Tag Archives: ASW frigate

Ghosts of the Java Sea, 30 Years Ago

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March 1992: Here we see the Dutch anti-air frigate Hr.Ms. Tromp (F 801), left, steaming next to the Jacob van Heemskerck-class ASW frigate Hr.Ms. Witte de With (F 813) with an SH-14AB Sea Lynx helicopter aloft between them. Trailing is the Kortenaer-class ASW frigate Hr.Ms. Van Kinsbergen (F 809) and a replenishment ship that looks to be Hr.Ms. Poolster (A835). Importantly, the photo-ex was taken right around the 50th anniversary of the Battle of the Java Sea.

Fotoafdrukken Koninklijke Marine photo Via NIMH (ON 2158_018605)

Further, if you have keen eyes, you will notice the Marineluchtvaartdienst Lynx has an ode to The Pink Panther on its nose, the cartoons a tradition for the service’s Lynx

Of note, Tromp carries the name of a Dutch cruiser/destroyer leader that only missed being sunk at the Feb. 28, 1942, Battle of the Java Sea while Witte de With carries the monicker of a Dutch destroyer that survived that clash only to be damaged by Japanese planes on 1 March 1942 at Surabaya and scuttled as the Dutch left Java. Meanwhile, Van Kinsbergen, named for a Dutch naval hero, was a name also carried by a sloop during WWII that, like Tromp and Witte de With, sailed with the Free Dutch forces– capturing 12 German steamers in the West Indies in the early part of the conflict.

Three of the four of the above-shown vessels were evidently so well-maintained in service to the Royal Netherlands Navy that after full careers with the Dutch they sailed for Greece (Van Kinsbergen as Navarinon), Chile (Witte de With as Capitán Prat), and Pakistan (Poolster as Moawin).

Halifax on Display

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Check out this great overhead of the Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Halifax (FFH 330), at the time flagship of Standing NATO Maritime Group Two (SNMG2), during Operation Reassurance in the Mediterranean, 30 August 2019.

Note her “HX” helicopter deck identifier, roughly amidships Harpoon cans, VLS Sea Sparrow 4-packs next to the Harpoons, 57mm Bofors hood ornament, assorted small boats in three different sizes, and her hangar-mounted CIWS. Canadian Forces Photo RP24-2019-0034-007 by Corporal Braden Trudeau, Formation Imaging Services

Commissioned 29 June 1992, the lead ship for the 5,000-ton Halifax-class frigates is optimized for ASW, carrying a hull-mounted sonar, two twin Mark 32 Mod 9 torpedo tubes, and a magazine for 24 Mk 46 torpedos to feed both the tubes and an embarked CH-148 Cyclone helicopter. For AShW, she has 8 Block II Harpoons while her anti-air/missile defense is limited to 16 verticle-launched ESSM Sea Sparrows, a Phalanx Block 1B CIWS, and a 57mm Bofors Mk3. Still, for her intended mission, the class has a great layout and it is too bad the U.S. Navy doesn’t have 30 of these in lieu of littoral combat ships. 

Halifax returned to Canada yesterday morning, finishing over six months underway as the flag for Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG1).