The Dutch airplane mother ship Poolster in the Dutch East Indies according to the Dutch newspapers in 1939

The Dutch newspaper Het vaderland: staat- en letterkundig nieuwsblad evening edition dated 3 February 1939 reported that she the same day was launched in the presence of a large number of interested people like the Commanding Naval Officer, the vice president of the Dutch East Indies Council and so on.(1) She was baptized by Mrs. Langeler, spouse of the Chief Inspector of the Service of Shipping. He and the director of the Droogdok Maatschappij Mr. Croll make both speeches.

The Dutch newspaper Het Vaderland: staat- en letterkundig nieuwsblad evening edition dated 24 October 1939 reported that the government buoys- and salvage vessel Poolster built by the Droogdok Maatschappij Tandjong Priok during the official trial was handed over to the chief inspector of shipping Mr Langeler. A large number of invited people were on board during the trial. She was the largest ship at that moment built in the Dutch East Indies and especially fitted out for salvaging sunken ships. Before she will start with her civilian service namely maintenance of the buoys and coast lighting will she taken into service with the Royal Navy as an airplane mother ship for which she was very suitable due to the large tank hold for aviation gasoline and heavy load equipment.

Het nieuws van den dag voor Nederlandsch-Indië evening edition dated 24 October 1939. Today was the Poolster handed over to the Governments navy. She was a vessel of 1,200 tons with a maximum speed of nearly 13 knots built for the buoys maintenance bus also suitable to use as mother ship for diving services. On board were during the trial also representatives of the board of the company K.P.M. She was a very suitable useful vessel fitted out with 3 heavy 20 tons derricks controlled with hydraulic winches on a large working platform a real improvement compared with the other buoy vessels. A large aviation gasoline was below the deck stored in tanks valued her as being as mother ship for planes. Within short time she was to be fitted out at Surabaya with a defensive armament consisting of a quick firing gun and some machine guns and a radio-device. On the working platform could she take airplanes with her. The salvaging equipment was of great value. It was proved that the two winches could lift each 75 tons so a total weight of 150 tons even sunken submarines with one of more compartments filled with water and a negative floating buoyancy of 140-150 tons.  With the available equipment on board was the maximum depth for diving service 50 metres.

Note

1. Thee website ww.marinematen.com calls her a cable and buoy ship. She was laid down 26 May 1938, launched 3 February 1939, completed 23 October 1939 and commissioned the same day. With a displacement of 1,565 tons were her dimensions 74,72 x 12,00 x 3,00 metres. The 4 cylinder MAN engine manufactured by J.K. Smit at Kinderdijk, Netherlands provided 1,250 hp allowing with the one screw a speed of 12 knots. Her crew numbered 90 men while she was armed with 1-7,5cm gun and 2-0.50 machine guns. Building number 309. Scuttled 1 March 1942 by her own crew at Tandjong Priok to prevent capture by the Japanese. The same day were the last surviving ships of the so-called ABDA squadron commanded by the Dutch rear admiral Karel Doorman destroyed (battle in the Java Sea 27-February-1 March). The Japanese however salvaged her 1 September 1943 and rebuilt her as a salvage vessel. While being underway to Manila, Philippines as the Japanese IJN Horai Maru No. 9 was she on 12 January 1945 off San Fernando, Luzon destroyed by planes from an American aircraft carrier. The article “De dienst der torpedo-motorboten in het voormalig Nederlands-Indië, deel 1-1939-1942” by J.D. Spek in the magazine Mars et Historia, October 1969, page 7 and further mentioned her being once used as a mother ship for torpedo motor boats during the war. While she was fitted out with two cradles making it possible to take these boats on board for repairs so on the Poolster was very suitable to serve as mother ship. Spek wrote that she was rebuilt for this purpose and her crew enlarged. Her bunker capacity for fuel and water was increased and she was able to take with her an extra 70 tons of fuel. See also A.J. Vermeulen. Schepen van de Koninklijke Marine en die der Gouvernementsmarine 1814-162 and other publications dealing with the Royal Netherlands Navy and the so-called Governments navy in the Dutch East Indies. Strange enough I was not I be able to trace yet documents dealing with her building in the digitalised papers of the Dutch Parliament.