The Buffel-class monitors were a pair of ironclad monitors built for the Royal Netherlands Navy in the 1860s. They had uneventful careers and were stricken from the Navy List in the late 1890s. was scrapped in 1897, but was hulked and converted into an accommodation ship in 1896. She was captured by the Germans during World War II, but survived the war. She became a museum ship in 1979.

Design and description The Buffel-class ships were designed to the same specification as the . The ships were long overall, had a beam of and a draft of . They displaced and was fitted with a ram bow. Their crew initially consisted of 117 officers and enlisted men and then later increased to 159.Silverstone, p. 340

The ships had a pair of two-cylinder compound-expansion steam engines, each driving one propeller, using steam from four boilers. The engines were designed to produce a total of and give the ships a speed of . They could only reach , however."Dutch Ironclad Rams", p. 304 The Buffels carried a maximum of of coal and had two pole masts.Campbell, p. 372

The Buffel-class monitors were armed with a pair of Armstrong rifled, muzzle-loading guns mounted in the Coles-type gun turret. They were also equipped with four 30-pounder smoothbore guns. The ships had a complete waterline belt of wrought iron that ranged in thickness from amidships to at the ends of the ships. The gun turret was protected by inches of armor and the armor thickness increased to around the gun ports. The base of the turret was also protected by 8 inches of armor and the walls of the conning tower were thick. The deck armor ranged in thickness from .

Ships ShipBuilderLaid downSilverstone, pp. 345–46LaunchedCompletedRobert Napier and Sons, Glasgow, Scotland10 June 186710 March 186822 July 1869Rijkswerf, Amsterdam18675 May 187016 October 1873

Service The Dutch bought a license for the design of Buffel from Napier and built one sister ship in their own dockyard in Amsterdam. The ships had uneventful careers since the Netherlands was at peace during their active periods. Buffel was stricken in 1896 and became an accommodation ship on 11 June of that year. She was captured by the Germans during World War II, but survived the war. She became a museum ship in 1979 in the Maritime Museum Rotterdam. Guinea was stricken and sold for scrap in 1897.

See also List of ironclads

Notes

References

External links Photo-collection on Dutch ironclads HNSA Web Page: HNLMS Buffel