Willem van der Zaan
1939
(Argonaut 631)
- Class: Willem van der Zaan - 1 minelayer of 1937
- Displacement: 1,269 tons
- Dimensions: 246ft 9in x 36ft 9in x 10ft 9in
- Machinery: 2-shaft TE, 2 Yarrow boilers, 2300ihp = 15.5kts
- Armament: 2-120mm/50 (2x1), 4-2pdr AA (1x4), 120 mines
- Complement: 92
- Builder: Nederlandse Dok Mij, Amsterdam
- Laid down:
- Launched: 15 Dec 1938
- Completed: 21 Aug 1939
- Notes: Last and largest minelayer built for the Royal Netherlands Navy. On 13 May 1940 she was still laying mines in Dutch home waters, but made her escape to England later that day. She went on several minelaying missions for the British before transferring to the Dutch East Indies in late 1940. She layed a series of mine barrages for the defense of Java, before retreating to the Indian Ocean, where she was assigned to convoy duty to the end of 1944. She returned to England and took part in more minelaying operations as late as March 1945. Scrapped October 1970.
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