HNLMS Van Meerlant (ML 36) was a minelayer of the Royal Netherlands Navy built in the Gusto shipyard at Schiedam as part of the Douwe Aukes class.
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Netherlands | |
| Name | HNLMS Van Meerlant |
| Builder | Gusto shipyard, Schiedam |
| Laid down | October 14, 1919[1] |
| Launched | November 23, 1920[1] |
| In service | July 25, 1922[1] |
| Out of service | March 14, 1943[1] |
| Fate | Sunk 4 June 1941 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Douwe Aukes class minelayer |
| Displacement | 687 tonnes[1] |
| Length | 54.8[1] |
| Beam | 9.0[1] |
| Draught | 3.2[1] |
| Propulsion | 1170 hp[1] |
| Speed | 12.8 knots[1] |
| Complement | 60 men[1] |
| Armament | |
Service edit
On the general mobilisation of the Dutch military on 28 August 1939, Van Meerlant was deployed to lay minefields, including ones at IJmuiden and the Hook of Holland.[1] She sailed for the United Kingdom from Vlissingen alongside the gunboat Flores, arriving on 18 May 1940.[1] She was first stationed at Falmouth, alongside her sister ship Douwe Aukes and the Dutch ship Medusa.[2] Later that year Van Meerlant was posted to Chatham and assigned to the Thames Local Defence Flotilla, responsible for maintaining the boom defences in the Thames Estuary.[1][3] On 14 March she was transferred to the Royal Navy, retaining her name as HMS Van Meerlant.[1] She was sunk on 4 June 1941 by a mine, with 42 hands killed.[1][4]
Notes edit
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Mark, C. Schepen van de Koninklijke Marine in W.O. II Alkmaar: De Alk bv, 1997 94-103
- ^ naval-history.net :: Royal Navy Ships, 10 June 1940
- ^ naval-history.net :: Royal Navy Ships, 1 January 1941
- ^ naval-history.net :: Naval Events, June 1941, Sunday 1st – Saturday 14th
Sources edit
- Mark, C. Schepen van de Koninklijke Marine in W.O. II Alkmaar: De Alk bv, 1997 94-103