HNLMS O 14

HNLMS O 12 and O 14 in the harbor of San Juan, Puerto Rico (1937)
History
Netherlands
Name	O 14
Builder	Koninklijke Maatschappij De Schelde, Vlissingen
Laid down	29 December 1928
Launched	3 October 1931
Commissioned	4 March 1932
Decommissioned	26 June 1943
General characteristics
Class and type	O 12-class submarine
Displacement	610 tons surfaced 754 tons submerged
Length	60.4 m (198 ft 2 in)
Beam	6.8 m (22 ft 4 in)
Draught	3.6 m (11 ft 10 in)
Propulsion	2 × 900 bhp (671 kW) diesel engines 2 × 310 bhp (231 kW) electric motors
Speed	16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph) surfaced 8 kn (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) submerged
Range	10,000 nmi (19,000 km; 12,000 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) on the surface 28 nmi (52 km; 32 mi) at 8.5 kn (15.7 km/h; 9.8 mph) submerged
Complement	29-31
Armament	4 × 21 inch bow torpedo tubes 1 × 21 inch stern torpedo tube 2 × 44 mm guns[1] 1 × 12.7 mm machine gun

O 14 was a O 12-class submarine of the Royal Netherlands Navy that saw service during World War II. It was built by the Koninklijke Maatschappij De Schelde of Vlissingen^[1] and entered active duty on 4 March 1934.

Just before the start of World War II O 14 was in Curaçao. Because there was no need on the Allied side for a Dutch submarine to be stationed there, O 14 returned to Europe. Based in England, it did patrol duty off the coast of Norway, with convoy Convoy HX 79, and was decommissioned in 1943 due to a lack of replacement engines.

Service history[]

Before World War II[]

Just after entering service O 14 received a visit from Duke Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Defence Minister on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Royal Netherlands Navy Submarine Service. In 1937, O 14 travelled to Curaçao with sister ship O 12, and again in 1939, this time with sister ship O 13.^[2]

During World War II[]

During the German invasion of the Netherlands in 1940, O 14 was stationed in Curaçao with sister ship O 15, where both were receiving maintenance.^[2]

Consultations between the Dutch and British Navy resulted in the decision to move O 14 and O 15 to Europe, since there was no need for Dutch submarines in the Caribbean. Both ships went via Kingston, Bermuda, and Halifax to England. O 14 underwent repairs at Halifax Shipyard on its armament. Since there was a lack of distilled water for the ship's batteries, O 14 could not join , but had to wait until October 1940, for Convoy HX 79. On 19 October a German wolfpack attacked the convoy, which sank 12 of the 45 ships and damaged another. O 14 was attacked as well, but all three torpedoes fired at the ship missed their target.^[2]

On 22 October 1940, O 14 arrived in Rothesay, Bute, and with O 9 and O 10 was used as a target ship during tests with the ASDIC sonar system. From 22 December 1940, O 14 was stationed in Dundee, where maintenance was done and the batteries replaced. Until August 1941 O 14 again served as the target ship for ASDIC tests in Scapa Flow.^[2]

From 8 August 1940, to January 1941, O 14 patrolled the coast of Norway without being able to attack any enemy ships. In January 1942 O 14 participated in Operation Kitbag, where it was placed 15 nautical miles (28 km; 17 mi) off the Norwegian coast and used as a radio beacon for destroyers on their way to the fjord at Hell, Norway. At the end of January and the start of February O 14 was involved with the unsuccessful search for the German battleship Tirpitz. Afterward O 14 was used as a target ship for anti-submarine warfare exercises in Scapa Flow, and then did three more patrols off the Norwegian coast, again without attacking enemy ships.^[2]

After those last patrols there was trouble with the diesel engines. Given the lack of parts, the severity of the problems, and the age of O 14 it was decided to decommission the sub. Parts were used in the repair of sister ship O 15. The Dutch crew was then stationed on a sub loaned from the British Navy, HMS Sturgeon, which was renamed Zeehond.^[2]

References[]

Coordinates: 8°40′N 111°40′E / 8.667°N 111.667°E / 8.667; 111.667