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History
Netherlands
Name	Nautilus
Operator	Royal Netherlands Navy
Builder	Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij, Rotterdam
Laid down	25 January 1929
Launched	30 October 1929
Commissioned	2 May 1930
Identification	M 12
Fate	Sunk near Saltfleet on 22 May 1941
General characteristics
Type	Minelayer and Patrol vessel
Displacement	951 t (936 long tons)
Length	58.46 m (191 ft 10 in)
Beam	9.50 m (31 ft 2 in)
Draught	4.15 m (13 ft 7 in)
Propulsion	2 propellers 1,350 hp (1,010 kW) 2 x Triple expansion engine
Speed	14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Crew	57
Armament	2 x 7.5 cm cannon 1 x 3.7 cm cannon 2 x 12.7 mm machine guns 40 mines

HNLMS Nautilus (M12) was a minelayer and patrol vessel of the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNN). She was built in the Netherlands and served in the RNN between 1930 and 1941.

Construction and design

Nautilus was laid down on 25 January 1929, launched on 30 October 1929 and commissioned into the Royal Netherlands Navy on 2 May 1930. The vessel was built at the Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij in Rotterdam and assigned yard number 158. The ship was designed to fulfill the function of both a minelayer and patrol vessel.

Service history

As patrol vessel Nautilus monitored fisheries in the North Sea.

Second World War

On 12 May 1940 the Nautilus laid mines at Haaksgronden [nl]. From February 1941 onwards the Nautilus performed escorting duties for convoys. On 22 May 1941, while escorting the merchant vessels Heklo and Murrayfield, the Nautilus collided with Murrayfield and shortly after sunk near the opening of the Humber near Saltfleet. All personnel were saved.

Notes

1. In Dutch the ship was classified as "visserijpolitiekruiser".

Citations

1. ^ Mark (1997), p. 99.
2. ^ Roetering (1997), p. 14.
3. ^ von Münching (1978), p. 69.
4. ^ Raven (1988), p. 181.
5. Bosscher (1984), p. 227.
6. ^ Bosscher (1984), p. 380.
7. Roetering (1997), p. 30.

References

• Mark, Chris (1997). Schepen van de Koninklijke Marine in W.O. II (in Dutch). Alkmaar: De Alk. ISBN 90-6013-522-9.
• von Münching, L.L. (1978). Schepen van de Koninklijke Marine in de Tweede Wereldoorlog (in Dutch). Alkmaar: Alk. ISBN 90-6013-903-8.
• Bosscher, Ph.M. (1984). De Koninklijke Marine in de Tweede Wereldoorlog (in Dutch). Vol. 1: Voorgeschiedenis en de verrichtingen in Nederland, de Europese wateren en het noordelijke deel van de Atlantische Oceaan tot het uitbreken van de oorlog in Azië (December 1941). Franeker: Wever. ISBN 90-6135-371-8.
• Raven, G.J.A., ed. (1988). De kroon op het anker: 175 jaar Koninklijke Marine (in Dutch). Amsterdam: De Bataafsche Leeuw. ISBN 90-6707-200-1.
• Roetering, B., ed. (1997). Mijnendienst 1907-1997 90 jaar: feiten, verhalen en anekdotes uit het negentigjarig bestaan van de Mijnendienst van de Koninklijke Marine (in Dutch). Roetering. ISBN 90-90-10528-X.

• 1929 ships
• Minelayers of the Royal Netherlands Navy
• Patrol vessels of the Royal Netherlands Navy
• Ships built in Rotterdam
• Ships built by Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij
• Ships sunk in collisions
• World War II shipwrecks in the North Sea