Alternative HMNLS Karel Doorman
Dutch Fleet Plans from the Post-war Naval Revolution by Norman Friedman
IOTL the initial post-war fleet plan was for 3 light fleet carriers, 6 cruisers and 24 destroyers organised into 3 task groups plus a fleet train consisting of a fast tanker and a fast depot ship. This force was to be built up over a decade.
The Dutch Naval Air Service was to have 60 fighters in 3 squadrons and 45 attack aircraft in 3 squadrons providing the air groups of the light fleet carriers. Ashore would be 36 four-engine reconnaissance bombers in 3 squadrons of 12 and 120 twin-engine attack bombers in 6 squadrons of 20.
The Dutch purchased the first carrier from Britain in 1948. They already had the 2 small Tromp class cruisers and 2 more under construction. They bought 4 destroyers from the Royal Navy and ordered 12 more from their own yards.
The 1951 Fleet Plan
In 1949, the Netherlands joined NATO. With the loss of the East Indies, it no longer needed its traditional overseas fleet. However, it was now integrated into an Alliance requiring powerful trade protection forces. The heavy ships already built or planned could not be disposed of, but new ASW and mine warfare craft could be ordered. In 1951, then, the fleet plan was modified to show:
6 submarines
1 carrier
2 cruisers
12 destroyers
12 large frigates
5 small frigates
7 coastal escorts
6 patrol boats
65 minesweepers
1 net layer
These forces did not include a variety of older ships, such as three ex-British destroyers, many of which remained in service throughout the 1950s.
According to Jane's Fighting Ships 1967-68 the RNLN actually had.
- 6 submarines - 4 Potvis class completed 1960-66 and 2 Walrus (Ex American Balao class) completed 1944 and transferred in 1953. The Potvis were originally ordered in 1949 and the last 2 were to have been built as SSNs, but in the event were completed as conventional diesel-electric submarines. 2 Walrus class were laid down on 14th July 1966 to complete in about 1970 and an SSN was ordered in 1965 at an estimated cost of £17 million.
- 1 aircraft carrier - The Karel Doorman. It had a crew of 1,462 and an air group of 14 aircraft (8 S-2F Trackers and 6 HSS-1N Seabat helicopters) with maximum capacity of 21 aircraft. According to JFS 1968-69 she was purchased from Great Britain on 1st April 1948 and commissioned in the Royal Netherlands Navy on 28th May 1948. She was reconstructed at the Wilton-Fijenoord Shipyard between 1955 and July 1958 at a cost of 25 million Guilders.
- 2 cruisers - De Ryuter completed 18th November 1953 and De Zeven Provincien completed 17th December 1953. Their six inch guns had an elevation of 60 degrees and a rate of fire of 15 rounds per gun/per minute. JFS 1959-60 said that both ships were to be fitted to fire Terrier SAMS, but only De Zeven Provincien was converted (1962-64). The all gun cruiser had a crew of 926 and the gun-missile cruiser had a crew of 940.
- 12 Type 47 destroyers - 4 Holland class (Type 47A) completed 1954-55 and 8 Friesland class (Type 47B) 1956-58
- 6 large frigates - 6 Leander class completed 1967-68. These replaced 6 Bostwick class destroyer escorts complete 1943-44 and transferred 1950-51 under MDAP.
- 6 small frigates - Wolf class corvettes built in the USA under MDAP and completed 1954.
- 6 ocean minesweepers completed 1954-55 used as coastal escorts. These were also built in the USA under the MDAP.
- 5 submarine chasers completed 1954-55 and used as patrol vessels. These were built in the Netherlands but paid for by the MDAP.
- 62 minesweepers - 32 Dokkum class coastal minesweepers completed 1955-57 including 5 used as diving tenders, 14 Beemster class completed 1953-54 and 16 Van Straelen class inshore minesweepers completed 1960-62. The Beemster class was built in the USA and paid for by the MDAP. The other two classes were built in the Netherlands, but 14 Dokkum class and 8 Van Straelen class were paid for with MDAP funds.
- 1 net layer and boom defence vessel used as a diving tender. This vessel was built in the USA, completed in November 1952 and transferred to the RNLN the following month.
- 1 Poolster class fast fleet replenishment ship completed in 1964.
There was no change in JFS 1968-69, but JFS 1969-70 noted that Karel Doorman was officially transferred to Argentina on 15th October 1968 and renamed 25 de Mayo. Thus apart from 6 large frigates the fleet envisaged under the 1951 Plan had been completed by the early 1960s and was maintained until the late 1960s.
Dutch Naval Aviation
According to the Aeroflight website the main combat aircraft types operated by the Dutch Naval Air Service between 1948 and the early 1970s were:
9 Augusta-Bell AB204B Iroquois 1962-78
9 Breguet Br.1150 Atlantic 1969-84
88 Fairey Firefly (Mks 1, 2, 4 and 5) 1946-61
79 Grumman TBM-3 Avenger 1953-61
28 Grumman S-2A Tracker 1960-76 built by Grumman
17 Grumman S-2A Tracker 1960-70 built by De Havilland Canada
22 Hawker Sea Fury 1948-57 built by Hawker
25 Hawker Sea Fury 1951-57 built by Fokker
22 Hawker Sea Hawk 1957-64
12 Lockheed P2V-5 Neptune 1953-62
19 Lockheed P2V-7 Neptune 1962-82
1 Sikorsky S-51 1951-59
3 Sikorsky S-55 (HO4S-3) 1953-63
12 Sikorsky S-58 (HSS-1N/SH-34J) 1960-72
13 Westland Wasp 1966-81
According to Aeroflight the RNLN had the following squadrons in the period 1951-1970:
- No. 1 Squadron. Formed in 1949 and from 1952 stationed in the Netherlands Antilles until it was disbanded in 1974. Initially equipped with Fairey Fireflies, it re-equipped with Avengers in 1957 and the CS-2A Trackers from 1960 until it was disbanded;
- Nos. 2 and 4 Squadrons formed on Fireflies 1948-49. By the early 1950s they were ASW squadrons operating from the Karel Doorman and both converted to Avengers in 1956. No. 4 Squadron converted to S-2A Trackers in 1960 and was disbanded in 1971. Meanwhile No. 2 Squadron had been sent to the Dutch Antilles in 1959, but was disbanded the same year. It reformed on S-2As in 1962 by renumbering No. 320 Squadron and in 1969 became the OCU for the LRMP squadrons;
- Nos. 3 and 860 Squadrons. The latter was originally formed in 1943 and was operating Barracudas when the war ended. In 1946 it converted to Fireflies and in 1950 converted to the Sea Fury. No. 3 Squadron was formed in 1950 as the Fighter OCU (probably by renaming the GVO formed in 1946 and whose functions it assumed). Both squadrons were disbanded in 1956, but reformed on the Sea Hawk in 1957. No. 3 Squadron disbanded in 1961 and No. 860 disbanded in 1964. But the latter was reformed in 1966 as the parent unit for the flights of Wasp helicopters operated by the Dutch Leander class frigates;
- Nos. 5 and 9 Squadrons. No. 5 formed in 1951 as the home based SAR squadron (replacing No. 320 Squadron) and the next year became a training squadron for the multi-engine aircraft squadrons. No. 9 Squadron was formed in 1959 as a basic flying training squadron. No. 9 Squadron was disbanded in September 1973 and No. 5 Squadron was disbanded 6 months later;
- No. 7 Squadron. This unit was formed in New Guinea in 1955 where it operated Fireflies until it was disbanded in 1962. The squadron was formed the same year with the AB204s and detached flights to the Netherlands Antilles and New Guinea. It took over the SH-34Js from No. 8 Squadron in 1968 and used them for SAR until they were withdrawn in 1972. However, it retained the AB204s and eventually converted to the Lynx;
- No. 8 Squadron. It briefly existed in 1950 as a transport squadron in the East Indies. It was reformed in 1952 with Mitchells and Sea Otters (relieving No. 5 Squadron as the domestic SAR squadron). The original aircraft were replaced by Harpoons, which in turn were replaced by Catalians which were replaced by Mariners. The squadron acquired one Sikorsky S-51 and 3 S-55s in 1953. The source did not say so, but I expect that they were formed the SAR flight on the Karel Doorman. In 1960 it became an ASW squadron operating the SH-34Js from the aircraft carrier until it was disbanded in 1968;
- No. 320 Squadron. Originally formed in June 1940 and disbanded in 1946. It was reformed in 1949 as a SAR squadron, but from 1951 to its disbandment in 2005 it was a LRMP squadron equipped with Harpoons, Neptunes and Orions, but between 1960 and 1962 it operated S-2A Trackers;
- No. 321 Squadron. Originally formed in June 1940 and disbanded in 1946. It was reformed in 1951 as a LRMP squadron in New Guinea. It was initially equipped with Catalinas, but converted to Mariners in 1955 and Neptunes in 1961. It was disbanded in New Guinea in 1962, but reformed in the Netherlands in 1969 as a LRMP squadron operating the 9 Atlantics;
In This Timeline
The initial post-war plan is exactly the same as OTL. However, as the Americans won't sell any of their CVLs or CVEs the Dutch are forced to buy the Audacious class fleet carrier Cochrane in 1948 from the British who need the money and can see the advantages to them of the Dutch buying a British aircraft carrier and air group. It's commissioned into the Royal Netherlands Navy in 1948 as the Karel Doorman.
All other things being equal the Dutch refit her 1955-58. The OTL ship had her 103ft BH Mk 3 hydraulic catapult replaced by a 103ft BS Mk 4 steam catapult, a fully angled flight deck and Dutch radars. ITTL she still received the fully angled flight deck and the Dutch radars, but she had 2 BH Mk 5 catapults, which were replaced by a pair of BS Mk 5 steam catapults with one 151ft unit in the bow and another 199ft long in the waist. As completed she would have resembled Eagle after her 1959-64 refit, but without the Type 984 radar and was capable of operating Phantom class aircraft without further modification. The extra cost is paid for by the Americans through MDAP.
ITTL the 1954 Defence Review reduces the British carrier force from 9 fleet carriers to 6 fleet carriers. Therefore ITTL the British Government lends one of the 3 redundant ships to the Dutch 1955-58 so that the NATO aircraft carrier force is larger while the Karel Doorman is refitting.
However, the TTL Karel Doorman is still decommissioned and sold to Argentina as the 25 de Mayo in 1968.
I had thought of operating her as a strike carrier assigned to the Carrier Group Two of the NATO Strike Fleet, which was part of the NATO Atlantic Command. In the 1960s she would have operated an air group of 12 F-4B Phantoms, 12 Buccaneers or A-6 Intruders, 4 E-1A Tracers and 9 Seabat helicopters.
But instead (and like the real Karel Doorman) she formed the core of a HUK group assigned to the NATO Atlantic Command. The rest of the group consisted of the 2 cruisers completed in 1953 and the 12 Type 47 destroyers. However, she would carry more and better aircraft than the real Karel Doorman.
In her original configuration the TTL Karel Doorman was capable of carrying better aircraft than the real one because the Audacious class were designed to operate 30,000lb machines compared to (IIRC) 15,000lb for the Colossus class. Therefore:
- The Dutch acquire some jet fighters in 1950 in place of the Sea Furies that they bought IOTL. Logically they would be Supermarine Attackers, but if better American substitutes were available they would buy them;
- They buy a higher-performance fighter, which is equipped with radar instead of the Sea Hawk. The TTL Karel Doorman will operate a flight of 4 of them until the end of 1968;
- The S-2 Tracker went into service with the USN in 1954. ITTL it didn't enter service with the RNLN until 1960, but ITTL it enters service in 1954 in place of the Avenger. AFAIK the Avengers of OTL were supplied through MDAP and the Trackers supplied in their place ITTL were also acquired via MDAP. The Americans also supply some E-1A Tracers and C-1A Traders. IOTL 17 of the 45 Trackers supplied were built by De Havilland Canada. ITTL the Canadians would also be buying Trackers for their aircraft carriers sooner so the 79 Trackers built in place of the 79 Avengers supplied IOTL might come from the Canadian production line;
- 32 extra HO4S-3 helicopters in 1953 to support a squadron of 16 helicopters on the Karel Doorman;
- 32 extra SH-34J helicopters in the late 1950s to replace the HO4S-3s. The SH-34 could carry sonar and torpedoes, but the HO4S-3 could only carry one or the other.
Thus when the TTL Karel Doorman re-commissioned in 1958 she operated the standard Essex CVS air group of 45 aircraft made up of:
- 4 all-weather fighters (a flight of No. 860 Squadron);
- 20 S-2A Trackers (2 squadrons of 10);
- 4 E-1A Tracers for AEW
- 1 C-1A Trader for CoD
- 16 SH-34J Seabats for ASW and SAR in one squadron
In the late 1960s the real Karel Doorman had a crew of 1,462 carrying an air group of 14 aircraft and the TTL Karel Doorman will require a crew of between 2,400 and 2,500. This is based on the Ark Royal in the late 1960s and the CVS Essex. According to Jane's Fighting Ships 1965-66 Ark Royal had crew of 1,632 to 1,745 or 2,295 to 2,345 with her air squadrons embarked. Meanwhile according to Jane's Fighting Ships 1968-69 an Essex CVS had a crew of 1,517 plus approximately 800 assigned to the ASW air group for a total of 2,300 per ship.
Therefore the TTL Karen Doorman required about 1,000 more sailors than the real one. But in addition to that more men will be under training ashore to provide replacements for the ship's crew and the air group. In turn more men will be needed as instructors. I guesstimate that the personnel of the RNLN needs to be increased by 2,000 men.
The incomplete figures I have for the period 1950-70 suggest that IOTL the personnel strength of the RNLN in the 1950s was around 23,000 including 4,000 marines and that during the 1960s it was around 22,000 including 3,000 marines. For example, according to Jane's Fighting Ships 1968-69 the total personnel strength on 1st January 1968 was 21,750 including 3,065 marines and 300 women.
So ITTL the RNLN requires 1,500 to 2,000 extra sailors. If they can't be raised they will have to be found by paying off other ships. This probably means that the cruisers completed in 1953 have to be sacrificed.
To be continued...