In the municipality archive of Flushing is the exhibition Zeeuws Geweld-Marinescheepsbouw Koninklijke Maatschappij openen for the public between 6 August and 2 November 2010. The exhibition presents a view in the archive of the shipyard De Schelde using photos, drawings and models dealing with naval shipbuilding between 1875 and 1950. This archive is of international importance due to the naval shipbuilding and interests since 1875.
Since centuries were and are warships built in the town Flushing, first on a shipyard belonging to the government and since 1875 on a private owned yard on the location of the old navy yard even using original slipways and buildings. In 1875 was the first order received from the Royal Netherlands Navy a pilot steam schooner, followed by several small ships until in 1893 the armoured cruiser Evertsen was built. Later the cruiser Hr.Ms. Java destroyed during the battle in the Java Sea in 1942 and since the Second World War a large number of frigates and ocean going patrol vessels. Nowadays are still warships built although mainly on the yard in Romania and with a further fitting out at Flushing. Building not just for the Netherlands but also for other countries like Morocco an Indonesia.
The shipyard increased continuously since 1875 with a major impact in the geography of the town where a lot of houses, churches and even the 18th navy arsenal were broken up and disappeared out of the city image. Large cranes controlled the view of Flushing already from a long distance.
On the exhibition is special attention paid to five warships, four Dutch and one Russian. The latter was not built at De Schelde but intensively repaired in a period which became known as the Cold War.
The exhibition is free and open on Monday-Thursday between 09.00 and 16.30 o’clock at the location Hellbardierstraat 2 in Flushing, Netherlands
