- 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/Planned (6 x 15cm, 8 x 40mm Bofors, 4 x 12,7mm, torpedoes, floatplane)
- As finished/Commisioned (10 x 10,2cm, 4 x 40mm Pom-pom, 6 x 20mm)
- 1943 refit (10 x 10,2cm, 4 x 40mm Pom-pom, 4 x 40mm Bofors, 4 x 20mm, Depth charges)
- 1945 refit (10 x 10,2cm, 8 x 40mm Bofors, 8 x 20mm, Depth charges)
- 1946 refit (10 x 10,5cm, 8 x 40mm Bofors, 8 x 20mm, Depth charges)
- I said “No” in the first question.
Today I’m going to suggest a ship of the Netherlands Navy Tromp-class Flotilla leader.
This is the HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck (1939)
HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck in Scotland, 1941
Source: Foto's
Quick bit of info about the Tromp-class classification:
Online and on different sources you will see the Tromp-class being reffered to as flotilla leaders and cruisers.
By all means the ships are flotilla leaders, this you will see mentioned on blueprints and source material about the origins of the class.
However the ships were also made in a way that they could fill the roles of light cruisers, hence their light cruiser caliber main guns.
This is where the confusion comes from, and why both flotilla leader and cruiser are being used for the Tromp-class.
But for my suggestion I've decided to class them as flotilla leaders, since let's be honest, they stand no chance against an actual light cruiser.
The Tromp-class only has light cruiser caliber guns, everything else about the ships scream flotilla leader.
History
Spoiler
HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck getting launched, 1939
Source: Foto's
A very rare photo of HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck with her original 15cm guns fitted, but still lacking the fire control systems to use them
Source: https://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/thread.php?threadid=14229&page=1The origins of the Tromp-class starts in the 1930’s. The Netherlands Navy was looking for two new smaller cruisers that would replace two aging Small Armoured Cruisers. It was required that the two new ships could function as light cruisers, but it was also required that they could function as flotilla leaders.
The ships ended up being flotilla leaders with light cruiser caliber main guns.HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck was launched on the 16th of September 1939, and would be rushed into service on the 10th of May 1940. I say rushed into service, because the ship actually wasn’t service ready yet.
The ship was still being worked on by the time Germany invaded the Netherlands during the second world war. HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck at this time had her primary guns fitted, but still lacked the fire control systems to use them. Not wanting the ship to fall into German hands, she was accepted into service and immediatly fled to Britain like many other Dutch ships.
Once she arrived there she wouldn’t actually be properly armed yet. Instead her together with the light cruiser HNLMS Sumatra were tasked to bring Princess Juliana of the Netherlands and her two daughters to Canada for safety. Only after HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck returned from this trip would she be refitted and re-armed.
HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck in Loch Fyne, Scotland, 1941
Source: Foto's
HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck sometime during the second world war
Source: Foto'sThe British lacked any kind of fire control systems that would work on the 15cm guns mounted onboard HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck, and so it was decided to replace the 15cm guns with 10,2cm onces. In total she would recieve five twin mounts, turning her into an air-defence cruiser.
By the end of Januari 1941 the ship was finally getting close to being fully ready for war. At first she was used as a convoi escort in British waters. But in December 1941 the ship was told to head to the Dutch East-Indies because the navy there was in need of reinforcement.
HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck in 1945
Source: Foto'sOnce in the East-Indies HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck would take part in multible operations after this, something which I’m not going to detail in this suggestion. My suggestions are always about giving you the needed information about the Aircraft, Ground Vehicle or Naval Vessel I’m suggesting. So if you want to know more about what HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck did during the later stages of the war I recommend you look it up online or in books.
HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck would end up surviving the war, she would return to Britain in 1944. Once the war had ended she was the first Dutch Navy vessel to arrive back in port after the liberation. Towards the end of 1945 she together with HNLMS Van Galen would be send back to the East-Indies to aid where ever possible and protect Dutch ships from Indonesian Nationalists.
HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck firing her main guns
Source: Foto's
Fate
Spoiler
HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck now with the designation C803, 1950-1955
Source: Foto'sWhen HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck arrived back in the Netherlands in 1946 after her small mission in the East Indies, she was taken into dock for maintenance. Some time after this she was given a registration number, that being C803.
By 1951 the ship was mostly used as a logging vessel. And by 1954 she was declared immobile and would remain permanently as a logging vessel. She would remain like this all the way up to 1969.
On the 20th of November 1969 HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck was taken out of service for good, and on the 23 of June of that year she was send of to be scrapped.
Design
Spoiler
The original blueprint of HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck where she was planned with six 15cm No. 11 guns, eight 40mm No. 4 autocannons, four 12,7mm machine guns and eight 533mm torpedo tubes
Source: | Nationaal ArchiefThe Tromp-class flotilla leaders was a class of two ships made in the Netherlands at the "Nederlandse Scheepsbouw Maatschappij te Amsterdam".
HNLMS HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck was 131,95 metres long, had a beam of 12,43 metres and a draft of 4,32 metres, and displaced 3,460 tons at standard displacement, and 4,225 tons at full. She originally had a crew of 295 men. The shipwas able to reach 32,5 knots.
Originally the ship was to be given the usual Tromp-class weaponry, that being six 15cm No. 11 guns in three twin turrets, eight 40mm No. 4 autocannons in four Hazemeijer Twin mounts, four 12,7mm machine guns in two twin mounts, eight 533mm torpedo tubes in two quad launchers and lastly a floatplane crane with a single Fokker C.11w floatplane.
But due to the German invasion of the Netherlands the ship was not finished by the time she was launched and fled to Britain. Most of her weaponry was actually fitted to the ship, like the 15cm guns. But the ship was still missing the fire control systems to use the guns, and sadly the British did not have anything for these weapons.
So when the ship arrived in Britain she was refitted with British weapons. Her three 15cm turrets were removed by three twin 10,2cm No. 2 turrets. (These are British 4 inch guns in the Mark XIX turret) The planned torpedo tubes were not present on the ship, and so the open space where these would be was used to mount two more twin 10,2cm No. 2 turrets, giving the ship a total of five of these turrets, ten guns in total.
A photo of the front of HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck, showing the front two 10,2cm No. 2 turrets. This photo is taken in 1944, so 20mm Oerlikon autocannons can also be seen on the side of the bridge
Source: Hr. Ms. "Jacob van Heemskerck" terug in Groot-Brittannië na operaties in het Verre Oosten en de Middellandse Zee. | Nationaal ArchiefThe secondairy guns added to the ship were four 40mm Mark VIII autocannons in a Mark VII Quadruple turret. This was put in a superfiring position over the rear main turret.
The 2-pdr QF Mark VIII autocannons mounted in a Quadruple Mark VII Mount on HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck
Source: Foto'sLastly HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck was fitted with six 20mm Hispano 404 autocannons. A bit of an unusual weapon for Naval Vessels, but the Dutch Navy was adopting this gun on a few ships just before the second world war broke out. Their main use was on smaller PT Boats, but somehow these guns managed to find their way onboard HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck aswell.
I know of two variants of the gun existing, the No. 1 and No. 2, but I do not know the difference between them. It’s most likely they are the same gun, but in a different mounting. As for HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck the six autocannons were originally mounted in six single gun turrets. The turrets themselves being actual enclosed turrets like you would see on an aircraft.
However looking at another photo of a later date, it seems these enclosed turrets were removed at some point and the gun was mounted on a conventional mounting.If I have to give my best guess, maybe the No. 1 type is the enclosed turret version, and the No. 2 the open mounting. But I have absolutely no proof for this statement so don’t quote me on that.
One of the 20mm Hispano 404 turrets onboard HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck, it had become damaged due to a heavy weather in 1942
Source: Foto's
Another photo of a 20mm Hispano 404 on HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck, now no longer in the round turret mounting
Source: Foto'sIn 1943 HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck went through her first refit. Her 40mm weaponry was expanded, and two extra twin 40mm Mark IV turrets were added. These are twin Bofors turrets, and the Quad 40mm Pom-pom was also still present on the ship, so it’s interesting to see this Bofors and Pom-pom combination being on the ship.
The six 20mm Hispano 404’s were also removed, and in their place I’ve been able to spot four 20mm Oerlikon autocannons. These four autocannons were placed on the sides of the bridge, with two being per side.
Lastly the ship was given to depth charge rails at the rear, and two more depth charge throwers.
In 1945 the ship went in for another refit. During this refit the Quad 40mm pom-pom was removed, and in it’s place two more twin 40mm Mark IV turrets were added.
The 20mm Oerlikons around the bridge were removed and replaced with two twin 20mm No. 5 mounts. (These are British 20mm Mark V twin mounts) Two more of these No. 5 mounts were added to the rear, in between the rear most 40mm turrets and 4 inch turrets mounted on the sides.
A photo taken from the rear of HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck in 1945, note the twin 20mm No. 5 turret in the bottom left corner
Source: De "Heemskerck" in het Noordzeekanaal | Nationaal ArchiefProtection of the ship was exactly what you would expect of a flotilla leader, enough to deal with Destroyer caliber HE, but nothing bigger then that. The belt armour of the ship was 15 mm thick The armoured deck, and also the roof of the armoured citadel was 25 mm thick.
The sides of the citadel are 30mm thick. The conning tower 10mm, the ammunition elevators 15mm.
A blueprint of the armour layout of the ship in her orignal planned configuration
Source: | Nationaal Archief
Ingame
Spoiler
**HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck would be a really fun flotilla leader to have ingame! Her ten 4 inch guns would shred enemy destroyers apart, and if an enemy plane shows up you could let the AI gunners take control of your main guns and blow the plane out of the sky! And in her later refits the secondairy weapons also become very good.
My first choice would be to have this ship be added into a independent BeNeLux techtree. But ofcourse the BeNeLux has been added to France, so this is now the only option where Dutch vehicles 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 HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck would be an interesting ship since it would have smaller caliber guns then all French Destroyers at that BR, but she more then makes up for that in raw firerate!
Specifications
Spoiler
A side view of the ship in her as finished layout
Source: | Nationaal ArchiefStandard Displacement: 3,460 tons
Full Displacement: 4,225 tons
Length: 131,95 m
Beam: 12,43 m
Draft: 4,32 m
Installed powerplant: 2 x Werkspoor-Parsons steamturbines, 4 x Yarrow boilers (56.000 hp)
Propulsion: 2 x shafts, 3,9 meter three bladed propellors
Maximum speed: 32,5 knots
Crew: 295 menArmor:
Belt: 15 mm
Armoured deck / Roof of the Citadel: 25 mm
Citadel sides: 30 mm
Conning tower: 10 mm
Ammunition elevators: 15 mmArmament: (As laid down/Planned)
3 x 2 15cm No. 11 guns
4 x 2 40mm No. 4 autocannons
2 x 2 12,7mm Colt-Browning machine guns
2 x 3 533 mm torpedo tubes firing Type V 53 torpedoes1 x Aircraft crane, with a Fokker C.11w floatplane carried. (Max speed 280 km/h, 2 x 7.9 mm FN-Browning machine guns, one firing forwards, and one for the gunner)
1941 refit: (As finished/Commisioned)
5 x 2 10,2cm No. 2 guns
1 x 4 40mm Mark VII autocannons (40mm Pom-pom)
6 x 1 20mm No. 1 or 2 autocannons (20mm Hispano 404)1943 refit:
5 x 2 10,2cm No. 2 guns
1 x 4 40mm Mark VII autocannons (40mm Pom-pom)
2 x 2 40mm Mark IV autocannons (40mm Bofors)
4 x 1 20mm Oerlikon autocannons (Exact moutning I do not know)
2 x Depth Charge throwers
2 x Depth Charge rails at the rear1945 refit:
5 x 2 10,2cm No. 2 guns
4 x 2 40mm Mark IV autocannons (40mm Bofors)
4 x 2 20mm No. 5 autocannons (British 20mm Oerlikon Mark V mounts)
2 x Depth Charge throwers
2 x Depth Charge rails at the rear1946 refit:
5 x 2 10,5cm No. 6 guns ← British guns replaced for SK NL C/32 onces
4 x 2 40mm Mark IV autocannons (40mm Bofors)
4 x 2 20mm No. 5 autocannons (British 20mm Oerlikon Mark V mounts)
2 x Depth Charge throwers
2 x Depth Charge rails at the rear
A side and top-down view of the ship after her 1945 refit
Source: | Nationaal Archief
HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck sometime after the second world war
Source: Foto's
And there you have it! I hope you enjoyed reading about this amazing machine.
See you on the battlefield!
Sources
Spoiler
Dutch sources:
- “Nederlandse marineschepen 1939-1945” book, by Peter Kimenai
- Dutch light cruisers Tromp and Jacob van Heemskerck
Secondairy sources:
- https://www.tracesofwar.nl/articles/2272/Nederlandse-Lichte-kruisers-van-de-Tromp-klasse-1937.htm
- Tromp-class cruiser - Wikipedia
- HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck (1939) - Wikipedia
Photos:
Blueprints: