Enern-class patrol vessel
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Militarized Whalers in Royal Netherlands Navy service |
| Builders |
|
| Operators |  Royal Netherlands Navy |
| In commission | 1940–1945 Royal Netherlands Navy |
| Retired | 3 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Auxiliary Patrol boat, Whaler |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 35.23 m (115 ft 7 in) |
| Beam | 7.24 m (23 ft 9 in) |
| Draught | 1.20 m (3 ft 11 in) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 10.5 knots (19.4 km/h) |
| Complement | 15 |
| Sensors and processing systems | Asdic present, unknown type |
| Armament |
|
After the start of World War II, the subsequent fall of the Netherlands left the country's overseas territories without significant naval forces for protection. The Dutch East Indies harboured the majority of the Royal Netherlands Navy, the "West Indies" including the Dutch Caribbean and Suriname only had the gunboat HNLMS Van Kinsbergen for protection between them.
In order to help with patrolling of these waters, three former Norwegian whalers were hired and militarized. These were the HNLMS Enern, HNLMS Femern and the HNLMS Toern.[1][2]
Ships of class
[edit]| Name | Construction yard | Completed | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enern | Akers Mekaniske Verksted A/S, Oslo | 1929 | Returned to owner once leasing period ended 21 August 1945. |
| Femern | Framnes Mekaniske Versted A/S, Sandefjord | 1932 | Returned to owner once leasing period ended 21 August 1945. |
| Toern | Akers Mekaniske Verksted A/S, Oslo | 1929 | Returned to owner once leasing period ended 21 August 1945. |
Service history
[edit]All three ships had originally been part of a Norwegian whaling fleet with the SS Solglimt as their factory ship. The fleet had not been in Norway during Operation Weserübung, but encountered the German Auxiliary cruiser Pinguin in the South Atlantic where the Solglimt would be captured.[3][4]
The Enern, Femern and Toern would thus be left without a factory ship and be made available for hire by their owner. All three were present in New Orleans making them ideal options for the Royal Netherlands Navy to hire them.
The most notable event during the patrols these boats did was when the HNLMS Femern picked up 8 survivors from the Norwegian tanker Lise which had been torpedoed and sunk by U 69 on 12 May 1942.[4]
All three boats were returned to their owner on 21 August 1945.[4]
Citations
[edit]- ^ Mark, Chris (1997). Schepen van de Koninklijke Marine in W.O. II. Alkmaar: De Alk. ISBN 978-90-6013-522-8.
- ^ Helfrich, Conrad Emile Lambert (1950). Memoires van Admiraal Helfrich Amsterdam: Elsevier.
- ^ von Münching, L.L. (1978). Schepen van de Koninklijke Marine in de Tweede Wereldoorlog (in Dutch). Alkmaar: De Alk. ISBN 90-6013-903-8.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link) - ^ a b c "Netherlandsnavy Whalers".