She (yardnumber 212) and her sister ship Philips van Almonde (yardnumber 213) were built at the shipyard of the Kon.Mij. De Schelde, Vlissingen, Netherlands. Totally were four new destroyers for the Royal Netherlands Navy with as supervisor the Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij. This shipyard built the Gerard Callenburgh and Tjerk Hiddes. When Germany invaded the Netherlands in May 1940 were all four ships were not completed. The Isaac Sweers was on 10 May towed towards England by the Dutch tug Zwarte Zee where she was completed at the shipyard of John I. Thornycroft Limited, Southampton and commissioned on 29 May 1941. On 13 November 1942 torpedoed by the German submarine U-431 off Algiers and lost. The Philips van Almonde -of which the keel was laid down on 2 March 1939- was demolished by the Dutch on 17 May while she was still on the sleep. The wreck is afterwards broken up. The Tjerk Hiddes and Gerard Callenburg were both ships scuttled by Dutch navy and shipyard personnel. The German forces salvaged both wrecks but the Tjerk Hiddes was too damaged and forced to be broken up. The Gerard Callenburg entered the service of the German Kriegsmarine and was as the ZH1 sunk by allied destroyers on 9 June 1944.
The steel needed to built the Isaac Sweers was ordered on 10 November 1937 by the shipyard and arrived on 2 May 1938. However at that moment were the ships officially not ordered. This was done not earlier as 19 May and the contract was signed between 13 June and 8 July 1938 to be delivered before 1 July 1940 able to perform her trials.
On 17 June started the write-off paperwork at the De Schelde. The trusses-plan was since 25 June copied at Rotterdam. Her keel was laid down in covered dock at the East side of the so-called Island in 28 November. Between 4-6 January 1940 were the three boilers manufactured by Werkspoor placed. On 16 March was she launched and baptized by Mrs. J.L.C. v.d. Arend-Keers followed by the stability tests on the 26th.
Technical details. With a displacement of 1.628 (standard)-1,922 (during trials)-2.252 (full loaded) tons and as dimensions 105 (between perpendiculars)-106,30 (over all) x 10,30 x 3,15 x 6,17 (hold) metres. 17 Water tight bulkheads. Her crew numbered 150-180 men. Fuel bunker capacity 590 ton. Drinking water capacity 38 tons. Feeding water capacity 25 tons. Maximum speed 36 knots. With 45.000 ahp.
The original planned armament consisted of 2x2-12cm No. 8 guns, 1-12cm quick firing gun no. 6 gun, 2x2-4cm machine guns, 4-1,127cm machine guns, 2x4-53,3cm torpedo tubes (8 torpedoes), 2 rails for depth charges (9) and 24 mines. Further more she could carry a Fokker plane with her. The original 12cm guns stayed behind in the Netherlands when she fled to England and were replaced by 3x2-10,cm guns and further more she had 2x2 Bofors 4cm machine guns and 2x4 barrels-12,7mm machine guns. The 12,8mm machine guns were later replaced by 4-cm Oerlikon machineguns.
Source
Order administration of the Kon.Mij. De Schelde (Municipality Archive Vlissingen).
