Royal Netherlands Navy

The Koninklijke Marine (Royal Netherlands Navy) is the navy of the Netherlands. During the 17th century the Dutch Navy was the most powerful navy in the world and it played an active role in the wars of the Dutch Republic and later those of the Batavian Republic and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In more recent times the Royal Netherlands Navy has taken part in expeditionary peacekeeping and peace-enforcing operations.

Bases
The main naval base is at Den Helder, North Holland. Secondary naval bases are at Amsterdam, Vlissingen, Texel, and Willemstad (Curaçao). Netherlands Marine Corps barracks are in Rotterdam, Doorn, Suffisant on Curaçao, and Savaneta on Aruba.

Service academy
The Royal Netherlands Naval College is the service academy of the Royal Netherlands Navy.

Ship prefixes
An international prefix for Dutch navy ships is HNLMS (His/Her Netherlands Majesty’s Ship). HNMS is also used, although this can also refer to Royal Norwegian Navy ships. The Dutch navy itself uses the prefixes Zr. Ms. (Zijner Majesteits, His Majesty's) when a king is on the throne, as at present, and Hr. Ms. (Harer Majesteits, Her Majesty's) when there is a queen.

Dutch Golden Age
The Dutch navy has a long history. It was involved in many wars against other European powers since the late 16th century, initially for independence against Spain in European waters, later for shipping lanes, trade and colonies in many parts of the world, notably in four Anglo-Dutch wars against the United Kingdom. During the 17th century the Dutch navy was the most powerful navy in the world. Throughout this period there were, in fact, not one single navy but instead five separate Admiralties (three of them in Holland, and one each in Friesland and Zeeland), each with its own ships, personnel and command structure.

World War II
During the Second World War, the Dutch navy was based in Allied countries after the Netherlands was conquered by Nazi Germany in a matter of days: the Dutch navy had its headquarters in London, England, and smaller units in Sri Lanka and Western Australia.

Around the world Dutch naval units were responsible for transporting troops, for example during Operation Dynamo in Dunkirk and on D-Day, they escorted convoys and attacked enemy targets. During the war the navy suffered heavy losses, especially in defending the Dutch East Indies, most notably the Battle of the Java Sea in which the commander, Dutchman Karel Doorman, went down with his ships together with 1000 of his crew. One Dutch light cruiser that was under construction was captured in its shipyard by Nazi Germany.

During the relentless Japanese offensive of February through April 1942 in the Dutch East Indies, the Dutch navy in Asia was virtually annihilated, and it sustained losses of a total of 20 ships (including its only two light cruisers) and 2500 sailors killed - as much as the Americans at Pearl Harbor. The Dutch navy had suffered from years of underfunding and came ill-prepared to face an enemy with more and heavier ships with better weapons, including the Long Lance-torpedo, with which the cruiser Haguro downed the light cruiser HNLMS De Ruyter.

A small force of submarines based in Western Australian sank more Japanese ships in the first weeks of the war than the entire British and American navies together, an exploit which earned Admiral Helfrich the nickname "Ship-a-day Helfrich". The aggressive pace of operations against the Japanese was a contributing factor to both the heavy losses sustained and the greater number of successes scored as compared to the British and Americans in the region.

Both British and American forces believed that the Dutch admiral in charge of the joint-Allied force was being far too aggressive. Later in the war, a few Dutch submarines scored some remarkable hits, including one on a Kriegsmarine U-boat in the Mediterranean Sea.

After the war, the relations between the Netherlands and its colonies changed dramatically. The establishment of the Republic of Indonesia, just two days after the Japanese surrender, thwarted the Dutch plans for restoring colonial authority. It took four years of war before the Netherlands acknowledged the independence of Indonesia.

Part of the Dutch Navy was next stationed in Western New Guinea until that, too, was turned over to the Indonesian government in 1962. This followed an invasion by the Military of Indonesia, supported by modern equipment from the Soviet Union, that was nevertheless successfully repulsed by the Dutch navy. This attack took place after the order of President Sukarno to integrate the territory as an Indonesian province.

NATO cooperation
With the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, the military focus was on the army and air force; it was not until the Korean War (1950 – 53) that the navy got more recognition. The government allowed the creation of a balanced fleet consisting of two naval squadrons. Apart from the aircraft carrier Hr. Ms. Karel Doorman the Dutch navy consisted of two light cruisers (two De Zeven Provinciën'-class), 12 destroyers (four Holland class, eight Friesland class), eight submarines, six frigates (van Speijk class frigates), and a considerable number of minesweepers.

As a member of NATO, the Netherlands developed its security policy in close cooperation with other members. The establishment of the Warsaw pact in 1955 intensified the arms race between West and East. Technical innovations rapidly emerged, the introduction of radar and sonar were followed by nuclear weapon systems and long-range missiles. The geopolitical situation allowed for a fixed military strategy. Beginning in 1965, the Dutch Navy joined certain permanent NATO squadrons like the Standing Naval Force Atlantic.

Current structure
The constituent parts of the Royal Netherlands Navy are:

Naval squadron
Contains all surface combatants, replenishment ships, and amphibious support ships.

Submarine service
Contains the submarines and a support vessel.

Mine Detection and Clearing Service
Contains various minehunters.

Hydrographical Survey
Contains ships which map the oceans.

Naval Air Service

 * Two helicopter squadrons

Netherlands Marine Corps

 * One Brigade (MTC: Mariniers Training Commando (formerly known as GOEM: Groep Operationele Eenheden Mariniers) consisting of four battalions
 * Two Operational Marine Battalions (MARNSBAT1,2)
 * One amphibious combat support battalion (AMFGEVSTBAT)
 * One amphibious logistical battalion (AMFLOGBAT)


 * One rifle company (32nd infantry coy.) is permanently stationed at Aruba

Coast Guard
Although the Coast Guard is not an official part of the Navy, it is under its operational control. Also the Dutch Caribbean Coastguard is under the operational control of the Navy and is commanded by the commander of the Navy in the Caribbean.

Equipment
The Royal Netherlands Navy currently operates 7 main classes of vessels:
 * Note: in the Royal Netherlands Navy frigates are interchangeable with destroyers as there is no separate class

* The Dutch Royal Navy classifies the De Zeven Provinciën as frigates, but internationally they are most comparable to destroyers (due to their size and weapon capability) platform for Sea Based Anti-Ballistics Missile defence

Maritime helicopter

 * 20 NH-90, 12 NATO Frigate Helicopter (NFH) and eight transport version of the NATO Frigate Helicopter (TNFH) (Being delivered NFH-2010 and onward, TNFH-2014 and onward)

In 2012 an Apache attack helicopter from the Royal Netherlands Air Force made a deck landing on board HNLMS Rotterdam for the first time as part of an initial study into the possibilities for wider use of the helicopters.

The Dutch amphibious support ship HNLMS Johan de Witt (L801) and the future Karel Doorman JSS are designed to operate Chinook helicopters.

Armored vehicles (Marine Corps)

 * 156 BV206S armored all-terrain personnel carriers(127 will get a Mid-Life Update, the rest will be disposed of or sold)
 * 74 BVS10 armored all-terrain personnel carriers
 * 20 XA-188 wheeled armored personnel carriers(11 to be sold to Estonia, the rest will be disposed of or sold)
 * 4 Leopard 1 BARV beach armored recovery vehicles

Unarmored vehicles (Marine Corps)

 * Land Rover Defender
 * 40 Mercedes-Benz 280 CDI
 * 17 Unimog 1.2-ton truck
 * Various DAF trucks

Artillery (Marine Corps)

 * RT-120 (Habé Rayé) 120mm mortars
 * L16A2 81mm mortar
 * Brandt MO-60-V - 60mm Commando mortar

Personal weapons

 * Diemaco C7A1 5.56mm assault rifle
 * Diemaco C8A1 5.56 mm carbine
 * Diemaco C7 LSW light machinegun
 * Glock 17 pistol
 * FN MAG general purpose machinegun
 * M2HB 12.7mm (.50cal) heavy machinegun
 * SSG sniper rifle
 * Accuracy International AWM sniper rifle in .338 Lapua Magnum
 * M107 12.7mm sniper rifle
 * MP5 submachine gun
 * P90 submachine gun
 * M590A1 shotgun
 * AT4 anti-tank rocket
 * Panzerfaust 3 anti-tank weapon
 * Gill anti-tank missile
 * FIM-92C Stinger man-portable surface-to-air missile

2012 future naval inventory
In 2012 the new fleet plan of the Royal Netherlands Navy will be completed, consisting of these ships:

The total tonnage will be approx. 140.000 t. Next to these ships a lot of other smaller vessels remain in the navy like the Snellius class hydrographical survey vessels.

With these changes the Royal Netherlands Navy will have 10 large ocean going vessels ranging from medium/low to high combat action ships. The renewed Dutch Navy will be a green-water navy, having enough frigates and auxiliaries to operate far out at sea, while depending on land-based air support and with the large amphibious squadron they will have significant brown-water navy capabilities.

Future changes

 * Extensive upgrading of the 2 remaining F827 Karel Doorman class, new SEWACO systems and lay-out of the ships together with the 2 Belgian Navy sister ships. After these upgrades the ships can last till 2020–2025
 * Purchase New joint support ship Karel Doorman class support ship. The Dutch Ministry of Defence announced recently that this vessel will enter service in 2015 and be able to combine sea-replenishment capabilities with the ability to act as a sea-based platform in support of amphibious operations (incl. CH-47 & AH-64 Helicopters).
 * Extensive upgrading for the Walrus-class submarines including new sonar,new optronic periscope and weapon upgrades for near shore operations.
 * Upgrading the Zeven Provinciën class LCF frigates Theatre Ballistic Missile Defense and considered SLCM integration.
 * Increasing the size of the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps and further integration with the British Royal Marines.
 * Cooperation and possible integration with German Navy regarding Submarine Planning, Operations, Training and Building Future Replacements, MPA's & Marines.

Theater Ballistic Missile Defense
Together with the United States and several other NATO members, the Dutch Navy is testing and updating its ships for Tactical ballistic missile Defense capability. Although tests conducted concerning the capability of the APAR (Active Phased Array Radar) have been very successful, no decision has been made by the Dutch Government in purchasing SM-3 missiles - mainly because the SM-3 is not operational yet. Four ships are being fitted out for Tactical ballistic Missile Defense. If purchased (after US export approval) the four LCFs will be fitted out with only eight SM-3 missiles each, due to the high costs for each missile (approximately $2.5 - $5 million).

Decommissioned ships

 * 10    Kortenaer class, (1979–2003) - 8 sold to Greece, 2 sold to UAE
 * 2     Jacob van Heemskerck class, (1986–2005) - 2 sold to Chile
 * 6 of 8 Karel Doorman class, (1991–2008) - 2 each sold to Chile, Belgium and Portugal
 * 2     Tromp class, (1974–2000) - 2 scrapped
 * 1     Colossus-class aircraft carrier, Karel Doorman  (1948–1969) Sold to Argentina

Historic ships

 * Hr.Ms. De Ruyter
 * Hr.Ms. Jacob van Heemskerk
 * Hr.Ms. Kortenaer
 * Hr.Ms. Java
 * Hr.Ms. Tromp
 * Hr.Ms. Bonaire
 * Hr.Ms. Schorpioen
 * Hr.Ms. Johan Maurits van Nassau
 * Hr.Ms. Abraham Crijnssen
 * Hr.Ms. Buffel
 * HNLMS Karel Doorman (R81), last Dutch aircraftcarrier
 * Delft, 18th century fourth rate ship of the line
 * De Zeven Provinciën, 17th century ship of the line and flagship of Michiel de Ruyter


 * Submarines:
 * O-20