The Royal Netherlands Navy is the maritime service branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It was founded on 8 January 1488, making it the third-oldest naval force in the world.
The Walrus-class submarine is the only submarine class currently in operation in the Royal Netherlands Navy. The boats have been in service since 1990 and are all named after sea mammals.
The Zwaardvis-class submarine ("Swordfish") is a class of conventional attack submarines that were built to strengthen the Royal Netherlands Navy. The Dutch government opted for the choice to not replace the two Zwaardvis-class submarines with either more Walrus-class submarines, or submarines of a new design.
The Royal Netherlands Navy Submarine Service is a department within the Royal Netherlands Navy that is responsible for the deployment of Dutch submarines. It was established out of the Netherlands Torpedo Service on 21 December 1906, and merged with the Netherlands Mine Service on 15 July 2005.
O 19, laid down as K XIX, was an O 19-class submarine of the Royal Netherlands Navy that saw service during World War II. O 19, along with her sister ship O 20, were the first submarines in the world to be equipped with a submarine snorkel that allowed the submarine to run its diesel engines while submerged.
O 15 was a O 12-class submarine of the Royal Netherlands Navy that saw service during World War II. It was the only submarine of the O 12 class built by Wilton-Fijenoord of Rotterdam. It was one of many Dutch ships doing convoy duty during the Spanish Civil War. When World War II broke out O 15 was stationed in Curaçao. It returned to Europe and was based in Dundee, whence it patrolled the coast of Norway and accompanied convoys to Archangelsk. The sub survived World War II and was taken out of active duty just after the Japanese surrender. It was demolished in 1946 in Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht.
O 13 was an O 12-class submarine of the Royal Netherlands Navy that saw service during World War II. She was built by the Koninklijke Maatschappij De Schelde of Vlissingen. She was one of many Dutch ships doing convoy duty during the Spanish Civil War. At the time of the German invasion of the Netherlands, O 13 was on patrol off the Dutch coast and was attacked by German planes on multiple occasions. After fleeing to England, the submarine was lost during a patrol on the North Sea.
The Zwaardvisch class was a class of initially two, and later four, submarines that served between 1943 and 1965 in the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN). They were former T-class submarines. Two were acquired and transferred to the RNLN during the Second World War, while another two were loaned from the Royal Navy post-war for a period of five years.
O 21, laid down K XXI was an O 21-class submarine of the Royal Netherlands Navy that saw service during World War II. During the war she sank several ships, among them the German submarine U-95.
HNLMS Dolfijn was a Dolfijn-class submarine of the Royal Netherlands Navy.
HNLMS Zwaardvis (S806) was a Zwaardvis-class submarine of the Royal Netherlands Navy.
K XVII was one of five K XIV-class submarines built for the Royal Netherlands Navy. She served during World War II.
HNLMS Mercuur (A900) is a submarine support ship of the Royal Netherlands Navy. The ship was built and designed specially to support the Dutch submarines. She entered service on 21 August 1987, and is the only surface vessel attached to the Dutch submarine service.
HNLMS Zeeleeuw (S803) is a Walrus-class submarine of the Royal Netherlands Navy. She entered service in 1990 as the first submarine of the Walrus class, after the intended lead ship, HNLMS Walrus, was delayed for a long period following a serious fire during construction. Zeeleeuw has been deployed both for naval exercises and in combat operations around the world. Furthermore, the submarine plays an important role by performing intelligence operations. The submarine has undergone a mid-life maintenance and upgrade program between 2014 and 2016, and is currently in active service.
HNLMS Dolfijn (S808) is a Walrus-class submarine of the Royal Netherlands Navy. She entered service in 1993 as the third submarine of the Walrus class, after HNLMS Walrus and HNLMS Zeeleeuw. Dolfijn has been deployed both for naval exercises and in combat operations around the world. Furthermore, the submarine plays an important role by performing intelligence operations.
HNLMS Onverschrokken (A856), also known as HNLMS Mercuur (A856), was an Onversaagd-class minesweeper of the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNN). Soon after being taken into service of the RNN, the ship was put into reserve alongside the rest of the minesweepers of the Onversaagd class. Later, in 1973 she was renamed as HNLMS Mercuur (A856) and used as submarine support ship till her decommissioning in 1987. Nowadays, she is a museum ship that can be visited in Vlissingen.
HNLMS Bruinvis (S810) is a Walrus-class submarine of the Royal Netherlands Navy. She entered service in 1994 as the fourth and final submarine of the Walrus class, after HNLMS Walrus, Zeeleeuw and Dolfijn. Bruinvis has been deployed both for naval exercises and in combat operations around the world. As of December 2015 the submarine was in active service.
Nieuwe Haven is a Royal Netherlands Navy base in Den Helder and the largest naval base in the Netherlands.
The Walrus class was a class of two submarines that served between 1953 and 1971 in the Royal Netherlands Navy. They were former Balao class submarines that were loaned to the Netherlands by the United States under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program (MDAP).
The Dutch Underwater Knowledge Centre (DUKC) is a working group and knowledge platform aimed at preserving submarine knowledge within the Dutch industry. It consists of several Dutch companies and knowledge institutes that have experience and knowledge in the field of underwater technology. During the life extension program of the Walrus-class submarines DUKC played an important role.
Netherlands
