HNLMS Zeeland (1897)

HNLMS Zeeland (Dutch: Hr.Ms. Zeeland) was a Holland-class protected cruiser of the Royal Netherlands Navy.

For other ships with the same name, see HNLMS Zeeland.
Zeeland and other steamships in the Bay of Ambon
History
Netherlands
Name: Zeeland
Builder: Koninklijke Maatschappij de Schelde in Flushing
Laid down: 1895
Launched: 20 March 1897
Commissioned: 1 June 1898
Decommissioned: 1924
Fate: Scrapped
General characteristics
Class and type: Holland-class cruiser
Displacement: 3,900 tons
Length: 93.3 m (306 ft 1 in)
Beam: 14.8 m (48 ft 7 in)
Draught: 5.41 m (17 ft 9 in)
Propulsion: 10,000 ihp (7,500 kW), two shafts
Speed: 20 knots (37 km/h)
Complement: 324
Armament:
  • 2 × 5.9 in (15 cm) (2 × 1)
  • 6 × 4.7 in (12 cm) (6 × 1)
  • 4 × 3 in (7.6 cm) (4 × 1)
  • 4 × 1pdr (4 × 1)
  • 2 × 45 cm (18 in) torpedo tubes
Armour: 5 cm (2.0 in) deck

Design

The ship was 93.3 m (306 ft)[1] long, had a beam of 14.8 m (49 ft), a draught of 5.41 m (18 ft), and had a displacement of 3,900 ton.[1] The ship was equipped with 2 shaft reciprocating engines, which were rated at 10,000 ihp (7,500 kW) and produced a top speed of 20 knots (37 km/h). The ship had a deck armour of 2 in (5.1 cm). Two 5.9 in (15 cm) single turret guns provided the ship's main armament, and these were augmented by six single 4.7 in (12 cm) guns and four 3 in (7.6 cm) single guns. The ship had a complement of 324 men.[2]

Service history

The ship was built at the Koninklijke Maatschappij de Schelde in Flushing and launched on 20 March 1897. The ship was commissioned on 1 June 1898. She left the port of Flushing on 18 June that year for a series of trials on the North Sea. During these trials the ship visited Plymouth. The ship served as flagship of a fleet of 18 ships on 15 September that year at a fleet review on the Hollands Diep. The review was held because of the coronation of the Dutch queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands.[3]

On 24 June 1905 Hertog Hendrik hit a coral reef near Matjidosteen while en route to the Gulf of Boni. Zeeland made several attempts to pull the stranded ship loose, but these proved unsuccessful and were abandoned when Zeeland's bollards broke. The ship was later pulled clear after De Ruyter and Japara, a ship with towing equipment from the Koninklijke Paketvaart Maatschappij, arrived and Hertog Hendrik's coal, reserves and munitions were offloaded. Later that year Zeeland took part in an expeditions to South Celebes. The expedition was undertaken against the lord of Boni. Armed sloops of Hertog Hendrik, Zeeland and Assahan protected the landing of Dutch forces near Patiro on 20 July 1905.[4]

In 1906 Zeeland, Koningin Regentes, along with her sister ship De Ruyter, assisted in an expedition to the island of Bali in the Dutch East Indies as part of Dutch attempts to integrate the southern kingdoms of Tabanan, Badung and Klungkung into the Dutch East Indies. On 16 and 17 September, the ships bombarded the city of Denpasar and afterwards ground forces broke what resistance remained.[5]

The ship left on 2 July 1914 the port of IJmuiden for practice in the North and Baltic Sea. On board was Prince Henry of the Netherlands. During the trip the ship visited the ports of Copenhagen, Saint Petersburg, Stockholm and Kristiania. On 29 July the ship returned in Den Helder.[6]

On 7 June 1917 the ship left from Den Helder for a journey round the world to Soerabaja. Along the way the ship visited Tórshavn, New York, Curaçao, Colon, Panama, San Francisco, Honolulu, Yokohama and Nagasaki. During the trip she passed through the Panama Canal and became the first foreign warship to do so. On 4 November that year she reached her destination. During the trip 53 man of the crew deserted during the visits to the US cities of New York (45) and San Francisco (8). On 3 December that year the ship left for the Netherlands. The same route was taken to reach it.[7]

The ship was decommissioned in 1924.[2]

Notes
  1. Staatsbegrooting voor het dienstjaar 1903, Bijlage A [2. VI. 5.]
  2. "navalhistory". Retrieved 2013-05-30.
  3. "scheepvaartmuseum.nl :: Maritieme kalender 1898". Retrieved 2013-05-30.
  4. "scheepvaartmuseum.nl :: Maritieme kalender 1905". Retrieved 2013-05-30.
  5. "scheepvaartmuseum.nl :: Maritieme kalender 1906". Retrieved 2013-05-30.
  6. "scheepvaartmuseum.nl :: Maritieme kalender 1914". Retrieved 2013-05-30.
  7. "scheepvaartmuseum.nl :: Maritieme kalender 1917". Retrieved 2013-05-30.

References
  • Staatsbegrooting voor het dienstjaar 1903 (2. VI. 5.)
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