HNLMS O 21

O 21
History
Netherlands
NameO 21
BuilderKoninklijke Maatschappij De Schelde, Vlissingen
Laid down20 November 1937
Launched21 October 1939
Commissioned10 May 1940
Decommissioned2 November 1957[1]
FateSold for scrapping, 24 January 1958
General characteristics [2]
Class and typeO 21-class submarine
Displacement
  • 990 tons surfaced
  • 1205 tons submerged
Length77.7 m (254 ft 11 in)
Beam6.8 m (22 ft 4 in)
Draught3.95 m (13 ft 0 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) surfaced
  • 28 nmi (52 km; 32 mi) at 8.5 kn (15.7 km/h; 9.8 mph) submerged
Complement39
Armament
  • 4 × 21 in (533 mm) bow torpedo tubes
  • 2 × 21 in stern torpedo tubes
  • 2 × 21 in (1×2) external-traversing TT amidships

O 21, laid down K XXI was an O 21-class submarine of the Royal Netherlands Navy that saw service during World War II. During the war she sank several ships, among them the German submarine U-95.

Ship history

O 21 being readied for sea trials, October 1939.

The submarine was laid down on 20 November 1937 as K XXI at the Koninklijke Maatschappij De Schelde, Vlissingen During construction she was renamed O 21, and was finally launched on 21 October 1939.[citation needed] Following the German invasion of 10 May 1940, the O 21 was hastily commissioned, still incomplete, and sailed for England on 12 May together with her sister O 22 and the tugboat B.V. 37, to be finally completed at the Navy yard in Rosyth.[3]

During the war she operated around England, the Mediterranean Sea, Colombo in the Indian Ocean and Fremantle off the west coast of Australia.[4] She survived the war and was decommissioned on 2 November 1957 and sold for scrap the following year to the firm v. Beekum in Alkmaar.[3][5]

Summary of raiding history

Ships sunk and damaged by O 21.[6]

Date Ship name Nationality/Type Tonnage (GRT) Fate
28 July 1941 Ernesto Italian merchant ? missed
3 August 1941 ? Italian barquentine ? Damaged
5 September 1941 Isarco Italian merchant 5738 Sunk
3 October 1941 Oued Yquem Vichy-French merchant 1369 Sunk
22 November 1941 San Salvatore Italian schooner 92 Sunk
28 November 1941 U-95 German submarine 769 tonnes (757 long tons) ↑
871 t (857 long tons) ↓		 Sunk 36°24′N 3°20′W / 36.400°N 3.333°W / 36.400; -3.333
13 March 1943 Kasuga Maru No.2 Japanese merchant cargo ship 3967 Sunk
22 April 1943 Yamazato Maru Japanese army cargo ship 6925 Sunk
29 July 1945 ? Japanese coaster ? Damaged
29 July 1945 ? Japanese coaster ? Damaged

References

  1. ^ "Onderzeedienst In Rotterdam" (PDF). Klaar Voor Onderwater (in Dutch). Vol. 39, no. 136. Den Helder: Onderzeedienst Reünistenvereniging. June 2016. pp. 5–9. ISSN 2214-6202.
  2. ^ "Dutch Submarines: The O 21 submarine class". dutchsubmarines.com. 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  3. ^ a b "Dutch Submarines: The submarine O 21". dutchsubmarines.com. 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  4. ^ "Onderzeeboot en historie: De onderzeedienst in de tweede wereldoorlog - Hr.Ms. "O 21"" (PDF). Klaar Voor Onderwater (in Dutch). Vol. 2, no. 3. Den Helder: Onderzeedienst Reünistenvereniging.
  5. ^ "Leven in een doorlopende koker" (PDF). Klaar Voor Onderwater (in Dutch). Vol. 35, no. 120. Den Helder: Onderzeedienst Reünistenvereniging. June 2012. p. 14.
  6. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur (2013). "HNMS O 21". uboat.net. Retrieved 23 July 2013.