The Dutch Navy in World War II

Since I really didn't even know there was a Dutch Navy in the war, I went to good old Wikipedia and did some more research.

After the fall of the Netherlands to German forces, the Royal Netherlands Navy had headquarters in London. Their duties consisted primarily of escorting troop transports at Dunkirk and D-Day as well as convoy duty in the North Atlantic.

During the war, the Dutch navy suffered heavy losses, especially in operations against the Japanese in the colony of the Dutch East Indies and the Battle of Java Sea.

Dutch Naval forces in Asia were virtually annihilated during Japanese operations against the Dutch East Indies in February and March 1942. During that time, the Dutch lost twenty ships (including their only two light cruisers) and 2500 killed.

The submarine K XVI which was just found, was sunk near Borneo on Christmas Day 1941.

During the early days of World War II, Dutch submarines sank more Japanese ships than the entire British and US navies together, earning Dutch Admiral Conrad Helfrich the nickname "Ship-A-Day Helfrich."

So, There Was a Dutch Navy in World War II. --Cooter

Dutch World War II Submarine Found Off Borneo

From the October 26th Borneo Post.

And, I didn't even know the Netherlands had submarines during the war.

Sports divers found the wreck of the HR. MS. KXVI, missing since Christmas Day 1941 with a crew of 36, after receiving a tip from a local fisherman.

The 1,000 ton submarine was part of an Allied fleet tasked with stopping the Japanese invasion of what was then called the Dutch East Indies. It had torpedoes the Japanese submarine hunter Sagiri the day before and sunk itself Dec. 25th by a Japanese submarine.

That brings to six the number of Dutch subs sunk during the war that have now been found. Only one, the HR. MS. 0 13, remains, sunk somewhere in the North Sea.

A Little Known Aspect of the War. --Cooter