The s.s. 'America' was an ocean liner which entered service in 1940 for the United States Lines. She was designed by the famous naval architect William Francis Gibbs. In the 54 years between her introduction and her wrecking in 1994, she had eight different owners (of which one twice) and sailed under the names of 'America' (carrying this name three different times), 'West Point', 'Australis', 'Italis', 'Noga', 'Alferdoss' and 'American Star'. She served most in passenger service as s.s. 'Ame...

Achille Lauro was originally the liner Willem Ruys when sold to the Italian Lauro Organization in 1966. Achille Lauro left the Riuniti yards as a newborn star. After being hijacked by Palestinian warriors (PLO), in October 1985, the blue liner and cruiser made international headlines. Swept by a catastrophic fire Achille Lauro sank 2 December 1994 off the Somalian coast.

De Haarlem uit de ‘Alkmaar klasse’ verhaalt de historie van een bijzonder goede Europese samenwerking die nog steeds vaak als voorbeeld wordt aangehaald. Gebouwd van polyester en voorzien van de nieuwste Franse sonar bleken de schepen in Nederlandse dienst uitstekend te voldoen. Zo werden in 1984 de splinternieuwe Haarlem en Harlingen uitgezonden voor mijnenbestrijding in de Rode Zee. Een ommezwaai in de filosofie van zowel de politiek als de marineleiding was hiervoor nodig.

Toen twee m...

HNLMS Kortenaer was in action in the Battle of the Java Sea on 27 February 1942, where she was torpedoed by the Japanese cruiser Haguro. An eyewitness, recorded that “Kortenaer about 700 yards bearing 80° relative was struck on the starboard quarter by a torpedo, blew up, turned over, and sank at once leaving only a jackknifed bow and stern a few feet above the surface.”.

The six ‘Roofdier’ class ‘frigates’ were all built in the USA with MDAP funds. They were designed to escort slow coastal convoys in Channel and North Sea areas and were operated as a single squadron by the Royal Netherlands Navy. They proved useful for a number of peacetime tasks, especially fishery protection, and some were retained in this role in the North Sea until die mid-1980s.

The Van Speijk class frigates were equipped with Dutch electronics/sensors. The British Leander design was chosen to enable rapid construction to replace elderly escorts for ASW duties and NATO patrol. The ships were thoroughly modernised in the late 1970's. Between 1986-1990 all six were transferred to the Indonesian Navy.

The sturdy Fokker C.XIw was designed and built for service in the Royal Netherlands Navy. Development started in early 1934. The biplane scout was the first Dutch aircraft which could be catapult launched. At that time, a new flagship for the Netherlands East Indies Squadron was under construction and would receive a Heinkel K 8 catapult. Fifteen aircraft were ordered and served as long-range reconnaissance for the fleet from 1936 to 1942.

It was mainly operated in the Netherlands Indies and...