The naval history of the Netherlands dates back to the 15th century. As overseas trade was a traditional cornerstone of the Dutch economy, naval defence was indispensable for the protection of commerc
The Royal Prince and other vessels at the Four Days Fight, 11–14 June 1666 by Abraham Storck depicts a battle of the Second Anglo-Dutch War. In the foreground Swiftsure with Berkeley sinks. On the right the grounded Prince Royal with Admiral Ayscue surrenders by firing white smoke; de Ruyter on De Zeven Provinciën accepts. In between, HMS Royal Charles can just be seen with a broken mast.
The Battle of Scheveningen, 31 July 1653 during the First Anglo-Dutch War (1652–54) by Jan Abrahamsz. Beerstraaten (1622–1666)
The Battle of Terheide, 10 August 1653: episode from the First Anglo-Dutch War (1652–54) by Willem van de Velde the elder, 1657
The Four Days' Battle Council on board the "Zeven Provincien", the flagship of Admiral de Ruyter, 10 June 1666, by Villem van de Velde the elder, 1693.
Royal Netherlands Navy
Videos
The Royal Netherlands Navy is the maritime service branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It traces its history to 8 January 1488, making it the third-oldest navy in the world.
Naval history of the Netherlands
…the construction of a series of protected cruisers and coastal defence ships. Since the country had become a kingdom, the Dutch navy was renamed the Royal Netherlands Navy in 1905. The 1910s saw the introduction of the first submarines. Just before World War I the navy had plans to acquire several dreadnought battleships…
HNLMS Java, ca. 1941.
Piet de Jong, commanding officer of HNLMS Gelderland in 1958.
Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 in 2007 with HNLMS Evertsen second from the right.