HNLMS O 7

History
Netherlands
NameO 7
BuilderMaatschappij Fijenoord, Rotterdam
Laid down12 May 1914
Launched22 July 1916
Commissioned23 December 1916
Decommissioned21 November 1939
FateScrapped
General characteristics [1]
Class and typeUnique submarine
Displacement
  • 178.6 tons
  • 209.3 tons
Length34.24 m (112 ft 4 in)
Beam3.9 m (12 ft 10 in)
Draught2.88 m (9 ft 5 in)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 11.5 kn (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph) surfaced
  • 8.5 kn (15.7 km/h; 9.8 mph) submerged
Range
  • 750 nmi (1,390 km; 860 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph) on the surface
  • 42 nmi (78 km; 48 mi) at 7 kn (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) submerged
Complement15[2]
Armament

HNLMS O 7 was a unique patrol submarine of the Royal Netherlands Navy for use in the home waters of Europe. The ship was built by the Maatschappij Fijenoord shipyard in Rotterdam. The submarines diving depth was 40 metres. O 6 was very similar to the O 7 and they are sometimes regarded as one class.[3]

Service history

The submarine was ordered on 8 May 1913. On 12 May 1914 the O 7 was laid down in Rotterdam at the shipyard of Maatschappij Fijenoord. The 0 7's launching took place on 22 July 1916 and on 23 December 1916 the ship was commissioned into the Royal Netherlands Navy.[3]

On the 18 May 1927 the 0 7 and Swedish steamer Scania collided off the coast of Texel.[3]

From 1935 onwards the ship was used only as a training vessel until 21 December 1936, when the O 7 was decommissioned and sold for scrapping.[3]

World War II

In 1940 when the Germans invaded the Netherlands the 0 7 was captured, but it was considered to be far too obsolete for it to be of any use in the war effort. The O 7 sank on 2 May 1944 in Den Helder while it was moored there, she sank because of water leaking into the ship. After the war she was raised and finally scrapped.[3]

References

  1. ^ "Dutch Submarines: The O 7 submarine class". dutchsubmarines.com. 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  2. ^ Drijfhout van Hooff, J.F. (December 1990). "Uit de oude doos: de laatste dagen van de O-7" (PDF). Klaar Voor Onderwater (in Dutch). No. 33. Den Helder: Onderzeedienst Reünistenvereniging. pp. 10–12.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Dutch Submarines: The submarine O 7". dutchsubmarines.com. 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2013.

Bibliography

  • Jalhay, P.C.; Wijn, J.J.A. (1997). Ik nader ongezien! De onderzeeboten van de Koninklijke Marine. Amsterdam: De Bataafsche Leeuw. ISBN 978-9067074629.