Admiralen-class destroyer

The Admiralen Class were eight destroyers built for the Royal Netherlands Navy between 1926 and 1931. All ships fought in World War II and were scuttled or sunk. As is the tradition in the Dutch Navy they were named after Admirals.

Design
These ships were built in the Netherlands with assistance from the British company Yarrow (at that time the leading builder of destroyers in the world). The Dutch ships were based on the British destroyer HMS Ambuscade (D38). The guns were bought from the Swedish company Bofors. A novel feature was the provision of a seaplane for scouting. There was however no catapult, the plane being lowered into the sea by a crane.