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Walrus-class submarine (1953)

The Walrus class was a class of two submarines that served between 1953 and 1971 in the Royal Netherlands Navy.[3][4] They were former Balao class submarines that were loaned to the Netherlands by the United States under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program (MDAP).[5]

Background

After the Second World War the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNN) was left with several old and obsolete submarines.[6][7] While the RNN made several plans to modernize the submarine fleet, it took many years till these plans resulted in the construction and commissioning of new submarines.[8] In the meanwhile the RNN tried to loan some of the surplus submarines that allies such as the United Kingdom and United States (US) had.[9][10] In the early 1950s this led to the US loaning two submarines to the Netherlands under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program (MDAP), which together would later form the Walrus class.[11][3] Initially the US agreed to loan the two submarines for a duration of five years, however, this was extended twice with five years.[8]

Design and construction

The two submarines of the Walrus class were built in the US by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company.[1] They were originally Balao class submarines that had served in the United States Navy (USN).[12] Before both submarines were transferred from the USN to the RNN they had undergone an extensive modernization known as Greater Underwater Propulsion Power Program (GUPPY).[8][9]

Propulsion

Both Walrus class submarines were equipped with four 16 cylinder two-stroke GMC diesel engines that were capable of delivering around 6500 hp when surfaced and 2700 hp when submerged.[13][1][2] This allowed the two submarines to reach a speed of 19 kn when surfaced and 12 kn when submerged.[13] Furthermore, they each had two propellers and two 126 cells batteries.[2] The batteries had a capacity of 10.500 Ah and allowed the Walrus class submarines to operate solely on electric power for 5 hours.[13]

Armaments

When it came to armaments both submarines were equipped with a total of ten 53.3 cm torpedo tubes of which six were located at the front and four at the rear.[1] In addition, there was enough room to store 24 torpedoes inside the submarines.[13]

Service history

In the early 1960s the Walrus class submarines patrolled the waters in Dutch New Guinea and were stationed at Manokwari and Biak.[14][15][16]

Ships in class

Notes

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d e van Amstel (1991), p. 56.
  2. ^ a b c Jalhay (1982), p. 127.
  3. ^ a b Raven (1988), p. 179.
  4. ^ Schoonoord (2012), p. 318.
  5. ^ Nooteboom (2001), pp. 36–38.
  6. ^ de Bles, Boven and Homburg (2006), p. 101
  7. ^ Nooteboom (2001), pp. 13–14.
  8. ^ a b c Jalhay (1982), p. 63.
  9. ^ a b de Bles, Boven and Homburg (2006), p. 102.
  10. ^ Nooteboom (2001), p. 38.
  11. ^ Jalhay (1982), p. 124.
  12. ^ Nooteboom (2001), p. 67.
  13. ^ a b c d Bosscher and Bussemaker (2007), pp. 86–87.
  14. ^ de Bles, Boven and Homburg (2006), p. 103.
  15. ^ Schoonoord (2012), pp. 130–131.
  16. ^ Jalhay (1982), pp. 125–126.
  17. ^ Jalhay (1982), p. 125.
  18. ^ Jalhay (1982), p. 126.

References