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| Europe |
| Dutch Navy gives up projecting sea power, transforms into coastal force |
| 2005-05-26 |
| Defence Minister Henk Kamp wants the navy to get rid of a number of large frigates. The ships will be replaced by smaller vessels which can be used to patrol the coast. The defence minister's plans are in line with the wishes of parliament. Well, that's obvious. The new strategy represents a shift of emphasis away from sea power and towards providing support for operations on land. The minister is due to inform MPs about the changes to the navy today. |
| Posted by:gromky |
| #20 Capt Von Trapp - thanx for the laugh :-) |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-05-26 22:58 |
| #19 Let's cut to the chase - what the Dutch navy needs is to covert over entirely to dhows - to match their changing demographic profile. |
| Posted by: Lone Ranger 2005-05-26 22:30 |
| #18 I think Aruba has been independent for a decade or two. They can get by on the tourist trade (scuba/snorkling, expensive shops, expensive restaurants, expensive hotels, cruise ships. Yes, there are cheaper of all of the above, but that's not what pays the bills.) |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-05-26 22:02 |
| #17 Dutch East Indias Battles there is a great geocities site about it, a google search will show it in first page. Sad end of a true great navy. |
| Posted by: Hupomoque Spoluter7949 2005-05-26 17:57 |
| #16 i think in recent years theyve sent their frigates to their carib possesions, Aruba, Curacao, St. Martin. Guess they figure theres no real threat to those places now. Venezuala have any historic claims to Curacao??? |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2005-05-26 17:01 |
| #15 Oh, the Battle of the Java Sea is sacred. The USS Houston was lost there. An early loss to offset the many victories yet to come. Imagine if the current mainstream media was there to cover the events as they happened. The Perth, with only half the normal oil supply and the Houston made for Sunda Strait being ordered to Tjilatjap but were to discover a second enemy amphibious landing taking place in Bantam Bay, off St. Nicholas Point at about 11.30pm. And engaged the Japanese transports escorted by destroyers of the 5th and 11th flotillas at once. As the two battle scarred warships wreaked havoc amongst the enemy vessels, causing the Japanese to sink their own transports, they were intercepted by a strong Japanese surface force. The Mogami and Mikami arrived after receiving an urgent call to assist the destroyers. And both allied cruisers running short of ammunition, overwhelmed by some 90 Long-lance torpedoes launched at them, were eventually pinned and sunk firing till the last. Captain A.H. Rooks of the Houston received the Congressional Medal of Honour, posthumously; "they sacrificed their lives to gain time for future victories". |
| Posted by: gromky 2005-05-26 15:04 |
| #14 Any one know if this was the last major engagement of the Dutch Navy? |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2005-05-26 13:58 |
| #13 ZimBOBwe has first call on those Perhaps he has an opening for an expert on landlocked naval tactics. I'll let you know. |
| Posted by: Capt. Von Trapp 2005-05-26 13:45 |
| #12 ZimBOBwe has first call on those |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-05-26 12:29 |
| #11 I'm wondering... are any of the large ships they'll be getting rid of worth buying? |
| Posted by: Phil Fraering 2005-05-26 12:25 |
| #10 Well into the 60s and early 70s, they had a small, but balanced fleet: a carrier (sold to Brazil?), a couple of missile cruisers (sold to Peru), some DDGs, and plenty of escort ships and some subs. That's the normal state of affairs for a socialist government. Transfer payments and the national health system eat up all tax revenues, so it it stops having a military, stops fixing the roads, stops doing everything that is legitimately a function of government, so that it can concentrate on looting the productive and buying votes with hand-outs. |
| Posted by: Jackal 2005-05-26 12:25 |
| #9 You mean they have had sea power since they got tossed out of North America and New Amsterdam became New York? Who Knew?!?!? |
| Posted by: mmurray821 2005-05-26 12:01 |
| #8 TGA - Batavia? That's just a few miles away. They have a ship on the Prairie at FermiLab? I may have to wander over and look. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2005-05-26 11:32 |
| #7 The Waakzaamheid is dead, long live the Waakzaamheid... |
| Posted by: Carl in N.H. 2005-05-26 11:27 |
| #6 OK, OK - I'm talking about lately, lol. |
| Posted by: Spot 2005-05-26 09:05 |
| #5 De Ruyters is turning over in his grave. They were once in the running for #1 naval power. |
| Posted by: Jackal 2005-05-26 08:37 |
| #4 They one were.. from the Caribbean to South Africa and Batavia. |
| Posted by: True German Ally 2005-05-26 08:33 |
| #3 The Dutch were projecting sea power? Who knew. |
| Posted by: Spot 2005-05-26 08:32 |
| #2 And Dutch shipping will receive the protection of their maritime commerce care of the US Taxpayer. Who said there's no free lunch? |
| Posted by: Theaper Angaimble1231 2005-05-26 08:13 |
| #1 Lovely idea. They can sell the frigates to the new European fast reaction force, as transport ships. That way the force will at least have some way to get where they need to go. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-05-26 08:04 |