HNLMS Willebrord Snellius

History
Netherlands
Name	Willebrord Snellius
Namesake	Willebrord Snellius
Builder	Maatschappij voor Scheeps- en Werktuigbouw Fijenoord, Rotterdam
Launched	1928
Commissioned	1928 Governments Navy 1938 Royal Netherlands Navy
Out of service	6 March 1942
Fate	Scuttled to block the entrance to Surabaya Naval Harbor
General characteristics
Type	Auxiliary, hydrographic survey ship, patrol boat
Displacement	930 t (920 long tons) standard
Length	62.1 m (203 ft 9 in)
Beam	9.7 m (31 ft 10 in)
Draught	3.61 m (11 ft 10 in)
Installed power	525  hp (391 kW)
Propulsion	1 × Werkspoor triple expansion
Speed	10.5 knots (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph)
Complement	84
Armament	1 × 75 mm (3.0 in) cannon 2 × 12.7 mm (0.50 in) machine guns

HNLMS Willebrord Snellius was a hydrographic survey vessel created for service with the Government Navy in the Dutch East Indies. The ship was named after Willebrord Snellius, a famous Dutch astronomer and mathematician.

Willebrord Snellius was militarized by the Royal Netherlands Navy upon the outbreak of World War II and served as a patrol boat in the east of the Indonesian Archipelago. ^{[1] [2]}

Service history

HNLMS Willebrord Snellius served diligently as a hydrographic survey vessel with the Government Navy cooperating with older vessels like HNLMS Tydeman. Around 1938 the Royal Netherlands Navy found itself in need for a hydrographic survey vessel of its own in the Dutch East Indies, and the ship was transferred. ^{[1] [2]} Upon the outbreak of World War II, the ship was used as a patrol boat around the Celebes. It was at Menado that Willebrord Snellius captured the German freighter Friderun of 2,500 tons on 10 May 1940, the same day on which the Netherlands was invaded by Germany. ^{[1] [2]}

When the war expanded to include Japan, Willebrord Snellius was unable to defend the Celebes and escaped to Surabaya, Java. Being unable to escape to Australia after the Allies loss in the Java Sea, the ship was initially abandoned and eventually scuttled as a blockship to prevent Japanese access to the naval harbour at Surabaya. The wreck was blown up by Japanese forces upon their arrival at Surabaya to enable access to the harbour. ^{[1] [2]}

References

1. Mark, Chris (1997). Schepen van de Koninklijke Marine in W.O. II. Alkmaar: De Alk. ISBN 978-90-6013-522-8.
2. von Münching, L. L. (1978). Schepen van de Koninklijke Marine in de tweede wereldoorlog (in Dutch). Alkmaar: Alk. ISBN   978-90-6013-903-5.