Koningin Regentes class Coast Defence Ships (1900)

The three Koningin Regentes class Coast Defence Ships (pantserschep) were a net improvement over the earlier Eversten class, themselves the fruit of an important modernization effort of the Royal Dutch Netherlands Navy (Koninklijke Marine). They were larger, faster, much better armed than the Eversten, better protected also. They however moderately long careers, although for the first two discarded in 1920-23. Hertog Hendrik was still around in 1940 when the Germans Attacked and was captured, converted as the Flakschiff Ariadne. She was captured in Willhemshaven aft V-Day and was returned to the Netherlands, converted as an accommodation ship by Wilton-Fijenoord. She served under her original name until retired on 27 September 1968.

Development

After the trio of Eversten, initially planned to defend the Dutch East Indies, the Royal Dutch Netherlands Navy obtained a vote for three more modern variants, better suited for overseas service. Like the previous vessels, vote was conditioned to at least two ships remaining in home waters, one assigned regularly to the West Indies. They were more complex vessels featuring a more symmetric armament, and were in general larger and better armed than the previous Eversten class. They saw an extensive and long service unlike the previous Evertsen, two being decommissioned in 1913-14 and the last in 1920. The first two still were discarded in 1920-23 but Hertog Hendrik was still around in 1940 when the Germans Attacked.

Design of the Koningin Regentes class Coast Defence Ships

If the general design of the previous ships Evertsen provided some groundwork to improve upon, the new pantserscheppen still were larger and better suited for overseas corssings and operations. From the start they had been design to rotate if needed between the East and West Indies. Their freeboard was taller, with all along bulwarks and a proper forecastle ending with a ram, unike previous ships which were flush-deck forward with bulwarks. Their seaworthiness was questionable. There were still a few common features like the single straight funnel amidships and two masts. But for example, the conning tower, which was installed aft of the bridge, was now in front and below the bridge, which was far more developed, fully enclosed with an open bridge above. A telemeter sat on top. There was a small spotting top of the foremast. Both were simpler poles, not thick military masts as for the Eversten.

For comparison, Evertsen (top) and Koniging Regentes class Hertog Hendrik (bottom).

The masts supported wireless telegraphy cables on the third in class and were quite tall.
The central superstructure supporting the air scoops, vents and accesses hatches along the battery deck, was straight and continued with recesses along the forecastle to allow the forward secondary barbette guns a good forward angle. The bulwarks aloge the battery deck and up to the poop were tall and protected from small arms fire and shrapnel. They had foldable parts in front of the secondary artillery position and also folded down all along the poop to enable the main gun a but more depression aft. Both turrets (instead of single one with maller caliber) were at different levels, one on deck aft, the other on the forecastle forward. The ships had a crew of 340, and sported eight boats of different types, cutters, yawls and pinnaces under davits along the battery deck, hanging above the secondary guns.

Hull and general design

The Koningin Regentes class Coast Defence Ships measured 96.62 metres (317 ft) long (ten meters more than the Eversten), with a beam of 15.19 metres (49 ft 10 in) or one meter more than the Evertsen (14.33 m), for a draught of 5.82 metres (19 ft 1 in), again, suprtior to the Evertsen at 5.23m. This made for a massively increased displacement of 5,002 ton versus 3,464 tonnes standard. They had a ram bow, and the forecastle was a massive advantage for overseas crossings. Although the aft section was low and could be easily flooded, they were recoignised as stable gun platforms, but theur small rudder, identical to the one of the Eversten, failed to gave them sufficient agility.

Powerplant

Hertog Hendrik full speed ahead in 1914-18, painted grey.

The Koningin Regentes class had 2 shaft connected to a pair of reciprocating, triple expansion steam engines provided in yard, fed by four boilers (details unknown) which were rated at 6,500 ihp (4,800 kW). These produced a top speed of 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h). This was compared to 4,700 hp (3,500 kW) and 16 knots (30 km/h) on the former Evertsen. But the largest difference was in range. They carried around 722-736 tons of coal storage versus 290t on the Evertsen, making for a far greater range overall.

Protection

In terms of protection, all three had (uncemented) Krupp armour. Here are the details, it was superior in some aspects to the Evertsen class:
Belt armour: 6 inches (15 cm)
Deck armour: 2 in (5.1 cm).
Main turret sloped armour: 10 inches (25 cm)
Main Barbettes: 10 inches (25 cm), 10 cm below the armoured deck.
Transverse Bulkheads: 6 inches (15 cm)
Secondary Gun shields: est. 1 inch (2.5 cm)
Not only the secondary guns had more decent shields, instead 12 mm armor protection, but the bulwarks added that 12 mm extra protection.

Armament

The Koningin Regentes class was a big step forward with the Evertsen class, which were still some sorts of monitors with a single Krupp main gun forward, 21 cm.
Not only they had two main guns fore and aft, but there were 24cm Krupp N°1, to be exact 238m/37 calibers. The main and secondary battery was also more extensive, with now four, all Krupp 149mm L/37 long quick firing guns. The minister was appluaded in the press and the navy to approve this choice of armament.

238mm/37 Krupp No.1

The main armament were two 24 cm SK L/37 guns in single turrets with a well studied, almost flat, well sloped to maximize thickness. 10 inches had angles making them superior to 12 inches in reality. So they were in theory immune to main battleship caliber at the time while their 24 cm caliber was certainly close to that battleship standard, and was in fact close to what the German Navy had at the time on capital ships, like the Kaiser Friedrich III class. The Germans preferred a quicker fire capability of three rounds a minute versus two on a standard 12-in, because they estimated making a hit at max range for a 12-in gun was near-impossible and preferred to close the distance. This was certainly an upgrade compared the the 21 cm guns of the Evertsens, which, agreed, carried three of these (2 fwd, 1 aft). See the Kaiser Friedrich III for more specs. With these new ships, the Netherlands Navy could deter foreign battleships of the time.

149mm SK L/40 Krupp No.4

Secondary armament comprised four single 15 cm (5.9 in) guns (instead of just two for the Evertsen). These were better shielded, with two forward in sponsons, with recesses in the forecastle, and two facing aft. They were an improvement over the two shorter 15 cm L/35 quick-firing guns of the Evertsens. The Netherlands used the N°2, 3, 4 and 5 which had different caracteristics.

Specs N°4:

Mass: 5,200 kg (11,500 lb)
Length: 6 m (19 ft 8 in), barrel rifling 5.5 m (18 ft 1 in)
Shell: Separate-loading, cased charge, 149.1 millimeters (5.87 in)
Breech: horizontal sliding breech block
Elevation: -7° to +20°, Traverse: -150° to +150°
Rate of fire: 4-5 rpm
Muzzle velocity 850 m/s (2,800 ft/s)
Maximum range: 14 km (9 mi) at 20°.

Defensive armament:

There were eight 7.5 cm (3.0 in) Krupp No. 3 single guns, shielded and placed alongside the battery deck.
There were also four 1-pounder single 37mm/20 Hotchkiss, standard 1885 type.
There were at last three 45 cm (18 in) torpedo tubes, two were submerged amidships, one was above water at the bow.

⚙ specifications
Displacement	5,002 tons
Dimensions	96.62 x 14.33 x 5.23m (282 ft 10 in x 47 ft x 17 ft 2 in)
Propulsion	2 shafts RSE, 4 boilers 6,500 hp (4,800 kW)
Speed	16.5 knots (30.6 km/h)
Range	722-736 tons coal, unknown range
Armament	2x 24cm, 4× 15cm, 8× 7.5 cm, 4x 1-pdr, 3× 45 cm TTs
Protection	15 cm belt, 25 cm barbette, 25cm turret, 5.1 cm deck
Crew	263

Career of the K. Regentes class

HNLMS Koningin Regentes was launched on 24 April 1900 and christened by Queen Mother Emma at the Rijkswerf in Amsterdam. On 3 January 1902 she was commissioned into service. On 11 March she left Vlissingen for the West Indies in a context of increased political tensions with Venezuela. She interrupted her journey to provide assistance and relief on 19 May to the French island of Martinique after the eruption of the Mont Pelée volcano. On 4 April 1902, she arrived at La Guaira together with the HNLMS Utrecht. They stayed under the the Venezuelan navy, which repeatedly stopped Dutch and Antillean ships released bith ships and crews.

Postcard: HNLMS Koningin Regentes at Mount Pelee, Martinique, Carribean.

In 1906, Koningin Regentes took part in an punitive expedition to Bali. On 16-17 September, she shelled rebels at Denpasar together with De Ruyter and Zeeland. After which, she carried ground troops and formed a landing party, to braok the remaining armed resistance. On 10 August 1909 she departed from Batavia with De Ruyter and Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp for a trip to the Philippines, also stopping at Hong Kong, China and Japan, to show the flag.
Koningin Regentes and her sisters De Ruyter and Hertog Hendrik departed together from Surabaya for a show of force to Australia on 15 August 1910 (and goodwill visit to Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and Fremantle, among others). On 19 October they returned to Surabaya.

HNLMS Koningin Regentes in 1900-1902 off Algiers, FNAF.

On 4 April 1918, Koningin Regentes and De Zeven Provinciën escorted the passenger ships Vondel, Kawi, Rindjani and Grotius to Tandjong Priok. They had been indeed prior to that the target of pirates and interceptions in the eastern part of the Indonesian archipelago. There was also the case of confiscation of Dutch merchant ships by Great Britain and the United States according to the right of siege in wartime, the Netherlands remaining neutral. HNLMS Koningin Regentes was eventually decommissioned in 1920.

De Ryuter in Balikpapan

De Ruyter, bearing the name of a famos admiral, was launched on 28 September 1901 at Maatschappij voor Scheeps shipyard, Werktuigbouw Fijenoord in Rotterdam. Shje was commissioned on 29 October 1902. On 24 June 1905 Hertog Hendrik ran aground on the coral near Matjidosteen while her way to the Gulf of Boni. The cruiser HNLMS Zeeland made several attempts to pull her free, but failed. In fact she pulles so har her own bollards broke off before the two lines snapped. Eventually the might liner Japara of the Koninklijke Paketvaart Maatschappij arrived with proper towing equipment. When coal, supplies and ammunition had been transferred, she was estimated light enough for Japara to pull free with the help of De Ruyter.

On 11 September, De Ruyter and Hertog Hendrik took part in an expedition to South Celebes against the prince of Loewoe. They supported th landing of an infantry battalion and a naval landing division at Palope. They took over the palace the same day. In 1906, they took part in a punitive expedition to Bali, shelling Denpasar on 16-17 September together with Zeeland and Koningin Regentes. All three put a two hours shelling which completely destroy rebel fortifications as a preparatory barrage before marine troops took over and broke the armed resistance.

De Ruyter in Willemstad

On 15 December 1908, she left for Den Helder and latter sailed to Curaçao in the Dutch West Indies, to reinforce the Dutch squadron there sent for the Venezuelan coast, due to increased political tensions. She joined HNLMS Friesland, Jacob van Heemskerck and Gelderland as a show of force for the Venezuelian Gvt?. to compley and release seized Dutch vessels.
On 10 August 1909, back to the East Indies, she left Batavia together with Koningin Regentes and Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp for a showthe flag operation in the recently US-held Philippines, Hong Kong, China and Japan. De Ruyter and Koningin Regentes as well as Hertog Hendrik were reunited again for a cruise to Australia from Surabaya, starting on 15 August 1910 and back on 19 October. This was their last cruise together and she rmained inactive until decommissioned in 1923 and later sold for BU locally.

On 8 March 1901, Queen Wilhelmina officially greeted the keel laying of HNLMS Hertog Hendrik during a visit to the Rijkswerf in Amsterdam, and she was launched there on 7 June 1902, christened by Prince Hendrik himself. On 5 January 1904, the Hertog Hendrik was put into service. On 9 November 1904, the ship left Den Helder for the Dutch East Indies. Hertog Hendrik was the first Dutch warship equipped with wireless telegraphy. Shortly after departure, she sent the first Dutch wireless telegram to the admiralty in Amsterdam. She would be an important link to the colonies, especially the East Indies.

On 24 June 1905, Hertog Hendrik ran aground on a coral near Matjidosteen while en route to the Gulf of Boni. HNLMS Zeeland made several attempts to pull her free but failed and she was eventually freed by the ciombined effort of her sister De Ryuter and the Japara with proper towing equipment after she was properly unloaded. On 20 July she supported the landing in the South Celebes against the Prince of Boni. She acted as flagship of the squadron. She paired with HNLMS Zeeland to protect the landing until the palace was stormed and the rebel prince captured. On 11 September with De Ruyter she took part in a second expedition to South Celebes against this time the Prince of Loewoe, ally of the Prince of Boni. Sehe covered the landing of an infantry battalion and naval landing division at Palope. The Palace fell the same day.

In 1910 together with the protected cruiser HrMs Holland, she escorted HrMs Noordbrabant which ran aground an uncharted rock near South Lombok underway to Surabaya on 31 May. She was partially flooded as the reef penetrated the hull, but Noordbrabant was able to continue the journey under her own power after the salvage operation.
Hertog Hendrik and De Ruyter, Koningin Regentes left Surabaya on 15 August 1910 for their trip to Australia (see above). She departed again on 16 February 1918 with the auxiliary cruiser Noordam escorting a convoy to the Dutch East Indies via the Panama Canal. North of Scotland she encountered a heavy storm causing massive damage. She had to sail back to Den Helder on 29 March. On 5 July, she sailed again from Hoek van Holland to reach the Dutch East Indies via Scotland and the Cape of Good Hope. The convoy consisted of the auxiliary cruiser Tabanan, Bengkalis (coaler) and the liner Noordam. On 27 September they made it into Tandjong Priok.

On 3 March 1920 the Hertog Hendrik and Marten Harpertszoon Tromp sailed from Den Helder to Asia for a show of force. During the journey of four months, they visited Singapore, Saigon, Hong Kong, Kobe and Manila. On 27 June 1927 the Swedish armoured ships Manligheten and Tapperheten visited Rotterdam, moored on the Nieuwe Maas where Hertog Hendrik was present and hosted their officers. At that stage, her sisters had been scrapped, she was the only one still in service.

On 27 March 1934 she entered Den Helder after a gunnery exercise in Jan-March 1934 in the Mediterranean. On 19 February had visited Venice and took part in Navy Day in Scheveningen on 3 September, performed a searchlight demonstration. At that stage, her modrnization had been limited. In 1926 she loed her aft 238mm/37 Krupp gun, four of her eight 75mm/37 guns and all her Hotchkiss 37mm/20 guns. Instead she was equipped with installations to support the use of two 2 seaplanes of the WA or Fairey IIID type. She patrolled off the coast during the Spanish Civil War, and performed convoy duties against possible attacks frm the nationalists fearing arms smuggling to the Republicans.

In December 1939 given the state of her machinery she was retrograded as a local battery ship, stationed off the coast of Vlieland and named that way. She was rearmed with two 40mm/56 Bofors No.4, and two 12.7mm/90 heavy machine guns. By early 1940, she was decommissioned and planned for scrapping. However this was still not done in May when the invasion took place. She was captured as a hulk by the Germans on 14 May. She was sunk during a British air raid on 21-22 June. In October th Germans managed to have her raised and started her conversion as a FLAKschiff (AA ship) in Antwerp, from 1941 to 1943. She became the floating battery KMS Ariadne.

The transformation was radical. Her new armament consisted of eight 105 mm, four 40 mm and sixteen 20 mm partly with Flakvierling quad mounts. She was strafed several times but survived the war. In between she had been towed to Germany to defend Wilhelmshaven. The Ductj government obtained her back. She was reconverted once more, as an accommodation ship at the Wilton-Fijenoord shipyard. In this new configuration on 21 October 1947 under her original name she was didsarmed and a superstructure was installed over her decks. She was finally decommissioned for good on 27 September 1968.

Read More/Src

Books

Evers, F.J.H. (23 November 1899). “Marine-Organisatie”. De Tijd : godsdienstig-staatkundig dagblad.
Gardiner, Robert… Conway’s All the World’s Fighting Ships, 1860-1905. Conway Maritime Press.
Jane, Fred T. (1900). All The World’s Fighting Ships. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co.
Jane, Fred T., ed. (1970). Jane’s Fighting Ships 1905-6. New York: ARCO Publishing Company.
“Hr. Ms. Pantserschip Koningin Regentes”. Marineblad. No. 4. 1900. pp. 89–91.
Raven, G.J.A., ed. (1988). De kroon op het anker: 175 jaar Koninklijke Marine (in Dutch). Amsterdam: De Bataafsche Leeuw.

Links

vakbondshistorie.nl/
delpher.nl/nl/tijdschriften/
shipbucket.com/drawings
on navypedia.org/
on destinationsjourney.com
battleships-cruisers.co.uk/ dutch_navy
reddit.com/r/WarshipPorn/ hertog_hendrik
navweaps.com/ Netherlands arty
nl.wikipedia.org
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koningin_Regentes-class

Model Kits

On klueser.de/