HNLMS ''Schorpioen'' is a
monitor
Monitor or monitor may refer to:
Places
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* Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States
* Monitor, Kentucky
* Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States
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built in France for the
Royal Netherlands Navy in the 1860s. These new ships were equipped with heavy
rifled guns, and a heavy armor. The hull had an armor plated belt of and the
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 ...
, housing the two guns, had almost of armor.
She came from the building yard with two
tripod masts and able to employ about of sails, but she proved to be a difficult sailing ship and some years later the yards, masts and the sails were removed. As with her huge
steam engines gave her a maximum speed of . Her striking weapon was the pointed ram
bow, slightly different from ''Buffel''s, but she never ever used this overestimated weapon.
Service record
As with ''Buffel'', her record is not very impressive. In 1886 ''Schorpioen'' was hit in the stern quarter by a paddle steam tugboat in the harbor of
Den Helder and sank in two hours. It was possible to raise and repair her. In 1906 she completed her role as an operational warship and was transformed into an
accommodation 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 ...
.
At the beginning of
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 opposing ...
, she fell into German hands, was towed to Germany, and served there as a lodging - and storage ship. After the war, in 1947 she was found in
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
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, Germany and towed back to Den Helder; again to become a lodging ship, first in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
and later in Den Helder where she became the barracks for the Dutch WRNS. In 1982, after
decommissioning
Decommissioning is a general term for a formal process to remove something from an active status, and may refer to:
Infrastructure
* Decommissioned offshore
* Decommissioned highway
* Greenfield status of former industrial sites
* Nuclear decommi ...
, she was bought by a private foundation that was established to transform her into a floating museum in
Middelburg Middelburg may refer to:
Places and jurisdictions Europe
* Middelburg, Zeeland, the capital city of the province of Zeeland, southwestern Netherlands
** Roman Catholic Diocese of Middelburg, a former Catholic diocese with its see in the Zeeland ...
, in the southern part of the country. Seven years later, after a complete renovation, she opened her doors to visitors, as a
museum ship.
In 1995, the
Royal Netherlands Navy re-acquired the ship and put her under the supervision of the
Dutch Navy Museum in Den Helder where she is now the third, and largest, vessel on display. In May 2000, after a renovation period of eighteen months to restore her to her former glory, the ship was opened to visitors.
See also
*
List of museum ships
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
External links
Photo-collection on Dutch ironclads HMLMS Schorpioen at Dutch Naval Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schorpioen
19th-century naval ships of the Netherlands
Naval ships of the Netherlands captured by Germany during World War II
Museum ships in the Netherlands
1868 ships
Schorpioen-class monitors
Ships built in France