The Wolf- or Fret-class destroyers, also known as the Roofdier class, lit. "predator",[A 1] were a class of eight destroyers that were built between 1910 and 1913 for the Royal Netherlands Navy to serve in the Dutch East Indies. They were the first Dutch destroyers built after a British design. The first six ships were built by Koninklijke Schelde Groep De Schelde shipyards in Vlissingen, and the last two by Fijenoord in Rotterdam. The ships were replaced at the end of the 1920s by the Admiralen class.[1]

HNLMS Wolf in Vlissingen c. 1912
Class overview
NameWolf-class destroyer
Builders
Operators Royal Netherlands Navy
Succeeded byAdmiralen class
Built1910–1913
In commission1911–1928
Completed8
Retired8
General characteristics
TypeDestroyer
Displacement510 t (500 long tons)
Length70.5 m (231 ft 4 in) o.a.
Beam6.6 m (21 ft 8 in)
Draught2.8 m (9 ft 2 in)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Range
  • 2,360 nmi (4,370 km; 2,720 mi) at 8 kn (15 km/h; 9.2 mph)
  • 670 nmi (1,240 km; 770 mi) at 20 kn (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement83
Armament

Design

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The ships displaced 510 tonnes (502 long tons) and measured 70.4 metres (231 ft 0 in) in length overall, 6.6 m (21 ft 8 in) in breadth, with a 2 m (6 ft 7 in) draught. They were powered by four Yarrow boilers installed creating steam that produced 8,500 horsepower (6,300 kW). They had two Krupp-Germania steam turbines that drove two shafts. The first four ships, Wolf, Fret, Bulhond, and Jakhals, each carried 120 t (120 long tons; 130 short tons) of coal, the last four, Lynx, Hermelijin, Vos, and Panter, carried an additional 12.5 t (12.3 long tons; 13.8 short tons) of fuel oil in addition to the 120 t of coal. This gave the last four ships an additional 340 nautical miles (630 km; 390 mi) of endurance.

The ships were armed with four 75-millimetre (3 in)/52-calibre guns, four 7.92 mm (0.31 in)/80-calibre machine guns, and two 450 mm (18 in) torpedo tubes.

Ships

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Name Laid down Launched Completed Builder Fate
Wolf 1909 17 September 1910 1911 Koninklijke Maatschappij de Schelde, Flushing Stricken 1924
Fret 1909 15 October 1910 1911 Koninklijke Maatschappij de Schelde, Flushing Stricken 1922
Bulhond 1910 20 December 1911 August 1912 Koninklijke Maatschappij de Schelde, Flushing Stricken 1927
Jakhals 1910 20 January 1912 July 1912 Koninklijke Maatschappij de Schelde, Flushing Stricken 1928
Hermelijn 1911 22 February 1913 July 1913 Koninklijke Maatschappij de Schelde, Flushing Stricken 1925
Lynx 1911 24 December 1912 July 1913 Koninklijke Maatschappij de Schelde, Flushing Stricken 1928
Vos 1912 28 June 1913 February 1914 Feijenoord, Schiedam Stricken 1928
Panter 1912 9 September 1913 March 1914 Feijenoord, Schiedam Stricken 1934

They are named after mammals of the order Carnivora (Roofdieren is a synonym for carnivore in Dutch). Their names in English, in the sequence listed, mean: wolf, ferret, bulldog, jackal, ermine, lynx, fox and panther.

Notes

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  1. ^ From Dutch: roof, "robbery" and dier, "animal". See the Wiktionary article for more information.

Citations

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References

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  • Gardiner, Robert, ed. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906-1921. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 9780870219078.