G-class torpedo boat
 Dutch torpedo boat G13 | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | G class |
| Operators |  Royal Netherlands Navy |
| Subclasses | 4 |
| In commission | 1904–1945 |
| Planned | 16 |
| Building | 16 |
| Completed | 16 |
| Lost | 1 |
| Retired | 15 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Torpedo boat |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 49.5 m (162 ft 5 in) |
| Beam | 5.2 m (17 ft 1 in) |
| Draught | 2.9 m (9 ft 6 in) |
| Installed power | 3,000 hp (2,200 kW) |
| Propulsion | 2 boilers and 2 shafts |
| Speed | 26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph) |
| Complement | 27 |
| Armament |
|
The G class was a series of fourteen torpedo boats built for the Royal Netherlands Navy. The class sat in size between the smaller K class (K meaning Klein - Dutch for small) and the larger Z class (Z meaning Zeer groot - Dutch for very large). The G class (G meaning Groot - Dutch for large) comprised four subclasses: the G1, G3, G7, and G13. All ships served during the First World War.
Upon the outbreak of the Second World War, only three of four ships of the G13 subclass were still in service. Considered obsolete and worn out by that time, these ships did not see much action.[1]
Construction
Only data for the G13 subclass is included here.
| Name | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Decommissioned |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| G13 | 5 March 1913 | 18 October 1913 | 11 March 1914 | February 1943 |
| G14 | May 1913 | December 1913 | June 1914 | January 1919 |
| G15 | 10 June 1913 | 3 January 1914 | 3 August 1914 | February 1943 |
| G16 | 22 July 1913 | 10 March 1914 | 29 July 1914 | 14 May 1940 Royal Netherlands Navy
3 May 1945 Kriegsmarine |
Service history
By May 1940 the Second World War broke out for the Netherlands. At that time, G13, G15, and G16 were still in service. G13 and G15 managed to escape to the United Kingdom where they performed some escort and patrol duties until being decommissioned as they were considered obsolete and unfit for service due to their age.
G16 was scuttled in Den Helder by the Dutch. The vessel was raised and repaired and was commissioned into the Kriegsmarine as the torpedo recovery vessel TFA-9. She was sunk at Kiel at the end of the war in Europe and returned to the Netherlands where she was be expended as a target ship in 1948.
Citations
References
- Lenton, H.T. (1967). Navies of the Second World War: Royal Netherlands Navy. London: Macdonald & Co.
