| Royal Netherlands Navy Koninklijke Marine |
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|---|---|
Royal Netherlands Navy jack |
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| Founded | 1488 |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Allegiance | HM The Queen |
| Size | 10,500 personnel
4 Destroyers 6 Minehunters 2 Ocean Patrol Ships 21 Helicopters + 20 on order |
| Part of | Ministry of Defence |
| Headquarters | Den Helder |
| Engagements | Eighty Years' War Dutch-Portuguese War Anglo-Dutch Wars War of Spanish Succession War of the Quadruple Alliance World War II |
| Commanders | |
| Commandant Zeestrijdkrachten | Vice Admiral Matthieu Borsboom |
| Generaal Majoor der Mariniers | Major general of the Marines Ton van Ede |
| Notable commanders |
Michiel de Ruyter, Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp, Jan van Speyk, Karel Doorman |
The Koninklijke Marine (Royal Netherlands Navy) is the navy of the Netherlands. In the mid-17th century the Dutch Navy was the most powerful navy in the world and it played an active role in the wars of the Dutch Republic and later those of the Batavian Republic and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In recent times the Royal Netherlands Navy takes part in expeditionary peacekeeping and peace enforcing operations.
The main naval base is Den Helder, Noord Holland. Secondary naval bases are in Amsterdam, Vlissingen, Texel and Willemstad (Curaçao). Marine barracks are in Rotterdam, Doorn, Suffisant on Curaçao, and Savaneta on Aruba.
The Royal Netherlands Naval College is the service academy of the Royal Netherlands Navy.
The Dutch navy has a long history. It was involved in many wars against other European powers since the late 16th century, initially for independence against Spain in European waters, later for shipping lanes, trade and colonies in many parts of the world, notably in four Anglo-Dutch wars against the United Kingdom. In the middle of the 17th century the Dutch navy was the most powerful navy in the world.[1]
During the Second World War, the Dutch navy was based in Allied countries after the Netherlands were conquered by Nazi Germany in a matter of days: the Dutch navy had its headquarters in London and smaller dependencies in Sri Lanka and Australia.
Around the world Dutch naval units were responsible for troop transport, for example during Operation Dynamo in Dunkirk and D-Day, they escorted convoys and attacked enemy targets. During the war the navy suffered heavy losses, especially in defending the Dutch East Indies, most notably the Battle of the Java Sea in which the commander, Dutchman Karel Doorman, went down with his ships together with 1000 of his crew.
During the relentless Japanese campaign of February and March 1942 in the Netherlands East Indies, the Dutch navy in Asia was virtually annihilated and sustained losses of a total of 20 ships [including its only two light cruisers) and 2500 men killed[2] - as much as the Americans at Pearl Harbor. The Dutch navy suffered from years of under-funding and came ill-prepared to face a technically and organizationally extremely well prepared, powerful and dedicated enemy, that also brought more and heavier ships with better weapons into battle, among others the Long Lance-torpedo, with which the cruiser Haguro downed the light cruiser HNLMS De Ruyter. This vessel was in no way a match for Haguro.[3] A small force of submarines sank more Japanese ships in the first weeks of the war than the entire British and US navies together, an exploit which earned Admiral Helfrich the nickname "Ship-a-day Helfrich".[4] Later in the war, a few Dutch submarines scored some remarkable hits, including one German submarine in the Mediterranean.
After the war, the relations between the Netherlands and its colonies changed dramatically. The establishment of the Republic of Indonesia, 2 days after the Japanese surrender, thwarted the Dutch plans for restoring colonial authority. It took 4 years of war before the Netherlands acknowledged the independence of Indonesia. The Dutch navy was stationed in Papua until it was turned over to the Indonesians in 1962, because the action from the Military of Indonesia, supported by the modern military equipments from Soviet Union, as the order of President Sukarno to integrate it into as one of Indonesian provinces.
With the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, the military focus was on the army and air force; it was not until the Korean War (1950–1953) that the navy got more recognition. The government allowed the creation of a balanced fleet consisting of 2 naval squadrons. Apart from the aircraft carrier Hr. Ms. Karel Doorman the Dutch navy consisted of 2 cruisers (2 De Zeven Provinciën class), 12 destroyers (4 Holland class, 8 Friesland class), 8 submarines, 6 frigates (van Speijk class frigates) and a large number of minesweepers.
As a NATO member the Netherlands developed its security policy in close cooperation with other members. The establishment of the Warsaw pact in 1955 intensified the arms race between West and East. Technical innovations rapidly emerged, the introduction of radar and sonar were followed by nuclear weapon systems and long-range missiles. The geopolitical situation allowed for a fixed military strategy. From 1965 onwards the Netherlands joined certain permanent NATO squadrons like the Standing Naval Force Atlantic.
The constituent parts of the Royal Netherlands Navy are:
Contains all surface combatants, replenishment ships and amphibious support ships.
Contains the submarines and a support vessel.
Contains various minehunters.
Contains ships which map the oceans.
Although the Coast Guard is not an official part of the Navy, it is under its operational control. Also the Netherlands Antilles & Aruba Coast Guard is under the operational control of the Navy and is commanded by the commander of the Navy in the Caribbean.
The Royal Netherlands Navy currently operates 7 main classes of vessels:
| Type ship | Defensenote 1974 | Defensenote 1984 | Priority Document 1993 | Marine study 2005 | Economize 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LC frigates | 4 | 4 | |||
| M frigates | 4 [5] | 8 [6] | 8 | 2 | 2 |
| GW frigates | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| L frigates | 1 [7] | 2 | 2 | ||
| S frigates | 12 | 10 | 6 | ||
| MLM frigates [8] | 6 | ||||
| Frigates | 25 | 22 | 18 | 6 | 6 |
| Patrolships | 4 | 4 | |||
| Submarine | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Supply ships | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | |
| ATS | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| JSS | 1 | 1 | |||
| Minehunters | 15 | 15 | 15 | 10 | 6 |
| Minesweepers | 11 | 11 [9] | |||
| Total ships | 59 | 56 | 40 | 28 | 21 |
| LRMP Aircraft | 21 | 13 [10] | 13 | ||
| Helicopters | 36 [11] | 30 [12] | 20 | 20 | 20 |
| Total aircraft | 57 | 43 | 33 | 20 | 20 |
* The Dutch Royal Navy classifies the De Zeven Provinciën as frigates, but internationally they are most comparable to destroyers (due to their size and weapon capability) platform for Sea Based Anti-Ballistics Missile defence
The constituent Equipment of the Royal Netherlands Navy are:
All ships of the L9525 LCU class have been upgraded to Mk2. This upgrade meant enlarging the vessels and increasing their payload (enabling the craft to transport the Royal Netherlands Army's Leopard 2 A6).
In 2012 the new fleet plan of the Royal Netherlands Navy will be completed, consisting of these ships:
| Class | Type | Number | Dates | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| De Zeven Provinciën | Frigate | 4 | 2002 | Mainly Anti-Air Warfare with ABM capability, ASW and with extensive Command & Communication Facilities |
| Karel Doorman class | Frigate | 2 | 1994 | Multipurpose tasks |
| Holland Class | Offshore Patrol Vessel | 4 | 2011 | Ocean patrols |
| Alkmaar class | Minehunter | 10 | 1989 | Minehunting/Minesweeping (combined) |
| Amsterdam class | Replenishment | 1 | 1995 | Fleet support/replenishing |
| Zuiderkruis class JSS | Joint Support Ship | 1 | 2014 | Combined Amphibious Operations/Seabased Helicopter Platform & Fleet Support/Replenishing |
| Rotterdam class | Landing Platform Dock | 2 | 1998/2007 | Troop & Equipment Transport, Helicopter Platform with Command & Communication & Hospital Facilities |
| Walrus class | Submarine | 4 | 1994 | MultiPurpose Diesel-electric powered hunter-killer submarines for Deep Ocean Operations and Brown Water & Special Force Operations |
The total tonnage will be approx. 140.000 t. Next to these ships a lot of other smaller vessels remain in the navy like the Snellius class hydrographical survey vessels.
With these changes the Royal Netherlands Navy will have 10 large ocean going vessels ranging from medium/low to high combat action ships. The renewed Dutch Navy will be a green-water navy, having enough frigates and auxiliaries to operate far out at sea, while depending on land-based air support and with the large amphibious squadron they will have significant brown-water navy capabilities.
Together with the United States and several other NATO members, the Dutch Navy is testing and updating its ships for Tactical ballistic missile Defense capability. Although tests conducted concerning the capability of the APAR (Active Phased Array Radar) have been very successful, no decision has been made by the Dutch Government in purchasing SM-3 missiles - mainly because the SM-3 is not operational yet. Four ships are being fitted out for Tactical ballistic Missile Defense. If purchased (after US export approval) the four LCFs will be fitted out with only eight SM-3 missiles each, due to the high costs for each missile (approximately $2.5 - $5 million).
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