Dutch 1913 battleship proposal
A Dutch proposal to build new battleships was originally tendered in 1912. Only four coastal defense ships were planned, but naval experts believed that acquiring dreadnoughts would provide a stronger defense for the Nederlands-Indië. A Royal Commission was formed in June 1912. It recommended that the Koninklijke Marine acquire nine dreadnought-type battleships to protect the NEI from attack and help guarantee the country’s neutrality in Europe. Seven foreign companies submitted designs for the contract; a 26,850-long-ton ship, whose design was submitted by the German firm Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft, would have been eventually selected. The Dutch Government decided to acquire four battleships, and a bill seeking
About Dutch 1913 battleship proposal in brief
A Dutch proposal to build new battleships was originally tendered in 1912. Only four coastal defense ships were planned, but naval experts and the Tweede Kamer believed that acquiring dreadnoughts would provide a stronger defense for the Nederlands-Indië. A Royal Commission was formed in June 1912. It recommended that the Koninklijke Marine acquire nine dreadnought-type battleships to protect the NEI from attack and help guarantee the country’s neutrality in Europe. Five of these would be based in the colony, while the other four would operate out of the Netherlands. Seven foreign companies submitted designs for the contract; a 26,850-long-ton ship, whose design was submitted by the German firm Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft, would have been eventually selected. The Dutch Government decided to acquire four battleships, and a bill seeking funding for them was introduced into the Dutch parliament in August 1914. However, this was withdrawn following the outbreak of the First World War that month. A new royal commission into Dutch defense needs held after the war did not recommend that battleships be procured and none were ever ordered. The proposed ships were generally similar to the German Kaiser class, but with eight 343 mm L50 guns in four turrets mounted rather than ten 305 mm guns in five turrets, and fewer fewer medium guns. The ships were 1 knot faster and had a longer range at the expense of lighter armor, similar to that used in contemporary German battlecruisers. By the time the design was proposed, the Dutch authorities had decided that mounting the armament was inferior to superfiring turrets and asked German firm en echelon to submit a revised design incorporating enhanced ammunition storage and other minor improvements.
As a result, the Royal Commission handed its findings and recommendations to the government in August 1913. The Royal Commission concluded that there was an increased risk of theNEI becoming involved in a war between the western Asian powers and the western European powers. It concluded that the Dutch should acquire four dreadnougts to protect its colony. The proposal was rejected and the Dutch government decided to build a submarine for the colony in 1911. In 1912 the Dutch laid down a coastal defense ship, De Zeven Provinciën, and eight destroyers of the Wolf class. Meanwhile, in September 1912 the Navy Minister, Hendrikus Colijn, contacted the German firms to prepare a design for Dreadnought battleships suited to the NEi. One ship of this design was very close to being authorized in 1912, but it was felt by experts that the Netherlands would be better served by constructing dreadnOUGHts of a type similar to the Spanish España class. In response to the perceived threat of Japanese attack, the Netherlands laid down eight destroyer of theWolf class, while beginning plans for other ships. In 1911, a submarine was approved in the Dutch Squadron in the East Indies, and they would have had an armament of four 280-mm and ten 102-mm guns and three torpedo tubes.
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This page is based on the article Dutch 1913 battleship proposal published in Wikipedia (as of Oct. 31, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
