benelux HNLMS Friesland

[WayOfTheWolk 1,573]

HNLMS Friesland

Introduction:

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The post-war era marked a significant change for the Royal Netherlands Navy. With its fleet of cruisers and coastal defense ships no more the navy made a concentrated effort to focus on anti-submarine warfare which presented the latest new threat in naval warfare. A budget of 48 so called "submarine destroyers" was considered but a lack of funding quickly scaled back this possibility. Starting in 1950 4 ships of the Holland class destroyer were constructed however the Dutch soon encountered problems with the propulsion and stability of the vessels. These problems were exacerbated by the fact that the Dutch had not formally built ships since 1939 and the German invasion stifled all existing expansion plans. A lack of raw materials and a skilled workforce the Holland class was doomed to fail from the start. In response under the 1951 defense memorandum the navy put in an order for 8 Friesland class destroyers which were expected to remedy these problems. The Friesland class was better armed, faster and equipped with the latest domestic radar designs. What had almost been a complete failure of a program was saved and the Friesland would make its mark on Dutch naval ingenuity. 

Service History:

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HNLMS Friesland was constructed by the NDSM shipyard of Amsterdam with her keel laid 17 December 1951. She was launched on 21 February 1953 and commissioned 22 March 1956. Friesland has the unique Dutch distinction of being involved in some of the most remarkable events of the Cold War. In a goodwill voyage on July 1956 she visited the Soviet port of Kronstadt at St Petersburg receiving a welcoming crowd. This was the first time since 1914 a Dutch naval vessel had visited Russia and the first time the USSR. During the 1960s, relations were fast deteriorating between the Netherlands and Indonesia. Indonesian President Sukarno was planning to invade Dutch New Guinea with Soviet assistance and in response the Dutch deployed a carrier task force to deter the invasion force. In a show of force HNLMS Friesland fired warning shots at Indonesian vessels approaching the island of Misool and forced the Indonesians to withdraw. This is the only instance of Friesland firing her guns in anger.  The rest of her career was rather calm taking part in NATO exercises and patrolling the remnants of the Dutch overseas empire. HNLMS Friesland was retired on 29 June 1979 and subsequently scrapped unlike all her sister ships which were sold to Peru.

Photographs:

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Blueprints:

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Friesland General Plan Front

Friesland General Plan Aft

Technical Data:

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Specifications:

Displacement: 2497 tonnes

Length: 116 m

Beam: 11.7 m

Draught: 5.20 m

Installed Power: 4 x Babacock & Wilcox boilers (60000 hp)

Propulsion: 2 x shafts, 2 x Werkspoor geared steam turbines 

Speed: 36 knots

Crew: 284 men

Armament:

4 x 120/50 Bofors No. 10 guns (2 x 2)

6 x 40/70 Bofors SP48 guns (6 x 1)

8 x 375 Bofors ASWRL (2 x 4) 

2 x Depth charge rails

Sources:

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• http://www.navypedia.org/ships/netherlands/nl_dd_friesland.htm
• https://www.nationaalarchief.nl/onderzoeken/archief/4.MST/invnr/%401~1.2~1.2.22~3793-3857
• W.H.E., van Amstel (1991). De schepen van de Koninklijke Marine vanaf 1945 . Alkmaar
• Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995

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Edited May 27, 2021 by WayOfTheWolk

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