HNLMS Van Kinsbergen (1939)

Van Kinsbergen, at sea in October 1944
History
Netherlands
Name:	Van Kinsbergen
Namesake:	Jan Hendrik van Kinsbergen
Builder:	Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij
Laid down:	11 September 1937
Launched:	5 January 1939
Commissioned:	24 August 1939
Decommissioned:	29 May 1959
Nickname(s):	Flying Dutchman
Fate:	sold for scrap 1974
General characteristics
Type:	Unique sloop
Displacement:	1760 tons (standard) 2388 tons (full load)
Length:	100.2 m (328 ft 9 in)
Beam:	11.6 m (38 ft 1 in)
Draft:	3.4 m (11 ft 2 in)
Installed power:	17,000 ihp (13,000 kW)
Propulsion:	2 × triple-expansion steam engines 2 × screws
Speed:	25.5 kn (47.2 km/h; 29.3 mph)
Complement:	183 (later 220)
Armament:	As built: 4 × 120 mm (4.7 in) guns 4 × 40 mm (1.57 in) guns 4 × 12.7 mm (0.5 in) machine guns 2 x Depth charge racks Added in 1945: 2 x Mousetraps After 1951 refit: 2 x 105 mm (4.1 in) guns 3 x 40 mm (1.57 in) guns 2 x 20 mm (0.8 in) guns 2 x Depth charge racks 2 x Mousetraps
Armour:	Belt: 13 mm (0.51 in) Armour deck: 20 mm (0.79 in) Conning tower: 20 mm (0.79 in)

As built:

Added in 1945:

After 1951 refit:

HNLMS Van Kinsbergen (Dutch: Hr.Ms. Van Kinsbergen) was a unique sloop of the Royal Netherlands Navy build by Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij. She served in the Dutch West Indies in 1940. Later, she served as escort vessel and survived World War II. She was decommissioned on 29 May 1959 and was sold for scrap on 19 May 1974.

Van Kinsbergen was laid down on 11 September 1937. She was launched on 5 January 1939 and commissioned on 24 August 1939.

On 26 August 1939, Van Kinsbergen left Den Helder port to meet with the Dutch submarine O 13 in the English Channel. After meeting with O 13, which returned from the West Indies, both ships returned to the Netherlands. On 2 October, Van Kinsbergen left Den Helder port with the submarines O 20 and O 15 accompanying her to the Dutch West Indies, where she was to relieve the sloop Johan Maurits van Nassau and to train new gunners. She arrived in Curaçao on 31 October.

On the evening of 1 November, Van Kinsbergen left port to intercept a British destroyer that had entered territorial waters; this was forbidden because of the Netherlands′ declaration of neutrality in September 1939. A similar incident occurred when a British cruiser entered the territorial waters. Both incidents where resolved without using force.

On 10 May 1940, war with Germany broke out, and boarding parties from Van Kinsbergen captured eight German merchant ships which were present at Curaçao, all were placed in service of the KNSM.