HNLMS O 19

O 19
History
Netherlands
Name: O 19
Builder: Wilton-Fijenoord, Rotterdam
Laid down: 15 June 1936
Launched: 22 September 1938
Commissioned: 3 July 1939
Fate: Scuttled on 10 July 1945
General characteristics [1]
Class and type: O 19-class submarine
Displacement:
  • 1109 tons surfaced
  • 1491 tons submerged
Length: 80.7 m (264 ft 9 in)
Beam: 7.41 m (24 ft 4 in)
Draught: 3.87 m (12 ft 8 in)
Propulsion:
Speed:
  • 19.5 kn (36.1 km/h; 22.4 mph) surfaced
  • 9 kn (17 km/h; 10 mph) submerged
Range:
  • 10,000 nmi (19,000 km; 12,000 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) on the surface
  • 27 nmi (50 km; 31 mi) at 8.5 kn (15.7 km/h; 9.8 mph) submerged
Complement: 40
Armament:
  • 4 × 21 in (530 mm) bow torpedo tubes
  • 4 × 21 in (530 mm) stern torpedo tubes
  • 2 × external amidship mine tubes (10 mines each)
  • 1 x 88 mm gun
  • 1 x 40 mm gun

O 19, laid down as K XIX, was an O 19-class submarine of the Royal Netherlands Navy that saw service during World War II. O 19, along with her sister ship O 20 were the first submarines in the world to be equipped with a submarine snorkel that allowed the submarine to run its diesel engines while submerged.[1][2]

Ship history

O 19 aground on Ladd Reef

Commissioning

The submarine's keel was laid at the Wilton-Fijenoord shipyard in Rotterdam on 15 June 1936 as K XIX but was renamed O 19 at some point. The submarine was launched on 22 September 1938 and commissioned in the Dutch navy on 3 July 1939. After her commissioning the HNLMS O 19 was put into service by commander Lieutenant-on-sea 1 (LTZ 1) K. van Dongen on July 3rd 1939 following a short training period. Three weeks later, on 25 July 1939, the new submarine was already on its way to the Dutch East Indies via the Suez Canal where the boat arrived on 13 September.[3]

World War II

On 10 May 1940, the day the Germans invaded the Netherlands, the entire mobilization was proclaimed in the Dutch colony. Most Dutch warships, including the O 19, were used to protect allied merchant ships and to patrol the Indonesian archipelago. On May 31, 1941, the command of the Dutch submarine was taken over by LTZ 1 F.J.A. Knoops.[4]

The submarine performed multiple patrols and missions in the Pacific theater of World War II, sinking multiple Japanese vessels, attacking shipping convoys and laying mines.[3]

On 8 July 1945, O 19 was en route to Subic Bay in the Philippines at a speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) when it struck Ladd Reef in the South China Sea. Unable to pull free of the reef, the crew of O 19 were rescued by USS Cod. To prevent enemy capture, O 19 was scuttled by her crew using explosives, torpedoes and gunfire.[3]

Design

The diesel engines for the HNLMS O 19 was built under the license of the Swiss Sulzer by the Koninklijke Maatschappij De Schelde in Vlissingen. It had 40mm Bofors machine guns, which could be stored in watertight compartments in front of and behind the command tower, just like the O 12-class submarines. The HNLMS O 19 was also equipped with noise pulses from Atlas Werke in Bremen, Germany, which at that time were considered the best in the world. In 1943, during a major maintenance period in Great Britain, the noise spanner of the HNLMS O 19 was replaced by an Asdic system of type 120B.[5]

Summary of raiding history

Ships sunk by O 19.[2]

DateShip nameNationality/TypeTonnage (GRT)Fate
10 January 1942Akita MaruJapanese freighter3817Sunk[3]
15 January 1942Tairu/Taieryu MaruJapanese ?4944Sunk[3]
10 September 1944Korei MaruJapanese merchant599Sunk
16 November 1944Kaishin Maru No.2Japanese coaster150Sunk[3]
9 January 1945Shinko Maru No.1Japanese auxiliary gunboat935Sunk
10 April 1945Hosei MaruJapanese merchant tanker676Sunk

References

  1. 1 2 "Dutch Submarines: The O 19 submarine class". dutchsubmarines.com. 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  2. 1 2 Helgason, Guðmundur (2013). "HNMS O 19". uboat.net. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Dutch Submarines: The submarine O 19". dutchsubmarines.com. 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  4. ↑ Kimenai, Peter (31 March 2011). "Onderzeeboten van de O 19-klasse - Hr. Ms. O 19". www.go2war2.nl. p. 3. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  5. ↑ Kimenai, Peter (31 March 2011). "Onderzeeboten van de O 19-klasse". Go2War2.nl. p. 2. Retrieved 7 May 2018.

Bibliography

  • Horneman, Gerard D. (2015). Hr. Ms. O 19; 3 juli 1939 tot 8 juli 1945. Den Helder: Traditiekamer Onderzeedienst.

Coordinates: 8°40′N 111°40′E / 8.667°N 111.667°E / 8.667; 111.667

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