How Effective were Dutch Submarines in World War 2? (1941-1945)

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The Netherlands was invaded by Germany in the Second World War, its fleet largely escaping to Britain to continue the fight there. Another Dutch fleet was stationed in the Dutch East Indies (today Indonesia), which prepared to defend Allied possessions in Asia from the Japanese. Part of this fleet consisted of 15 submarines, commanded by Conrad Helfrich, who would soon earn the moniker "ship-a-day" as in December of 1941 the force of Dutch submariners would sink more Japanese ships than the American, British, and Australian navies combined. This is the story of the Dutch submarine fleet in the Second World War in the Pacific.
Sources Used:
General:
archive.is/20121205182220/htt...
www.avalanchepress.com/DutchSu...
archive.navalsubleague.org/19...
naval-encyclopedia.com/ww2/ne...
O-16:
magazines.defensie.nl/allehen...
KXVII:
www.dutchsubmarines.com/boats/...
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[@historywithhilbert146]

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[@redrose_666]

You are mixing up the K XVII and the K XVI. It is the K XVII with gezagvoerder Besançon that has been found, and the wheel has been returned. (EDIT: ánd was the ship featuring in the Pearl Harbour story. The XVI also was found and had it's wheel returned) If you tell something, do it right! Source: nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hr.Ms._K_XVII_(1933), plus his granddaughter is my wife.

[@boastenbrink63]

I'm impressed how good u spoke the Dutch words.

[@redrose_666]

@Boas ten Brink For a rotterdammer none the less! ;-)

[@melvinjansen2338]

As a fellow Dutch who studies Japempie. Great job on pronouncing those ship names

[@obimk1104]

In 1667, the Dutch did what is considered as the first "Modern Navy SEAL action", raid of Medway. They invaded / navigated a British river, where the British navy had their Navy stored. The Dutch Marines destroyed about 70% of the British navy ships, and sailed away with the British flagship. When Dutch Admiral de Ruijter died, enemy Navies greeted him. British navy has respect for the Dutch navy.

[@t.robinson4774]

My Great Uncle was a Captain onboard one of the submarines you’ve covered. He returned to Liden with his British wife after the war, left the navy and never spoke about it. He did suffer from (unrecognised at the time) PTSD, so took a simple job as a village Postman, to have a low pressure lifestyle, where he was part of the community but working mainly alone. Commemorated war anniversaries but never wanted to speak about it and his wife defended him from enquiries, to ensure his privacy. In fact I’m deliberately not naming him here, out of the same respect, despite the fact he’s passed on. You covered this well. Thank you.

[@joostprins3381]

If he was the Captain of the K XIV at the end of the war he should have known the skinny kid who came to visit the boat when they were at the harbor. That kid was my father and still remembers the kindness of the crew who adopted him. If he was, many thanks, no one came unscratched out of the war, your story is the same as that of my grandfather.

[@gertvanderstraaten6352]

I don't think the Dutch underperformed, they were outclassed. Where they could, they fought bravely. As you proved here.

[@MrToast886]

Axis: Your nation has fallen, why keep fighting? The Dutch Navy: I didn't hear no bell.

[@Page-Hendryx]

What's with the double negative? Are you an Amerikwan?

[@martijnb5887]

Teacher to his class of midshipmen in Den Helder (NL) in the 1920's: There will be a war between Japan and the United States Class: when? Teacher: in our generation Class: where will they strike? Teacher: In the Philippines, at San Francisco and at Pearl Harbour. The name of the teacher was Conrad Hellfrich, who was reprimanded for similarly provocative speech at diplomatic occasions. The Dutch submarines were trained to strike at Japanese fleet as soon as the left Japanese waters, thus wearing them down before the would reach the Dutch Indies / Indonesia. That is why the attacked aggressively. And many navy men were from the Dutch Indies, so the were not fighting for a colonial possession, but for their homeland.

[@Larsykfz303]

Any sources for this story?

[@Sauron...]

The last part doesn't seem right. The Indonesians had wanted independence for a while so when the Japanese attacked they saw them as liberators. Only after Japan took over did they begin to realize Japan was planning to stay.

[@lontongstroong]

@@Sauron... I think he mentions the natives who were collaborating with the Dutch and drafted into KNIL's Navy, which were kinda different than the rest of the populace because they tended to be those relatively well-connected to the Dutch elites and settlers. Their number were rather small though, and most of these folks followed their masters to settle in the Netherlands upon Indonesia's independence.

[@bwarre2884]

One of the reasons the Dutch were so succesful with their submarines in start of the war in the Pacific was that the Dutch used them much more agressive. The Dutch couldn't muster a large fleet for the defence of the Dutch East Indies. So they relied heavy on the relative cheap submarines to defend the islands.

[@KlausECD]

And unlike the US, their torpedoes worked

[@dogcarman]

@@KlausECD Tbh that is a big part of sinking an enemy ship. Just bludgeoning rarely if ever works. 😂

[@passantNL]

It's just an assumption, but I assume they had to be aggressive because the industrial base that produced those submarines was lost when the Netherlands and Dutch Indies were occupied. They probably had only a limited time in which that submarine fleet could be fully maintained, before lack of spares would start to take its toll. So they might as well use those boats to their full potential.

[@danielgregg2530]

@@passantNL No, it is more likely that when they went to war, they went to war. They didn't know any other way to do it.

[@feddek9325]

The Dutch submarines where equipped first to be equipped with snorkels, which gave them the ability to stay submerged until they ran out of food.

[@EireHammer]

I expected Dutch submarines to be slightly larger than the rest given how bloody tall everyone is there. I'm impressed by the Dutch Royal Navy, sound like stoic and outstanding sailors, I wonder what their Marines are like!

[@jan62811]

Dutch marines are generally nice guys, they only beat the shit out of you if provoke them.

[@tristan1234567890]

Also called black devils by the invading germans in 1940 because of there black long coats. Very persistent in the defence of Rotterdam

[@h.g.hoogers6258]

In the may campaign of 1940, some of the bridges in and south of Rotterdam were defended by the marines against the Germans. They fought so well that it is one of the reasons for Germany to decide to bomb Rotterdam in order to force the Netherlands to capitulate. As most people know, this worked: by may 14th, the Dutch army air force, which was small to begin with, had been in constant battle with the Luftwaffe for four days and was mostly gone. Given that fact and the fact that Germany threatened to bomb other population centres such as Amsterdam and Utrecht, commander-in-chief Winkelman decided to capitulate. But the marines beat the crap out of the attacking Germans before that. Our airforce fought well too - a few hundred German planes were downed over the Netherlands by the LVA (luchtvaartafdeeling, the Army air force) and AA guns. And of course, our submarines downed a number of Japanese ships as well in the East Asian campaign….. All in all, not a bad record for a small country with a pacifist tradition, I would argue….::))

[@EireHammer]

@@jan62811 So basically how all Marines are polite but will happily pound you if you cross them. That's very reassuring, thank you!

[@EireHammer]

@@h.g.hoogers6258 outstanding history, I've got a lot to read about!! It's never about the size of the combatant, it's about heart and ferocity! Get in there and bloody the nose, the best way to wrap up a fight quickly!

[@AlexirLife]

My grandfather was on the HMAS Perth when it went down in the battle of The Sunda Strait. I'm so proud to be his granddaughter. He was extraordinary He was a POW of the Japanese for the rest of the war. He was on the Thai/ Burma railway, Lightning Pass, Changhi Prison, the lot. He survived it all, tropical ulcers, dysentery & malaria plus a few other nasties. He lived to 86yrs old. He was the most beautiful, gentle man I've ever known. He spoke of his sense of humour & mateship as being the reason he survived. "Never let the bastards get ya down" I know it's tangential but there aren't many opportunities to brag about my Pop 😊

[@AlexirLife]

Also we live in the Fremantle area. It's how my Nan met my Pop. My Nan's twin sister married a Javanese member of the Dutch Navy. She met him when their Dad (Syd) bought a bunch of Dutch Navy guys home from the pub because one of them needed some repairs done to his uniform. Syd had 5 daughters at home, one of them can fix it, he told them. They were a long way from home with no access to "a good home cooked meal" Syd reckoned. That group of boys got some good mothers love, got fussed over by 5 sisters & my Aunt found a husband.

[@rb3058]

I understand being proud of your ancestors. But part of the reality is that Europeans had no place in Asia and Oceania. The European presence reflects imperialism and its crimes. And especially the British do not have to hide behind the Germans in the context of WW2. It may surprise you, but in many Asian countries the Japanese are seen as liberators. For the first time, Asians rose up against the injustice of the white man. I hope you understand that your comment in this context can hurt the feelings of many people.

[@eli-mi3mh]

​@@rb3058 ehhhmmmmm indonesians yes then the Japanese enslaved them that started resistance the vietnamese were enslaved the Philippines got majorly fucked cause they were gonna get there independence in 1945 in a treaty that was signed in 1935 so no your statement is just wrong the indos gained there independence after centuries of oppression

[@rb3058]

@@eli-mi3mh I said that no one in Australia or any other European presence in Asia or Oceania should imagine that they represent anything good or are better per se than the Japanese. Normally, something like Australia should not exist or if it does, it should be with natives who own the land.

[@AlexirLife]

@@rb3058 You are absolutely right! We have no business being here. Colonisation is horrific & indefensible. I'm not pretending I'm not a white woman on blackfulla land in the middle of Asia. I can't change any of that by myself. I keep doing my best in my own life to acknowledge that truth & try to do my best to get my government to make restitution. Unfortunately my view of this issue is not commonly held in the halls of power My pride in my family is to do with their lives & loves. You'll notice I didn't talk smack about anyone else, just the strength Pop showed in trying circumstances & how my family connected to the history. I realise that white colonisation is destructive & has few, if any up sides. My daughter is Indigenous & I see the pain

[@zounds010]

8:00 Vening Meinesz was a Dutch scientist who invented a method for accurately measuring the strength of gravity. He made several long voyages on Dutch submarines, measuring gravity in many locations, and he discovered there are small changes in Earth's gravitational field, e.g. above deep trenches in the ocean the field is slightly weaker. These trenches turn out to be the places where tectonic plates meet. There's a movie about his experiments, along with a book (which I have).

[@dracodarastrix4175]

My great grandfather was a crew member on a submarine stationed in Den Helder. My grandmother told me after the Dutch had capitulated. Some time later the crew stole back their vessel from Germans and went with it to Great Britain. The amazing part is that the submarine was still under construction and just barely sea worthy. It was finished in the Britain and then joined allies fleet. I don't know much else. My grand parents no longer life. She only mentioned the story once when I asked if she had stories from WW2.

[@MrInterestingWorld]

What makes these stories even more tragic is that most of these wrecks have been completely destroyed and robbed by scrap steel hunters.

[@guyh9992]

Not just Dutch submarines continued the fight against Japan. Dutch merchant marine, civilian aircraft and elements of the air force and army evacuated to Australia where they operated under Australian and ultimately MacArthur's command. The Netherlands East Indies civilian government in exile also relocated to Brisbane near MacArthur's HQ. Dutch commandos and civil affairs officers supported the Australian operation to recapture British and Dutch Borneo in 1945. When the Japanese surrendered in August 1945 Australian forces with Dutch support had already occupied the NEI from Borneo eastward. Australia called the Dutch the "Fourth Ally". The role of Dutch forces and NEI government in exile evacuated to Australia would make an interesting video.

[@Tiger313NL]

One of my favourite books: "Onder de bloedvlag van de O-21", written by it's captain (for most of the war), J.F. van Dulm. Also contains a preface written by Conrad Helfrich. I inherited the book from my father. 🙂

[@js0000356]

My grandfather was one of the mechanics on the 0-21. I also inherited the book along with an official photo, the flag, his medals (my grandmother told the navy that they could stuff themselves when asked to return them) a pin and a letter from the commander.

[@fnglert]

Great video. Just one tiny mistake, the Japanese surrender was signed on a battleship, the USS Missouri, not an aircraft carrier.

[@superhans2467]

Thanks for this very informative video. My father actually was one one the officers on the O-21 (second on LCDR Van Dulm's left in the picture in minute 20). He once told me the sinking of the U-95 was no matter of luck. The first stern torpedo was fired in the expectation the u-boat would turn away and present a wider target. The second was then fired, sadly killing most of the German crew. A dozen survivors were carried to Gibraltar and Van Dulm was awarded a DSO on the spot. I was also told that the surviving crew members of both ships once met after the war and got along quite well. My father much respected the Germans, but he truly hated the Japanese. Like many others, my father was born in the colonies and many of his friends and family were deported to Japanese prison camps.

[@YippingFox]

For those wondering, the dutch word for submarine is "onderzeeboot". This would literally translate to: "onder" below, "zee" sea, "boot" boat. So simply a boat below the sea.

[@RobertFleurke]

onderzeeboot - U(ntersee)-boot - underseaboat

[@HYDROCARBON_XD]

Dutch and Germans always make weird complex words

[@Winkle-Dinkle]

@@HYDROCARBON_XD yeah. Even their numbers are weird compounds. For example, Eenentwintig, which is 21, means een (1) en (and) twintig (twenty).

[@drpepper3838]

​@HYDROCARBON_XD not complex at all. Logical.

[@markstott6689]

Thanks for doing this. I was wondering what Netherlands 🇳🇱 submarines did in the Pacific and Indian Oceans in WWII a few days ago after watching a Wolfpack 345 video. He's playing the pc game War on the Sea. In particular the ABDACOM campaign.

[@CanadianDolphinSurf]

I love his vids and the O-19 would definitely be the most succesful Sub on this list

[@markstott6689]

@@CanadianDolphinSurf I do wish he'd take a couple more submarines.

[@EdwinHofstra]

The wolfpack tactic was developed by the Dutch colonial submarines before the start of WWII, but was never used. That's not saying nobody else thought of it. The Dutch East Indies were supposed to be guarded by a fleet of 36 submarines and 72 Dornier 24 flying boats, but pacifist politicians sabotaged the funding.

[@captainvladmir7535]

O-19s exploits on that playthrough are a big reason I watch that series.

[@lontongstroong]

LOL in the universes of Wolfpack, j76ny, and Darthvegan, the ABDACOM is busy butchering IJN forces. Like, two-three ships per day, including some fleet carriers. Though the IJN's casualties mostly come from the AI's weird decision of sending piecemeal attacks instead of in larger, well-escorted and well-coordinated groups like that in RL.

[@alansmithee8831]

Hello Hilbert. Very interesting. I have commented before that my Royal Navy father was out in this area just after WW2 ended. His British Army brother was in Burma and was sent to the East Indies. He missed my dad arriving in Singapore by one day. My dad went to Fremantle and Sydney on HMS Venerable. This was later the HNLMS Karel Doorman and then the ARA Veinticinco de Mayo in Argentine Navy, being their carrier during the Falklands conflict.

[@Hawker_Tempest]

very interesting video. My grandad was a Dutch submariner in the 1950's and was stationed in Fremantle and then the Suez canal.

[@AlexirLife]

I live in Fremantle 😊

[@mrrolandlawrence]

nice going on the dutch names pronunciation! interesting on the dutch subs using krupp steel. i read that in 1922 krupp send submarine engineers to holland to work on sub designs to get around the treaty of Versailles.

[@Tomtiedom12]

You know he's Dutch himself, right?

[@kennethobrien6537]

I didn't even know the Dutch had subs. Wow.

[@Enpitsu]

Fun fact: the Dutch actually invented the submarine.

[@Tuning3434]

The Dutch navy took over the Perisher course after the Royal Navy got rid of their last Diesels, and it is one of the few NATO powers that use the US Mk48 ADCAPs. A particular feature of the Dutch submarine service is their long established ability to run Diesels over half a world away.

[@glengrant3884]

They built subs for the Germans for 10-15yrs before ww2. They knew their shit about boots.

[@maozedong44]

Invented the bloody thing and also first to invent and use the snorkel. The germans didnt even know what a snorkel was when they found a dutch sub in a factory after they invaded in ww2.

[@EdwinHofstra]

Also invented sound matting, and IIRC the silent propellor. The Dutch had the best sub industry in the world, untill the US bankrupted it with an economic boycot.

[@robertlinke2666]

0:23 in 1667 a dutch fleet, under command of admiral de Ruyter sailed up the river medway, destroyed a lot of naval fortifications, deployed marines, captured 3 british ships, including the flagship of the time the HMS royal charles, this event is now called the raid on the medway, and was the event thats practically ended the second anglo-dutch war, in the favor of the Dutch.

[@user-tn1vc1xz5d]

There's a fab museum in Den Helder - you can go in a old sub there, plus other cool maritime/naval exhibits.

[@rddvls]

Truly enjoyed this video. Thanks for your hard work!

[@LordWiggle]

Fun fact: The Dutch submarine force is the oldest submarine force of the world. The Dutch submarine captain training is seen as the best as well. It's one of the few things in the navy, next to sea maps, that is profitable. From all over the world (entire NATO and more) people come to do the submarine captain course in The Netherlands. When you fail one test (not scoring 100% is already failed) you're out. It costs a country roughly 1.5m euros per person to attend the course. It is only for the absolute best of the best. It upholds a strong legacy, like seen in this video. Thank you for the video, it's a great watch :)

[@Wolfpack345]

Great video! Very insightful

[@mathieuplatteel1284]

Thanks for this very interesting piece of history. My grandfather served on one of the onderzeeboten in the dutch indies. His boat sank in port by a airstrike, most of the crew were already on board and did not survice. My grandfather was late and survived because of that. He was a boordwerktuigkundige. And stationed on koopvaardij ships before the war broke out.

[@anselmdanker9519]

Thank you for covering the role of the Dutch submarines in the Far East .

[@jonny-b4954]

0:07 The reflections in the water in that painting are really awesome. Nice graphics.

[@henkspui]

Dank voor het bijvoegen van de bronnen, blijkt van betrouwbaar en gedegen onderzoek! 👍

[@Trebseig]

Mijn opa Jan Thomas zat op de onderzeeboot O 24. Als kind begreep ik er niet veel van, maar ondertussen -en nu hij er niet meer is (19 juli 1910 - 9 september 2003), begrijp ik hoe heftig en bijzonder het moet zijn geweest voor hem, en een wonder dat hij het overleefd heeft. Heeft iemand misschien nog mooie foto negatieven van de O 24 en/of Jan in die tijd?

[@hazchemel]

Thank you for arranging the transmission of these wonderful stories. It seems the skipper and no doubt the crew also, were exceptional and performed at an extraordinary elite level. Rarely seen highly refined qualities of human nature combine in order that so much, and in diverse modes sometimes cruising across hostile oceans in splendid solitary defiance, and over the entire span of that long brutal war, capped as the laurel wreath with accepting the surrender of her enemies. Virtus, gravitas, dignitas. Very inspiring.

[@istoppedcaring6209]

an interesting and often overlooked area where the Dutch actually suffered at sea was at the hands of privateers and pirates sanctioned or condoned by the Southern netherlands or the Spanish habsburgs, these were quick agile and hard to counter and could strike at any time and then quickly pull back to ports like Ostend which is part of the reason why the republic wanted to conquer as many of these ports as they could and the siege of Ostend was one of the major sieges of the early modern period, in percentages having a death toll for a state that would only be surpassed in the first world war

[@bryangamingOG]

The dutch subs in europ where the first to try rubber based paint. This whas so advanced that when the Netherlands fell and the ships whent to the UK. The uk navy commedired the 2 subs just for the rubber slabs and paint and the sonar. The sonar to day on the dutch and britisch subs is still based on the dutch ww2 sonar

[@WildBillCox13]

Most informative. Thanks for posting.

[@roeldee5256]

10:36 Average Dutch man swims for 36 hours straight... easy

[@aldosigmann419]

When he got to the beach he must have flopped down and slept for another 36 hours...

[@whatsgoingon71]

Average Dutch commute...

[@EdwinHofstra]

Or he waits for the waters to freeze over and skates across in little enough time not to have to skip a meal. 😊

[@williebrort]

I would like to add a part of a poem to this section. In honor of all men lost at sea whilst manning a submarine. "It's the nature of the silent service, The danger of their chosen role: Never to see home port again, on their eternal last patrol." ~John F. McCullagh

[@obud3777]

Admiral “Ship a Day” Helferich

[@wdj2131]

Thank you,, accurate and concise.

[@pauloost59]

Love you chanel Hilbert! And this is an amazing overview of Dutch submarine accomplishments in WW2! As the grandson of one of these Dutch submarine commanders if fear you left out or were unaware of the exploits of another dutch sub and its crew. The "S808 Hr.Ms. Dolfijn (submarine, 1942)" also known as P47 . Wich was every bit as successful as van Dulm's O21, with 6 ships sunk and 2 damaged in the same theater. Wich in turn landed both commanders the RMWO. Accidentally this comment was written while drinking my coffee from a sidetable made of the steering wheel of said Hr.Ms Dolfijn...😉 Wich made me smile seeing a picture of another steering wheel being handed over to former COZD Driekus Heij in the museum gallery of Dutch submarine HQ

[@DijGerful]

Mooie video! interessant stukje geschiedenis :)

[@gregbailey1753]

The Armistice was signed on the USS MISSOURI, a 16 inch battleship.

[@edwardwright4633]

Thanks for uploading this. I didn't no much about the Dutch Navy in WW2.

[@memofromessex]

Thanks! That was super interesting!

[@pietdekker390]

Thank you for this video. The brave men of the submarine service deserve this tribute!

[@arrow1414]

The Articles of the surrender of the Japanese Empire were signed on the American Battleship USS Missouri, not an aircraft carrier.

[@tonypegler9080]

My Mums boyfriend (at the time) was a sailor on board a Dutch sub 019 that ran aground on Ladd reef in the South China sea.. The crew were rescued by a US sub USS Cod and brought back to Fremantle. I have seen a pic of both crews and girlfriends celebrating the return. She is right in the middle.

[@jaapenrikadekam9731]

The Japanese surrender was not signed on a US aircraft carrier but on the battleship USS Missouri , currently an impressive museum ship in Pearl Harbour Hawaii.

[@igorlikesp38]

Thank you Hilbert for this excellent and educational video of a small submarine force, that is sadly mostly neglected in history books.

[@maozedong44]

Helfrich was also on the cover of Time magazine March 9th edition. A shame you didnt show that picture.

[@joenisnapje712]

I admire the ease with which you switch between languages 👍🏻 vlekkeloos

[@MordredViking]

Ship a Day Helfrich! I've been looking for some more information on him, so this was very enlightening. I didn't realise he was there to receive the Japanese surrender on behalf of the Dutch. Very cool! :D

[@christeankapp6549]

I always enjoy your videos but I beleive you may have made a small error the isntrument of surrender in the pacific was signed ona battleshipp USS Missouri, not an aircarft carrier.

[@Scar_tisseu-86]

This is an anazing video. Maybe you can do one aboute the dutch terrible twins, the hr ms flores and hr ms soemba. What is also a somewhat lesser known storie is the mac carriers that where build by shell also known as merchant aircraft carriers. That where used buy the dutch. And not to forget the hr ms java and hr ms sumatra.

[@pascalcoole2725]

Impressive reasearch Hilbert, dank je.

[@TheEvertw]

"They went toe-to-toe with the Brits" Yeah. Until the Dutch invaded the UK and took it over. A small detail most "historians" overlook. After that, sadly, the UK navy got some much-needed Dutch wisdom and money and we lost our advantage. Letting William take over London was the dumbest thing we ever did.

[@maozedong44]

"taking over" England and using it against france and later germany was the only way to survive as a nation.

[@EdwinHofstra]

Actually, getting rid of the over-ambitious, murderous¹ prince, was probably the safest we could do at the time. ¹ He was behind the murders on the brothers De Witt.

[@maozedong44]

@@EdwinHofstra The brothers De Witt were traitors who ignored our defenses and let in all our neighbours. Almost lost the country because of them. What happened to them by the citizens of my city was well deserved. Shame about their dog though. The same shit happend before napoleon and right before ww2 and in modernday a few years ago our defense budget was at its tiniest since 1830. The netherlands is run by pacifist naive idiots with 0 ambition.

[@d.t.3263]

Maybe I missed it in the video but you missed one thing about how capable the Dutch submarines were. And that is they managed to sink couple of German u-boots as well, at that time probably the best in the world. The Japanese did not have a solution for the Dutch submarines harassing their supply routes in the Pacific. So they ask Germans for help who then sent the "Monsoon Gruppe" submarines to help protect Japanese supply routes. It was the Dutch subs that engaged the Germans in the Pacific. A group of Indonesian marine archeologist from Yogyakarta Archeology Center, Yogyakarta Diving Center and Indonesian National Diving Center discovered and salvage the remains of U-168 in the Java Sea which known to be sunk by the Dutch subs operating from Australia.

[@acey195]

They were truly innovative like you say, those silhouettes you have used are of a Victor III (Project 671RTM/RTMK Shchuka) (or) a (similar) soviet model from (around) 1979, so reaally ahead of its time in 1945 :P (I have played/watched too much "Cold waters" I guess xD)

[@newyorkshireman]

Editors note: at 14:14 you state regarding the Japanese fleet moving to pearl harbour being the "inciting incident that brought the JAPANESE into war". It should be ameicans. Otherwise. Fantastic video! One of the best YT history channels. Keep up the good work! 😁

[@old-moose]

This is very interesting. Thanks

[@RTeBokkel]

The Dutch were fortunate because shortly before Germany invaded, they had just renewed the extended warranties on their naval ships.

[@madzen112]

The Dutch were the first to put a schnorkel on their submarines, a huge improvement

[@madzen112]

@Python No, the Dutch experimented with it in the 30s

[@gitmoholliday5764]

they are still rather sneaky with their "modern" subs, very difficult to find until they start knocking on your hull.

[@borisdebruin257]

Dude your pronounciation of the word onderzeeboot was insanely good, you really sounded dutch there for a moment Edit: when watching the rest of the video I noticed its basically all the dutch words you use, very well👍

[@shadows4400]

This video is so well done! DEFO hoping for UK, Japanese and German SUB videos to follow! 💝

[@jaccovos5242]

The flawless onderzeeboten had me startled

[@qedqubit]

oeh i hope this video talks about 1-a-day-Helfrich ! the captain that sank 58 Japanese ships in 60 days, while the rest of the Alliance didn't even reach that number together !

[@janlindtner305]

Super nice lecture, one of the few times I don't mind, as a Dane, being mistaken for a Dutchman.👍

[@clmk28]

I hope you do a series on the dutch navy from its establishment to the present.

[@DeKleineKapitein]

Deze podcast in het Engels gesprokken met Noord Hollandse uitspraak zit heel goed in elkaar.

[@wolteraartsma1290]

I heard that a Dutch submarine sank a U-Boat ending the career of a U-Boat Ace. Was that the one that you mentioned? Also, a Dutch sub transported the 1st A-bomb part of the way across the Pacific, I believe rendezvousing with the U.S.S. Indianapolis. BTW should have mentioned the Dutch snorkel system that allowed subs to use their diesels underwater. The Germans seized the technology late in the war to use on their advanced U-Boats.

[@jimmys1558]

germans pretty much copied the snorkel (snuiver) early on in the war when they conquered the netherlands and saw those systems on our submarines under construction at the time.

[@thomaskloos6409]

woah your channel blew up in a year's time

[@VenlyssPnorr]

I'm not buying the claim by Creighton - it simply doesn't hold up to scrutiny. So what if the Americans weren't warned about the impending Pearl Harbor attack? It would have happened either way, resulting in war (and also the Japanese did attack the Philippines too).

[@marcusfranconium3392]

Yep , same if the submarine warned the allied how would the american president know about it , and how would one sabotage submarine at sea after discovering the japanese ships . even before they reached their home port . if they did send a message to the Americans they would be prepared and in any case the war would commence as the japanese did send a declaration of war .

[@misterbacon4933]

Agree.

[@Tuning3434]

The Japanese strikes on the Philippines where already in the air when the first bombs on Pearl fell. This conspiracy theory is complete bonkers, the US was already starting gearing up for war after France fell, and most of the ships that would drive into Tokyo bay where already on the slipways before Pearl. Sure Pearl had more emotional impact, but the Japanese push into the Philippines, Malaysia and the Dutch East Indies was plenty brutal on its own, and whatever would replace Pearl, the Japanese would have had to strike at the USN somewhere and aggressively if they wanted their push south to work.

[@TheCsel]

Yeah, Roosevelt and Churchill would not have passed up an opportunity to counter attack the Japanese carriers and knock Japan out of the war early to focus on Germany. The concept of secretly “allowing” Pearl Harbor to be attacked unawares is absurd in all aspects.

[@hsmedsvik]

Yes I don’t understand why this is even mentioned. No credibility at all. How would that have stopped or changed the war? Japan attacked several american territories at the same time as Hawaii including Wake Island, Guam and Philippines.

[@stephenfarthing3819]

I have been mentioning that the O Class of Dutch Subs would have played a key role in the DEI - And arguing that the one playing the ABDACOM Mod should put more O Class subs on station. Particularly where he needs to keep an eye on two routes into the Java Sea area. One between Celebes and Borneo and the other between Singapore and Malaya.

[@lontongstroong]

The Royal Navy submarines are better though, with more reliable torpedos than the KNIL's, let alone the Americans. Sadly they seem to be quite limited in supply in the game. And oh, the ABDACOM players should've also tried wolf pack strategy by using two (or even three) submarines per group instead of only one at a patrol area.

[@The762nato]

The surrender was on the Battleship Missouri , not on a aircraft carrier . Thank you for your EXCELLENT video ,, Cheers

[@joacimnieminen]

VERY interesting documentary!

[@murrayeldred3563]

Tremendous video!!

[@WillN2Go1]

Terrific video. Thank you. I didn't know any of this. And I'll soon be sailing on a Dutch vessel with Dutch sailors. Now I can mention this history instead of stupidly asking them if they have a windmill or if they share one with their neighbors. The torpedoes. Were they the bad American ones? If so the Dutch subs seemed to have used them far more effectively.

[@Bushtuckerman71]

No the Dutch didn't have the same problem as the American torpedoes, they understand the earth magnet field divergence

[@alanburke1893]

Brilliant. Please analyse the Battle of the Java Sea.👍

[@Jobe-13]

So many people who did their own part in the war. Nice.

[@alansmithee8831]

Hello Hilbert. Very interesting. I commented before that my Royal Navy father was out in this area just after WW2 ended, and his British Army brother was sent to the East Indies from Burma, missing my dad in Singapore by one day. My dad sailed to Freemantle and Sydney on HMS Venerable, a carrier that later was HNLMS Karel Doorman in Dutch service, then ARA Veinticinco de Mayo in Argentine Navy, being their carrier during the Falklands conflict.

[@protectorh9167]

Yes indeed but for a small country the Dutch navy and merchants contribute a lot.

[@geoffhunter7704]

There are a few references to King Alfred seeking aid from the Frisians from 880AD as they were suffering from Norse Raiders too there's even a reference in Orkneyjar Saga's to the scant pickings there were in Frisia except for Slavetaking and Shipbuilding Expertise.

[@artturretje423]

A dutch sub (Swordfish) also sank U-168, and dutch tanker Mijdrecht rammed U-70

[@bobmcbob9856]

Bro swam for days fueled only by WILHELMUS playing in his mind

[@LuqmanHM]

I was wondering what would contribute to these subs successes? Effective training? Luck? Policies? Strategies? Well prepared for war?

[@edm2822]

Fascinating! No idea of the Dutch submarines and their crews’ contributions!

[@tehMonarch]

Pretty effective considering how few of them there were, and how tenuous safe harbours and supplies were... guess they made up for that in aggression and tactics.

[@alejandrocantu4652]

The Dutch sailors had a hard time in Britain, dealing with a language barrier, and having to adapt to naval ration royal navy fish and chips. This must have come to shocking surprise to the pickle herring people.

[@adriaanboogaard8571]

I'm happy to know my Union sponsor's this program. Like I said my family is Dutch and survived WWII. I've been paying dues for 28 years. I'm currently on Medical leave. My Dad was Union when He Imagrated here after WWII BF Goodrich Factory in California. It moved to Mexico we moved to Utah

[@Page-Hendryx]

I see.

[@lkzhang820]

A video about HMAS Perth will be appreciated.

[@pgandy1]

That was an informative video and thanks for sharing. However, you will find the surrender was signed on a battle ship, BB-63, and not a carrier.

[@ravarga4631]

Poland bought subs from dutch, escaped from baltic to uk and continued the fight, poles were everywhere in this war except asia, maybe.

[@generalsquirrel9548]

Are you dutch by anu chance? Bcs your speaking dutch without accent of forgein laungauge. (New viewer)

[@dutchgijoe]

You can find actual footage on KZbin of the Dutch submarines from the period just before the war.

[@maozedong44]

Crazy how the british ignored SEA in the war. They relied on dutch subs and dutch airforce.

[@fallynfix4498]

this is awesome because as far as i learned dutch history it was like the dutch fought for 3 days and went belly up for the rest of the war untill it ended and we committed altrocities in the dutch indies and have been to scared to operate a real and effective army and navy since and even handed down direct command of the armed forces to germany. heck i'm frowned upon to even be into competetive shooting as it is. So it's good to see the dutch navy at least was still out there kicking axis ass.

[@EpicThe112]

If you want records of these Dutch Submarines in Australian Navy service your best bet is going inside the War Memorial in Canberra Australian Capital territory. Provided they allow you to see Australian Navy records 1941-1945 same thing for Hawker Hurricane De Havilland Mosquito units in the Pacific RAAF

[@BorisNoiseChannel]

Nooit geweten dat ''we'' die hadden, destijds. (Knap werkje, trouwens, deze mini-docu.) (Never knew ''we'' had those, back then. (Well done, btw, this mini docu)

[@flaviusbelisarius3240]

Why would you use silhouettes of Cold War Subs?!

[@Yggdrasil42]

Thank you. I'm Dutch and had no idea our submarines were still able to play a successful role in WW2.

[@IGLArocknroll]

0:24 Not just the Brits. Basically, they went toe-to-toe with anyone who stood in their way. A street in my hometown of Debrecen, Hungary bears the name of Michiel de Ruyter until the present day, and a memorial was erected to honour him, next to the Protestant Great Church. On February 11th, 1676, off the coast of Naples, he facilitated the release of 26 Protestant ministers, whom were sold into slavery, to work on Spanish galleys.