View source for A-class minesweeper

{{Short description|Four minesweepers of the Dutch navy}}
{{more footnotes needed|date=February 2013}}

{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image= HNLMS A.jpg
|Ship caption=HNLMS A prior to departure to the Dutch East Indies
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{{Infobox ship class overview
|Name=
|Builders=''Rijkswerf Willemsoord''
|Operators=*{{navy|Netherlands}}
*{{navy|Empire of Japan}}
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|Total ships completed=4
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|Total ships laid up=4
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
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|Ship type=[[Minesweeper (ship)|Minesweeper]]
|Ship displacement= {{convert|179|LT|t|0|lk=out|abbr=on}}<ref name="conways22p394">Gardiner & Chesneau, 1980, p. 394</ref>
|Ship length= {{convert|42.8|m|ftin|abbr=on}} 
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|Ship propulsion={{convert|700|hp|abbr=on}} engine
|Ship speed= {{convert|13.5|-|14.5|kn|abbr=on}}
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|Ship complement=31&ndash;38
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|Ship armament=2 × 12.7 mm calibre machine guns
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The '''''A'' class''' were four [[Minesweeper (ship)|minesweepers]] of the [[Royal Netherlands Navy]]. They were the first purpose-built minesweepers of the Dutch Navy, as earlier minesweepers were converted [[tugboat]]s.

== Design ==
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The ''A'' class was based on the German FM-type of coastal minesweeper built during the [[World War I|First World War]].<ref name="lenp80">Lenton 1967, p. 80</ref>

== History ==
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All ships of the ''A'' class were built between 1928 and 1930 at [[Willemsoord, Den Helder]]. All four ships were commissioned on 4 August 1930, and two days later, on 6 August 1930, all four sailed to the [[Dutch East Indies]], arriving at [[Surabaya]] on 30 October 1930.

During the [[Dutch East Indies campaign|Japanese invasion of the Dutch East Indies]] in March 1942 all four ships were scuttled by their crews. Three of the ships, ''A'', ''B'' and ''C'', were salvaged and put into service with the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] as auxiliary [[submarine chaser]]s no. 113, 112 and 116, being rearmed with a single [[QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss|47 mm gun]], three [[Type 96 25 mm AT/AA Gun|25 mm cannons]], a [[Hotchkiss M1929 machine gun|13.2 mm machine gun]] and eight depth charges. All three were sunk by US forces in 1944&ndash;1945.<ref name="Jent p223"/>

== Ships in class ==
* {{HNLMS|A|1929|6}} - Laid down 9/1928. Launched 19 April 1929 and completed on 4 August 1930. Scuttled at Surabaya, Java 1 March 1942, raised by Japan and commissioned as ''Cha.113'' on 17 January 1943. Sunk by US submarine [[USS Hardhead (SS-365)|USS ''Hardhead'']] off Java on 23 June 1945.<ref name="Jent p223">Jentschura et al 1986, p. 223.</ref>
* {{HNLMS|B}} - Laid down 9/1928. Launched 24 September 1929 and completed on 4 August 1930. Scuttled at Surabaya, Java 2 March 1942, raised by Japan, commissioned as ''Cha.112'' on 20 December 1942. Sunk by US aircraft in the Java Sea on 4 June 1945.<ref name="Jent p223"/>
* {{HNLMS|C}} - Laid down 4/1929. Launched late 1929. Completed 4 August 1930. Scuttled at Surabaya, Java 6 March 1942, raised and commissioned as Japanese ''Cha.116'' on 8 April 1943. Sunk by US carrier-based aircraft 20 miles west of [[Cavite]], [[Luzon]] on 13 November 1944.<ref name="Jent p223"/>
* {{HNLMS|D}} - Laid down 1928. Launched 1929. Completed 8/1930. Scuttled at Surabaya, Java 2 March 1942 to prevent capture by Japanese forces.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ships/2846.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130413212509/http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ships/2846.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 April 2013 |title=HNMS D of the Royal Dutch Navy |publisher=Uboat |access-date=2 March 2013 }}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===
* Gardiner, Robert and Chesneau, Roger (eds.) ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946''. London: Conway Maritime Press, 1980. {{isbn|0-85177-146-7}}.
*Jentschura, Hansgeorg, Dieter Jung and Peter Mikel. ''Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy 1869–1945''. Annapolis, Maryland, USA: Naval Institute Press, 1986. {{ISBN|0-87021-893-X}}.
* Lenton, H. T. ''Navies of the Second World War: Royal Netherlands Navy''. London: Macdonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd.
*Mark, C. ''Schepen van de Koninklijke Marine in W.O. II'' Alkmaar: De Alk bv, 1997: 109-110.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927040441/http://netherlandsnavy.nl/Aclass.html Netherlandsnavy.nl: A class minesweepers] {{in lang|en}}

{{Commons category}}
{{WWII Dutch ships}}

[[Category:Mine warfare vessel classes]]
[[Category:Minesweepers of the Royal Netherlands Navy]]
[[Category:World War II minesweepers of the Netherlands| ]]