Allied Warships

HNMS Van Galen (i) (VG)

Destroyer of the Admiralen class

NavyThe Royal Dutch Navy
TypeDestroyer
ClassAdmiralen 
PennantVG 
ModSecond group 
Built byWilton-Feijenoord (Schiedam, Holland) 
Ordered 
Laid down28 May 1927 
Launched11 Sep 1928 
Commissioned20 Feb 1929 
Lost10 May 1940 
History

Van Galen served along her sister ships in the Netherlands East Indies until 1939, when she was ordered back to Holland. She arrived in Den Helder on 8 May 1940 only two days before the Germans attack. On the 10th HrMs Van Galen (Cdr. Albertus Samuel Pinke) was ordered to shell the German forces at the captured airfield Waalhaven near Rotterdam. Before she could do so she was attacked by German aircraft and badly damaged. Nevertheless she made it to the Merwedehaven, where she finally sank. The ship was raised by the Germans on 23 October 1941, and being not worth repairing she was scrapped in the Netherlands in Hendrik Ido Ambacht.

See also this website (offsite link).

 

Commands listed for HNMS Van Galen (i) (VG)

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and that we only list Commanding Officers for the duration of the Second World War.

CommanderFromTo
1kapitein-luitenant ter zee (Cdr.) Albertus Samuel Pinke, RNN26 Mar 194011 May 1940

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Notable events involving Van Galen (i) include:


15 Apr 1940
When in position 09°40'N, 63°07'E, the loom of a searchlight was sighted bearing 263°, HMAS Hobart (Capt. H.L. Howden, RAN) then increased to full speed to intercept. It was considered probable that the searchlight was from the Dutch destroyer HrMS Van Galen (Cdr. A.S. Pinke, RNN) which was en-route from Colombo to Aden. This was subsequently fount to be the case and at 2106Z/15, signals were exchanged. It was estimated the loom of the searchlight had been sighted from a distance of over forty miles. (1)

Media links


Destroyers of World War Two

Whitley, M. J.

Sources

  1. Report of proceedings of HMAS Hobart for April 1940

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