HNLMS Van Meerlant

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
NameHNLMS Van Meerlant
BuilderGusto shipyard, Schiedam
Laid downOctober 14, 1919[1]
LaunchedNovember 23, 1920[1]
In serviceJuly 25, 1922[1]
Out of serviceMarch 14, 1943[1]
FateSunk 4 June 1941
General characteristics
Class and typeDouwe Aukes class minelayer
Displacement687 tonnes[1]
Length54.8[1]
Beam9.0[1]
Draught3.2[1]
Propulsion1170 hp[1]
Speed12.8 knots[1]
Complement60 men[1]
Armament
  • 1 × 2 12.7 mm machine gun[1]
  • 1 × 6.5 mm machine gun[1]
  • 87 mines (1921 type)[1]

Service

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
  1. Mark, C. Schepen van de Koninklijke Marine in W.O. II Alkmaar: De Alk bv, 1997 94-103
  2. naval-history.net :: Royal Navy Ships, 10 June 1940
  3. naval-history.net :: Royal Navy Ships, 1 January 1941
  4. naval-history.net :: Naval Events, June 1941, Sunday 1st – Saturday 14th

Sources
  • Mark, C. Schepen van de Koninklijke Marine in W.O. II Alkmaar: De Alk bv, 1997 94-103
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