HNLMS Abraham Crijnssen (1936)
HMAS/HNLMS Abraham Crijnssen
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History | |
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Netherlands | |
Name | HNLMS Abraham Crijnssen |
Namesake | Abraham Crijnssen |
Builder | Werf Gusto , Schiedam, The Netherlands |
Laid down | 21 March 1936 |
Launched | 22 September 1936 |
Commissioned | 27 May 1937 |
Decommissioned | 26 August 1942 |
Fate | Transferred to the RAN |
Australia | |
Name | HMAS Abraham Crijnssen |
Commissioned | 26 August 1942 |
Decommissioned | 5 May 1943 |
Fate | Returned to RNN |
Netherlands | |
Recommissioned | 5 May 1943 |
Decommissioned | 29 May 1961 |
Reclassified | Net-defence ship |
Status | Preserved as museum ship |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | minesweeper |
Displacement | 525 tons |
Length | 184 ft (56 m) |
Beam | 25 ft (7.6 m) |
Draught | 7 ft (2.1 m) |
Propulsion |
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Speed | 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
Complement | 45 |
Armament |
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HNLMS Abraham Crijnssen is a
Built during the 1930s, she was based in the Dutch East Indies when Japan attacked at the end of 1941. Ordered to retreat to Australia, the ship was disguised as a tropical island to avoid detection, and was the last Dutch ship to escape from the region. On arriving in Australia in 1942, she was commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) as HMAS Abraham Crijnssen and operated as an anti-submarine escort. Although returned to RNN control in 1943, the ship remained in Australian waters for most of World War II. After the war, Abraham Crijnssen operated on anti-revolution patrols in the East Indies, before returning to the Netherlands and being converted into a boom defence ship in 1956.
Removed from service in 1960, the vessel was donated to the Netherlands Sea Cadet Corps for training purposes. In 1995, Abraham Crijnssen was acquired by the Dutch Navy Museum for preservation as a museum ship.
Design and construction
Abraham Crijnssen was the third
Abraham Crijnssen and her
Operational history
Early service
The ship was based at
To escape detection by Japanese aircraft (which the minesweeper did not have the armament to defend effectively against), the ship was heavily camouflaged with jungle foliage, giving the impression of a small island.
RAN service
After arriving in Australian waters, the minesweeper underwent a refit, which included the installation of new
While escorting a convoy to Sydney through
Return to RNN
Abraham Crijnssen was returned to RNN service on 5 May 1943, but remained in Australian waters for most of World War II.[5] On 7 June 1945, the minesweeper left Sydney for Darwin, with the oil lighter (and former submarine) K9 in tow.[5] On 8 June, the tow cable snapped, and K9 washed ashore at Seal Rocks, New South Wales.[5][8]
Abraham Crijnssen was used for mine-clearing sweeps of Kupang Harbour prior to the arrival of a RAN force to accept the Japanese surrender of Timor.[5]
Post-war
After World War II, the minesweeper was used on anti-
Decommissioning and preservation
The ship was removed from the Navy List in 1960.
In 1995, Abraham Crijnssen was marked for preservation by the Dutch Navy Museum at Den Helder.[4] She was retrofitted to her wartime configuration.[4]
Citations
- ^ "Jan van Amstel-class". Netherlandsnavy.nl. Archived from the original on 22 January 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
- ^ Budanovic, Nikola (24 July 2016). "True: A Stranded Dutch Warship in WWII Disguising Itself As An Island To Evade Japanese Bombers!". Warhistoryonline.com. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
- ^ a b c Bastock, Australia's Ships of War, p. 221
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t HMAS Abraham Crijnssen, Royal Australian Navy
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Bastock, Australia's Ships of War, p. 211.
- ^ a b c The Abraham Crijnssen, Australian War Memorial
- ^ a b c d e Liem, That time a Dutch warship pretended to be an island to evade the enemy
- ^ Carruthers, Japanese Submarine Raiders 1942, p. 151
References
Books
- Bastock, John (1975). Australia's Ships of War. Cremorne, NSW: Angus and Robertson. OCLC 2525523.
- Carruthers, Steven (2006) [1982]. Japanese Submarine Raiders 1942: A maritime mystery (Revised ed.). Narrabeen: Casper Publications. ISBN 978-0-9775063-0-9.
Websites
- "The Abraham Crijnssen". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
- Liem, Emma (21 July 2015). "That time a Dutch warship pretended to be an island to evade the enemy". We Are The Mighty. Archived from the original on 8 August 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
- "HMAS Abraham Crijnssen". Royal Australian Navy. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
External links
- "HNMS Abraham Crijnssen". Uboat.net. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
- "HNLMS ABRAHAM CRIJNSSEN (A925)". Historic Naval Ships Association. Archived from the original on 4 July 2010. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
- Abraham Crijnssen at the Dutch Naval Museum (Dutch)