The torpedo tubes in the bow
She left on 12 June 1940 Dundee, Scotland to patrol near Scandinavia but never returned. It’s the last Dutch submarine lost during the Second World War of which the wreck is still to discover. What caused her loss is also an issue, it could be technical problems, a deliberate collision with a Polish submarine or a German minefield.
On Tuesday 1 May offered several shipyards their tenders for building the submarines O 13 and 14 (budget year 1928). Interested were the Kon.Mij. De Schelde at Vlissingen. Maatschappij Fijenoord at Rotterdam, Burgerhout at Rotterdam, Gusto at Schiedam, P. Smit Jr. at Rotterdam and the joint venture of Werkspoor and the Scheepsbouw Maatschappij at Amsterdam. The Kon.Mij. De Schelde was ordered to built both boats. Royal Netherlands navy lieutenant 1st class C. Hellingman was transferred from den Helder to Flushing and appointed with the supervision over the building.
Tender for her building offered by the Kon.Mij. De Schelde at Vlissingen on 1 May 1928, ordered on 14 May, the necessary 204 tons steel ordered on 8 June, contract signed on 12/13 June with as delivery date 12 December 1930 for the trials, keel laid down between 31 October and 1 December in the western warehouse on the island with yard number 190 (elsewhere is mentioned 22 November), in the thrushes on 16 April 1930, plating fitte don 14 July, launched on 18 April 1931 by Mrs. Hellingman-Borsius, docked between 5 and 7 May 1931, stability trial on 20 May, technical trials between 20 May and 26 June (second time docked between 6 and 8 June), between 12 and 26 June launching and shooting tests off Den Helder, official trial on 26 June, for the third time docked between 10 and 24 August and delivered on 1 October and the next day departed towards Den Helder. Her armament consisted of 3 machineguns (2x40mm+1x12,7mm) and 5-53cm torpedo tubes (4xbow+8 torpedoes, 1xstern+2 torpedoes).
Displacement 555 (standard)-576,965 (surfaced)-714,9 (submerged) tons and as dimensions 60,478 (between perpendiculars)-60,604 (over all) x 5,40-5,752 x 3,60 and a hold of 5,004-5,326 (maximum) metres. Speed 8 (submerged)-16 (surfaced) knots. Building costs when she was for the first time commissioned amounted ƒ 2.441.501 (hull+engines ƒ 1.821.365, torpedo equipment ƒ 416.033, guns+ammunition ƒ 71.290, inventory ƒ 32.165, radio devices ƒ 38.141, gyro compass ƒ 20.732, submerged signalling equipment ƒ 37.113 and nautical/military supervision+trial crew ƒ 4.659). Between 25 May and 2 October 1928 was a strike on the shipyard.
Sources
Tender administration shipyard Kon.Mij. De Schelde 1875-1970 (Municipality Archive Flushing)
Krantenbankzeeland for local newspapers published in the province Zealand
