HNLMS ''Koning der Nederlanden'' was an iron-hulled

ironclad An ironclad is a steam engine, steam-propelled warship protected by Wrought iron, iron or steel iron armor, armor plates, constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships ...

''ramtorenschip'' ( turret ram ship) built by the '' Rijkswerf'' at Amsterdam 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 ...

in the early 1870s. She was the largest ship to serve in the Dutch Navy during the 19th century. The ship was converted to a

barracks ship A barracks ship or barracks barge or berthing barge, or in civilian use accommodation vessel or accommodation ship, is a ship or a non-self-propelled barge containing a superstructure of a type suitable for use as a temporary barracks for sai ...

in the late 1890s and stationed in

Surabaya Surabaya ( jv, ꦱꦸꦫꦧꦪ or jv, ꦯꦹꦫꦨꦪ; ; ) is the capital city of the Provinces of Indonesia, Indonesian province of East Java and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. L ...

in 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 ...

. ''Koning der Nederlanden'' was scuttled in Surabaya on 2 March 1942, during the Battle of Java, to prevent her capture by the Japanese.

Design and description

HNLMS 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 ...

''Koning der Nederlanden'' was the largest ship built for the Dutch Navy during the 19th century. She was fitted with a ram that protruded from the bow. The ship's

gun turret A gun turret (or simply turret) is a mounting platform from which weapons can be fired that affords protection, visibility and ability to turn and aim. A modern gun turret is generally a rotatable weapon mount that houses the crew or mechani ...

s were only above the

waterline The waterline is the line where the hull of a ship meets the surface of the water. Specifically, it is also the name of a special marking, also known as an international load line, Plimsoll line and water line (positioned amidships), that indi ...

, but the freeboard could be increased by use of hinged bulwarks. The turrets were rotated by

hydraulic machinery Hydraulic machines use liquid fluid power to perform work. Heavy construction vehicles are a common example. In this type of machine, hydraulic fluid is pumped to various hydraulic motors and hydraulic cylinders throughout the machine and b ...

.Dutch Ironclads Prins Hendrik and Konig der Nederlanden, pp. 200–201 The ship had a length between perpendiculars of , a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of , and a draught of . She displaced . Her crew consisted of 256 officers and men.

Propulsion

''Koning der Nederlanden'' had two compound steam engines, built by Penn and Sons,Silverstone, p. 341 each driving a single propeller. The engines were powered by seven

boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, central h ...

s. The engines produced a total of which gave the ship a maximum speed of during her

sea trial A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a " shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and ...

s that began on 26 July 1877. She carried of coal and had three funnels. The ship was barque-rigged with three masts and had a total sail area of .Dutch Ironclads Prins Hendrik and Konig der Nederlanden, p. 201

Armament

The ship mounted a pair of

Armstrong Armstrong may refer to: Places * Armstrong Creek (disambiguation), various places Antarctica * Armstrong Reef, Biscoe Islands Argentina * Armstrong, Santa Fe Australia * Armstrong, Victoria Canada * Armstrong, British Columbia * Armstrong ...

rifled muzzle-loading guns in each gun turret. Each gun weighed . Four

Krupp The Krupp family (see pronunciation), a prominent 400-year-old German dynasty from Essen, is notable for its production of steel, artillery, ammunition and other armaments. The family business, known as Friedrich Krupp AG (Friedrich Krup ...

breech-loading gun A breechloader is a firearm in which the user loads the ammunition (cartridge or shell) via the rear (breech) end of its barrel, as opposed to a muzzleloader, which loads ammunition via the front ( muzzle). Modern firearms are generally bre ...

s were mounted on the upper deck and six Hotchkiss 5-barrel revolving guns were also fitted in the ship's superstructure.Dutch Ironclads Prins Hendrik and Konig der Nederlanden, p. 200 They fired a shell weighing about at a muzzle velocity of about to a range about . They had a rate of fire of about 30 rounds per minute The ship was initially armed with spar torpedoes, but they were removed shortly after completion.

Armor

''Koning der Nederlanden'' had a complete waterline

belt Belt may refer to: Apparel * Belt (clothing), a leather or fabric band worn around the waist * Championship belt, a type of trophy used primarily in combat sports * Colored belts, such as a black belt or red belt, worn by martial arts practition ...

wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag Inclusion (mineral), inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a ...

that was thick amidships, but reduced to at the bow and stern. Each

, and its base, was protected by armor plates, although the total thickness around the gun ports was . The deck was unarmored.

Service

''Koning der Nederlanden'' was laid down at the ''Rijkswerf'' in Amsterdam on 31 December 1871. She was launched on 20 October 1874 and commissioned on 16 February 1877. The ship was designed by B.J. Tideman and renamed from ''Matador'' to ''Koning der Nederlanden'' during construction.Dirkzwager, p. 27 In the autumn of 1876 the ship was transferred through the newly built North Sea Canal to the naval yard Willemsoord in

Den Helder Den Helder () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Den Helder occupies the northernmost point of the North Holland peninsula. It is home to the country's main naval base. From here the Royal TESO fe ...

.Staatsbegrooting voor het dienstjaar 1878. VI. 2., p. 9 In September 1877 she carried out see trials on the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

. She left the Netherlands on 3 March 1878 for the Dutch East Indies where she arrived in Aceh on 6 may that year.Staatsbegrooting voor het dienstjaar 1879. VI. 2., p. 13 COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Het gepantserde marineschip Zr

COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Het gepantserde marineschip Zr

From there she steamed to

Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

where she arrived in June 1878 and was repaired at Surabaya from August until November that year.Koloniaal verslag van 1879, Bijlage C .2 p. 59 At the end of the year she was stationed at ''Batavia'' and served in the Auxiliary squadron.Koloniaal verslag van 1879, Bijlage C .9 Bijlage G, p. 5 In May and June 1880 she made a trip to the Timor Archipelago to show the Dutch flag.Koloniaal verslag van 1881, Bijlage C .8 Bijlage F, p. 9 From March till August 1881 ''Koning der Nederlanden'' was stationed at Cirebon. She was there to support measures taken by the civil government to counter the in- and export of cattle in the region. In late January 1882 she was again sent to Cirebon due to the outbreak of

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

. The ship was recalled after a few weeks and send to

Riau Riau is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the central eastern coast of Sumatra along the Strait of Malacca. The province shares land borders with North Sumatra to the northwest, West Sumatra to the west, and Jambi to the south. Accord ...

for practice.Koloniaal verslag van 1882, Bijlage C .9 Bijlage G, p. 9 In April and July 1883 she practiced respectively along the north coast of

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...

and 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 ...

. On 1 August she replaced ''Zeeland'' as guard ship at Batavia. After an outbreak of cholera on board later that year the crew disinfected the ship in late September.Koloniaal verslag van 1884, Bijlage C .8 Bijlage F, p. 9 ''Koning der Nederlanden'' was since December 1883 in Surabaya for repairs to her

s. The boilers were later replaced in 1885 at Surabaya.Koloniaal verslag van 1885, Bijlage C .8 Bijlage F, p. 9 In April 1887 she was sent together with to

Makassar Makassar (, mak, ᨆᨀᨔᨑ, Mangkasara’, ) is the capital of the Indonesian province of South Sulawesi. It is the largest city in the region of Eastern Indonesia and the country's fifth-largest urban center after Jakarta, Surabaya, Med ...

for a three-month practice.Koloniaal verslag van 1888, Bijlage C .9 Bijlage G, p. 7 From 25 June 1889 until 1 January 1893 she was attached to the naval force stationed on the north coast of Aceh.Koloniaal verslag van 1891, Bijlage C .8 Bijlage F, p. 7Koloniaal verslag van 1892, Bijlage C .10 Bijlage H, p. 7Koloniaal verslag van 1893, Bijlage C .9 Bijlage G, p. 9 After that she served as station ship in Olehleh, Aceh until 7 February 1895.Koloniaal verslag van 1894, Bijlage C .9 Bijlage G, p. 9Koloniaal verslag van 1895, Bijlage C .10 Bijlage H, p. 3 The 37-millimeter guns were replaced by two quick-firing, guns and four 37-millimeter quick-firers by 1890. The ship decommissioned on 1 April 1895 and began her conversion to an accommodation and

guard ship A guard ship is a warship assigned as a stationary guard in a port or harbour, as opposed to a coastal patrol boat, which serves its protective role at sea. Royal Navy In the Royal Navy of the eighteenth century, peacetime guard ships were usual ...

at Surabaya Dockyard in August 1896. She retained all four of her 120-millimeter and two of her 37-millimeter guns when she recommissioned on 1 December 1899. From 1920 till 1922 she served as debarkment and accommodation ship for the Submarine Service.Koloniaal verslag van 1921, Bijlage D, p. 5Koloniaal verslag van 1922, Bijlage D, p. 5Koloniaal verslag van 1923, Bijlage E, p. 5 She was set on fire in Surabaya and then scuttled to prevent her capture by the Japanese 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 ...

on 2 March 1942.

Notes

Footnotes

Citations

References

* * * * Ross, David. Great Warships From The Age Of Steam. New York: Metro Books, 2014. * *Staatsbegrooting voor het dienstjaar 1878
VI. 2.
*Staatsbegrooting voor het dienstjaar 1879
VI. 2.
*Koloniaal verslag van 1879
Bijlage C 5.2Bijlage C 5.9, Bijlage G
*Koloniaal verslag van 1881
Bijlage C 5.8, Bijlage F
*Koloniaal verslag van 1882
Bijlage C 5.9, Bijlage G
*Koloniaal verslag van 1884
Bijlage C 5.8, Bijlage F
*Koloniaal verslag van 1885
Bijlage C 5.8, Bijlage F
*Koloniaal verslag van 1888
Bijlage C 5.9, Bijlage G
*Koloniaal verslag van 1891
Bijlage C 5.8, Bijlage F
*Koloniaal verslag van 1892
Bijlage C 5.10, Bijlage H
*Koloniaal verslag van 1893
Bijlage C 5.9, Bijlage G
*Koloniaal verslag van 1894
Bijlage C 5.9, Bijlage G
*Koloniaal verslag van 1895
Bijlage C 5.10, Bijlage H
*Koloniaal verslag van 1921
Bijlage D
*Koloniaal verslag van 1922
Bijlage D
*Koloniaal verslag van 1923
Bijlage E

External links

Pictures of the ship on maritiemdigitaal.nl
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koning der Nederlanden 19th-century naval ships of the Netherlands 1874 ships Ships built in Amsterdam Maritime incidents in March 1942 Scuttled vessels World War II shipwrecks in the Java Sea