Doorman''). This bomber launched missile strike mission was cancelled because of the ceasefire between Indonesia and the Netherlands; this led to a Dutch withdrawal and United Nations temporary peacekeeping administration followed by handover of Western New Guinea to Indonesia.


Decommissioning

In 1964, following the settlement of issues threatening its former colonial territories and changes in the mission for the Royal Netherlands Navy within
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
, coupled with the huge costs for operating and maintaining an aircraft carrier, it was decided to withdraw her from the operational fleet by the early 1970s. This was to coincide with the arrival of long range maritime patrol aircraft that were to take over the ASW role ''Karel Doorman'' had been tasked to perform ever since the start of the 1960s. A boiler room fire on 26 April 1968 removed her from Dutch service. To repair the fire damage, new boilers were transplanted from the incomplete . In 1969, it was decided that the costs for repairing the damage in relation to the relatively short time ''Karel Doorman'' was still to serve in the fleet proved to be her undoing and she was sold to the Argentine Navy, renamed '' Veinticinco de Mayo'', where she would later play a role in the 1982 Falklands War. In the late 1960s, the NATO anti-submarine commitment was taken over by a squadron of
Westland Wasp The Westland Wasp is a small 1960s British turbine powered, shipboard anti-submarine helicopter. Produced by Westland Helicopters, it came from the same P.531 programme as the British Army Westland Scout, and is based on the earlier piston-e ...
helicopters operated from six anti-submarine frigates and two squadrons of shore based maritime patrol aircraft. These were one squadron of
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sea-reconnaissance aircraft and one of
P-2 Neptune The Lockheed P-2 Neptune (designated P2V by the United States Navy prior to September 1962) is a maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft. It was developed for the US Navy by Lockheed to replace the Lockheed PV-1 Ventura and P ...
s.


Air wing

First deploying as an attack carrier with 24 World War II era propeller driven
Fairey Firefly The Fairey Firefly is a Second World War-era carrier-borne fighter aircraft and anti-submarine aircraft that was principally operated by the Fleet Air Arm (FAA). It was developed and built by the British aircraft manufacturer Fairey Avia ...
strike fighters and
Hawker Sea Fury The Hawker Sea Fury is a British fighter aircraft designed and manufactured by Hawker Aircraft. It was the last propeller-driven fighter to serve with the Royal Navy, and one of the fastest production single reciprocating engine aircraft ...
fighters, for sea rescue a
Supermarine Sea Otter The Supermarine Sea Otter was an amphibious aircraft designed and built by the British aircraft manufacturer Supermarine. It was the final biplane flying boat to be designed by Supermarine; it was also the last biplane to enter service with bo ...
flying boat was carried, it was replaced by a
Sikorsky S-51 The Sikorsky H-5 (initially designated R-5 and also known as S-48, S-51 and by company designation VS-327Fitzsimons, Bernard, (general editor). ''Illustrated Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons and Warfare'' (London: Phoebus, 1978), Volume 20, ...
helicopter. From 1958, she operated with an ASW/Strike profile with up to 14
Grumman TBF Avenger The Grumman TBF Avenger (designated TBM for aircraft manufactured by General Motors) is an American World War II-era torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and eventually used by several air and naval a ...
ASW/torpedo bombers, 10
Hawker Sea Hawk The Hawker Sea Hawk is a British single-seat jet day fighter formerly of the Fleet Air Arm (FAA), the air branch of the Royal Navy (RN), built by Hawker Aircraft and its sister company, Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. Although its design origina ...
fighters (a first generation naval jet fighter considered by the larger naval powers to be undersized and nearly obsolete at the time of delivery to the Dutch) and 2
Sikorsky S-55 The Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw (company model number S-55) was a multi-purpose helicopter used by the United States Army and United States Air Force. It was also license-built by Westland Aircraft as the Westland Whirlwind in the United Kingdom ...
ASW helicopters. In 1960, the Royal Netherlands Navy received 17 Canadian built Grumman S-2 Trackers ASW aircraft formerly used by the
Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack submar ...
. Changing roles to a dedicated NATO
antisubmarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are ty ...
carrier, a wing of 8 Grumman S-2 Trackers and 6 Sikorsky S-58 ASW helicopters served aboard from 1961 until the 1968 shipboard fire and removal from Dutch service. From 1959, Dutch Sea Hawks were equipped with Sidewinder missiles that significantly enhanced and extended their air-to-air combat capabilities. While never engaged in combat, the aircraft were present as a carrier based deterrent during the 1962 New Guinea Indonesia crisis. They served aboard between 1957 and 1964 until ''Karel Doorman''s overhaul, after which the attack role was eliminated and 22 aircraft were transferred to land based reserve storage - they were all retired from service by the end of the 1960s after the sale of ''Karel Doorman'' to Argentina.


See also

*
List of aircraft carriers This list of aircraft carriers contains aircraft carriers listed alphabetically by name. An aircraft carrier is a warship with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft, that serves a ...


References


Bibliography

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External links


HNLMS Karel Doorman (R81) in HD Color 1963

This is HMS Karel Doorman




{{DEFAULTSORT:Karel Doorman (R81) Colossus-class aircraft carriers of the Royal Netherlands Navy Ships built on the River Mersey 1943 ships