- Yes.
- No.
- In a future Dutch/BeNeLux techtree.
- In the French BeNeLux sub-tree.
- Other (Please explain in the comments).
- I said “No” in the first question.
- As laid down (4 x 105mm, 2 x 6,5mm)
- Late 1920’s refit (4 x 105mm, 2 x 12,7mm)
- Mid 1930’s refit (4 x 105mm, 3 x 12,7mm)
- I said “No” in the first question.
Today I’m going to suggest a very cool armoured gunboat of the Netherlands Navy.
This is the Brinio-class, HNLMS Friso (1912)!
HNLMS Friso in 1933
Source: Foto's
History
Spoiler
HNLMS Friso
Source: Foto'sThe Brinio-class armoured gunboats were designed around 1910, and their role would be that of Harbour/Coastal defence boats. Another role for them was to protect smaller minelayers. For these planned defence roles the ships were not given a lot when it came to speed, but they more then made up for this in firepower and armour.
Also fun fact, the Brinio-class ships were the first full diesel powered boats the Dutch Navy used.
HNLMS Friso was the second ship made of the class. She was laid down on the 2nd of November 1911, and would be commissioned on the 12th of July 1915. HNLMS Friso and her two sister ships all differed slightly in powerplants, this is ofcourse not visible from the outside. Except for one thing, the smokestacks. All three ships had different smoke stacks later in their carreers, so this became an easy way to identify the ships from the outside. The sketch shown below shows the differences.
A simple sketch showing the different smoke stacks each ship of the Brinio-class had. It’s a very simply way to tell the three sister ships apart
Source: “Nederlandse marineschepen 1939-1945” book, by Peter KimenaiHNLMS Friso didn’t have a very exciting carreer during WW1 or the Interwar period. The only thing that did happen was that she was refitted slightly a bunch of times. The bridge, masts and overall upper superstructure was changed around a lot from the 1920’s till 1930’s.
When Germany invaded the Netherlands on the 10th of May 1940, HNLMS Friso was called into action. She was a part of the IJsselmeer (The large freshwater lake in the Netherlands) Flotilla. She had already been a part of this Flotilla since 1939. Two minesweepers of the Jan van Amstel-class would be send over to the IJsselmeer aswell to further reinforce the Flotilla and to stop any German attempts to use this lake for their invasion.
On the 12th of May the Germans did indeed try to cross the lake with a ferry. The ferry was fired upon by the Dutch Flotilla and the Germans were forces back. However the Germans would soon launch a counter attack with the use of Ju-88 bombers. HNLMS Friso was damaged by a few indirect hits from bombs landing near the ship, but one bomb managed to hit the HNLMS Friso right next to the smoke stack.
HNLMS Friso started to fill with water and would begin to list to one side. One of the nearby Jan van Amstel-class minesweepers would position itself right next to the sinking HNLMS Friso and would rescue the crew. HNLMS Friso would end up fully rolling over, and an allied ship would shoot the HNLMS Friso to fully sink her. Whilst sinking the HNLMS Friso rolled over once again and would end up resting upright on the bottom of the lake. But the lake is very shallow so parts of her bridge still stuck out of the water.
The wreck would be recovered on the 15th of March 1943 and would be scrapped soon after.
HNLMS Friso resting in a shallow bit of the lake. The source says this is a photo of the sister ship HNLMS Brinio, but by looking at the smoke stack we can see that this is in fact HNLMS Friso
Source: Foto's
Design
Spoiler
A blueprint of the HNLMS Friso
Source: | Nationaal ArchiefHNLMS Friso was 52,66 metres long, had a beam of 8,52 metres and a draft of 2,78 metres, and had a standard displacement of 545 tons, and a full displacament of 634 tons. She had a crew of 52 men (This increased to 66 during the German invasion) and were able to reach a top speed of 15 knots.
HNLMS Friso was armed with four 10,5cm Semi-Automatisch No. 1 guns. These four guns were mounted in single mounts, with one at the front, one at the rear, and one on each side of the ship. Giving the ship a max broadside of three guns.
These guns had acces to two types of HE rounds. It also had a Canister and a Starshell round.The boats were also armed with two single 6,5mm No. 1 machine guns. These are 6,5mm Schwarzlose M.08 machine guns. One was in front of the bridge, and another on a platform towards the rear, superfiring over the rear 10,5cm gun.
The Brinio-class ships were also armoured. The ship was protected by a 55mm thick belt. Towards the inside of the ship the citadel was also 55mm thick. The belt and citadel were connected by a 17mm thick deck. This 17mm thick deck kind of acted as turtleback armour, and in places where there was no citadel armour present, the 17mm deck armour ran from one side of the ship to the other via a curved shape.
Lastly the conning tower and 10,5cm gunshields were also 50mm thick.
A blueprint of the inside of the HNLMS Brinio (A sister ship of HNLMS Friso). Here we see the armour layout of the middle of the ship
Source: | Nationaal Archief
At some point the old 6,5mm machine guns were replaced for 12,7mm Colt-Browning machine guns. My best guess is that this happend somewhere around the late 1920’s.
Around the mid 1930’s we find a mysterious refit that might have happend. There is a single blueprint that shows a Twin 12,7mm Colt-Browning machine gun turret in place of where the rear most machine gun would be.
The blueprint is undated so I do not know when this Twin machinegun turret might have been added onto the ship. But what we do know is that this Twin turret only came into existence in 1934, so if it was added it must have been done after this date.
A blueprint of HNLMS Brinio (A sister ship of HNLMS Friso), showing the watertight compartments, and also the internal armour layout that runs throughout the ship
Source: | Nationaal Archief
Ingame
Spoiler
The HNLMS Friso would be a very nice addition to the game. The ship sits exactly between the small river gunboats and larger destroyers. And yet it has more armour then most destroyers ingame. I think this would be an excellent addition for a coastal techtree, the 105mm guns are perfect to use against pretty much any kind of enemy ship. And whilst the secondairy machine guns are not that great, we can also pick a later refit where the HNLMS Friso gets 12,7mm machine guns.
Now where should these boats go to? As usualy with my Dutch vehicle suggestions, I ofcourse want to see this ingame in a Dutch or BeNeLux techtree. Ofcourse the BeNeLux has been added to France, so this is now the only option where Dutch vessels will go to. But it must be said that the Netherlands and France have nothing in common, and do not make sense to combine together ingame.
In the French tree the HNLMS Friso would actually be a nice addition. The French coastal tree already has some large gunboats in it, but none of those are armoured. The HNLMS Friso would add a nice compact and armoured gunboat into the techtree.
Specifications
Spoiler
A blueprint of the HNLMS Friso
Source: | Nationaal ArchiefStandard displacement: 530 tons
Max displacement: 573 tons
Length: 52,66 m
Beam: 8,52 m
Draft: 2,78 m
Powerplant:
– 1914 - 1929: 2 x 6-cylinder 4-stroke Werkspoor diesel engines
– 1930 - 1940: 2 x 6-cylinder 2-stroke Fijenoord-MAN diesel engines
Power output: 750 hp
Maximum speed: 15 knots (27,78 km/h)
Crew: 52 men (66 men during the German invasion, 1940)Armor:
Belt: 55 mm
Deck: 17 mm
Citadel: 55 mm
Conning tower: 50 mm
10,5 cm gun shields: 50 mmArmament: (As laid down)
4 x 1 10,5 cm Semi-Automatisch No. 1 guns
2 x 1 6,5mm No. 1 machine guns (Schwarzlose M.08)Late 1920’s refit:
4 x 1 10,5 cm Semi-Automatisch No. 1 guns
2 x 1 12,7mm Colt-Browning machine gunsMid 1930’s refit?:
4 x 1 10,5 cm Semi-Automatisch No. 1 guns
1 x 2 12,7mm Colt-Browning machine guns [1]
1 x 1 12,7mm Colt-Browning machine guns[1]: This Twin 12,7mm Colt-Browning machine gun mount might also have been just a single mount. There are no historical photos that show it, the twin mount only shows up on a single blueprint.
A silhouette drawing of the HNLMS Friso. Something interesting we see here is the addition of a Twin 12,7mm Colt-Browning machine gun turret to the rear of the ship. This is something I’ve not been able to confirm with historical photos, but it might have been added to the ship
Source: | Nationaal Archief
A photo taken of the rear of HNLMS Friso
Source: Foto's
And there you have it! I hope you enjoyed reading about this little boat.
See you on the battlefield!
Sources
Spoiler
History and information:
- “Nederlandse marineschepen 1939-1945” book, by Peter Kimenai
- Nederlandse kanonneerboten - TracesOfWar.nl
Extra sources:
Photos:
Blueprints:
