Bastiaan Wouter Haveman was born in 1908 in Wijnjeterp, Friesland. He grew up as a pastor’s son with four brothers and a sister. He obtained his master’s degree in chemical engineering in Delft and subsequently graduated in Dutch law in Leiden. In 1951 he married Louise Hendrika van Loon. Before Read more…
It is interesting to note that in the 20th century the Royal Netherlands Navy visited Australia more times than any of the other other European Continental Countries. This has obviously to do with the Dutch colony to the north of Australia, the Netherlands East Indies, now Indonesia. Dutch Naval Visit Read more…
The centre of gravity of the Airforce of the Royal Netherlands Navy ( Marine Luchtvaartdienst – MLD) was undisputed in the Netherlands East Indies (NEI). The aircraft carried out many reconnaissance flights for the fleet. Just before the outbreak of war, the MLD had 34 Dornier Do 24K flying boats Read more…
Dutch passenger liner Oranje was built in 1939 build by the Nederlandse Scheepsbouw Maatschappij and was at the time one of the most modern ones in operation. However, its operation as a liner was cut short by the war in Europe. The ship was able to flee to Surabaya in Read more…
The MV Ondina was a tanker ship that played a role in World War II. It was launched in April 1939 and was built at the NDSM shipyard in Amsterdam. Upon completion in August 1939, the Ondina was initially employed by La Corona, a subsidiary of the Royal Dutch Shell Read more…
The HNLMS Van Galen and Tjerk Hiddes were N-class destroyer built as HMS Noble and HMS Nonpareil for the Royal Navy during the Second World War and transferred to the Royal Netherlands Navy shortly after completion. The tender price for the Van Galen was £400,684 excluding the cost of Admiralty Read more…
The HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck, a light cruiser of the Royal Netherlands Navy, arrived in Australia in October 1942 and was based in Fremantle, Western Australia. She was assigned to Allied Naval Forces Western Australia and performed convoy duties in the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific. She also provided Read more…
The Dutch Gunboot Flores arrived in Sydney on January 17, 1938, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the city’s founding. The ship was a 1,200-ton gunboat that was built in 1925. She was armed with four 120mm guns and two 75mm guns, and had a crew of 150 officers and Read more…
The Dutch submarine K-XVIII made a historic visit to Fremantle in 1935. It was the first Dutch submarine to ever visit the port, and it helped to strengthen the ties between the Netherlands and Australia. The K-XVIII arrived in Fremantle on 13 April 1935, after a long journey from the Read more…
A Dutch naval squadron visited Australia in 1930, led by Rear Admiral C.C. Kaijser on the light cruiser HNLMS Java with the destroyers De Ruyter and Evertsen. The following ports were visited successively: Fremantle, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Wellington, Auckland, Brisbane, Boela (New Guinea) and Ambon. On November 28, the squadron Read more…