Schorpioen in Den Helder, Netherlands
History
Netherlands
NameSchorpioen
NamesakeScorpion
BuilderForges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée, La Seyne-sur-Mer, France
Laid downAugust 1867
Launched18 January 1868
Completed1 October 1868
Commissioned1868
Decommissioned1 April 1909
ReclassifiedAs an accommodation hulk, 1 April 1909
HomeportDen Helder
CapturedMay 1940
Germany
AcquiredMay 1940
Captured8 May 1945
FateReturned to Netherlands
Netherlands
NameSchorpioen
Acquired8 May 1945
Recommissioned18 May 1947
Decommissioned1982
Stricken1982
HomeportDen Helder
Identification
  • HW-5, 1947
  • A-882, 1954
StatusMuseum ship, 1982
General characteristics (as completed)
Class and typeSchorpioen-class monitor
Displacement2,175 metric tons (2,141 long tons)
Length195.7 ft (59.65 m) (p/p)
Beam39 ft (11.9 m)
Draught15 ft 10 in (4.8 m)
Installed power
Propulsion2 shafts, 2 steam engines
Speed12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Range1,030 nmi (1,910 km; 1,190 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement136
Armament2 × 1 − Armstrong 9-inch (229 mm) muzzle-loading rifles
Armour

HNLMS Schorpioen is a Schorpioen-class monitor built in France for the Royal Netherlands Navy in the 1860s. These new ships were equipped with heavy rifled 23 cm (9 in) guns, and a heavy armor. The hull had an armor plated belt of 15 cm (6 in) and the gun turret, housing the two guns, had almost 30 cm (12 in) of armor.

She came from the building yard with two tripod masts and able to employ about 600 m2 (6,500 sq ft) of sails, but she proved to be a difficult sailing ship and some years later the yards, masts and the sails were removed. As with Buffel her huge steam engines gave her a maximum speed of 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph). Her striking weapon was the pointed ram bow, slightly different from Buffel's, but she never ever used this overestimated weapon.

Service record

Schorpioen as a barracks ship, 1948

As with Buffel, her record is not very impressive. In 1886 Schorpioen was hit in the stern quarter by a paddle steam tugboat in the harbor of Den Helder and sank in two hours. It was possible to raise and repair her. In 1906 she completed her role as an operational warship and was transformed into an accommodation ship.

At the beginning of World War II, she fell into German hands, was towed to Germany, and served there as a lodging - and storage ship. After the war, in 1947 she was found in Hamburg, Germany and towed back to Den Helder; again to become a lodging ship, first in Amsterdam and later in Den Helder where she became the barracks for the Dutch WRNS. In 1982, after decommissioning, she was bought by a private foundation that was established to transform her into a floating museum in Middelburg, in the southern part of the country. Seven years later, after a complete renovation, she opened her doors to visitors, as a museum ship.

In 1995, the Royal Netherlands Navy re-acquired the ship and put her under the supervision of the Dutch Navy Museum in Den Helder where she is now the third, and largest, vessel on display. In May 2000, after a renovation period of eighteen months to restore her to her former glory, the ship was opened to visitors.

See also

Notes

    References

    • Gardiner, Robert, ed. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4.
    • Classen, Robert J.; van Djk, A. (1994). "Answer to Question 22/93". Warship International. XXXI (2): 203–206. ISSN 0043-0374.
    • "Dutch Ironclad Rams". Warship International. Toledo, OH: Naval Records Club. IX (3): 302–304. 1972.
    • Silverstone, Paul H. (1984). Directory of the World's Capital Ships. New York: Hippocrene Books. ISBN 0-88254-979-0.
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