Enern-class patrol vessel

Class overview
NameEnern class
Builders
  • Akers Mekaniske Verksted A/S, Oslo
  • Framnes Mekaniske Versted A/S, Sandefjord
Operators Royal Netherlands Navy
In commission1940–1945 Royal Netherlands Navy
Retired3
General characteristics
TypeAuxiliary patrol boat whalers
Displacement
  • 248 tons (Enern and Toern)
  • 257 tons (Femern)
Length35.23 m (115 ft 7 in)
Beam7.24 m (23 ft 9 in)
Draught1.20 m (3 ft 11 in)
Propulsion
  • 1 × 776 ihp (579 kW) triple expansion engine (Enern)
  • 1 × 775 ihp (578 kW) triple expansion engine (Femern)
  • 1 × 765 ihp (570 kW) triple expansion engine (Toern)
Speed10.5 knots (19.4 km/h)
Complement15
Sensors and
processing systems
Asdic
Armament
  • 1 × 75 mm (3.0 in) cannon
  • 2 × 7.7 mm (0.30 in) Lewis machine guns

After the start of World War II, the subsequent fall of the Netherlands left the country's overseas territories without significant naval forces for protection. The Dutch East Indies harboured the majority of the Royal Netherlands Navy, the "West Indies" including the Dutch Caribbean and Suriname only had the gunboat HNLMS Van Kinsbergen for protection between them.

In order to help with patrolling of these waters, three former Norwegian whalers were hired and militarized. These were HNLMS Enern, HNLMS Femern, and HNLMS Toern.[1][2]

Ships of class

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Name Construction yard Completed Fate
Enern Akers Mekaniske Verksted A/S, Oslo 1929 Returned to owner once lease period ended 21 August 1945.
Femern Framnes Mekaniske Versted A/S, Sandefjord 1932 Returned to owner once lease period ended 21 August 1945.
Toern Akers Mekaniske Verksted A/S, Oslo 1929 Returned to owner once lease period ended 21 August 1945.

Service history

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All three ships had originally been part of a Norwegian whaling fleet with SS Solglimt as their factory ship. The fleet had not been in Norway during Operation Weserübung, but encountered the German auxiliary cruiser Pinguin in the South Atlantic where Solglimt was captured.[3][4]

Enern, Femern, and Toern would thus be left without a factory ship and be made available for hire by their owner. All three were present at New Orleans making them ideal options for the Royal Netherlands Navy to hire them. The most notable event during the patrols these boats did was when Femern picked up eight survivors from the Norwegian tanker Lise which had been torpedoed and sunk by U-69 on 12 May 1942.[4]

All three boats were returned to their owner on 21 August 1945.[4]

Citations

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  1. ^ Mark, Chris (1997). Schepen van de Koninklijke Marine in W.O. II. Alkmaar: De Alk. ISBN 978-90-6013-522-8.
  2. ^ Helfrich, Conrad Emile Lambert (1950). Memoires van Admiraal Helfrich Amsterdam: Elsevier.
  3. ^ von Münching, L.L. (1978). Schepen van de Koninklijke Marine in de Tweede Wereldoorlog (in Dutch). Alkmaar: De Alk. ISBN 90-6013-903-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
  4. ^ a b c "Netherlandsnavy Whalers".
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