HNLMS Wassenaar, was a unique ship built for the Royal Netherlands Navy.
Context The Admiraal van Wassenaar was part of the 1852 program which started the introduction of screw propelled warships to the Dutch navy. The first phase of the plan consisted of the Wassenaar, two steam corvettes of the Medusa class, and the steam schooner Montrado. The Wassenaar was laid down in Amsterdam on 12 February 1853. When she was commissioned in July 1857, she was the first steam frigate of the Dutch Navy.
Characteristics Design
The Wassenaar was originally designed and partly built as a sailing frigate. This meant that her dimensions were the same as those of a sailing frigate laid down decades earlier, except that she was about 6.5 m longer. That she was only 6.5 m longer was due to the fact that she was meant to be a frigate with auxiliary power. Therefore, her engine was relatively small, and could be fitted with relatively small adjustments.
The first captain of the Wassenaar would personally arrange his own quarters to include a comfortable sleeping place, a small saloon, and an anteroom or as he called it 'church'. In the anteroom there was place for two quadrilles of eight pairs each. He personally spent a lot of money to lavishly decorate these rooms. He later noted that he did not regret this, as there were often 25-30 ladies in these rooms.
Machinery The Wassenaar had machines of 300 nominal horse power made by Fijenoord in Rotterdam. These were to make about 50 turns On the first trial run the Wassenaar attained a speed of over 8 miles. The machinery made 56 turns with a vacuum of 25.5–26 cm, the screw slipping 20%. Of course this trial was not with full load, nor sails, so it was not that precise for the speed she would attain later. On her first trip from Nieuwediep to Plymouth she reached 6.5 knots at full speed, the screw making 52 turns a minute.
Sails As a frigate with auxiliary power the Wassenaar was first and foremost a sailing frigate. She had the sail plan of a Full-rigged ship, allowing her to make over 10 knots under advantageous conditions. Of her first 13 month trip to the Mediterranean (cf below) the mode of travel per day is known. She used sails only on 95 days, steam and sails on 21 days, and steam only on 2 days. In this respect the cost of coal was significant. Her first captain would later note that the Wassenaar could easily consume 1000 guilders a day in coal.
Armament
Deck Gun type Original armament Later As training ship At the Bow SBML 1 long 60-pdr on pivot and sled 1 long 60-pdr on pivot and sled Upper deck SBML 12 long 30-pdr No 3 2 16 cm RML Shell guns 2 Shell gun 20 cm No312 Shell gun 20 cm No3 Main gun deck SBML 22 long 30-pdr No 4 24 long 30-pdr No 4 4 long 30-pdr No 4 Shell Guns 8 Shell gun 20 cm No 2 6 16 cm RML 4 12 cm breach loader
The Dutch navy used smooth bore muzzle loading (SBML) of a uniform caliber of 30 pounds, just like the French and English (32 pound) navies did. The basic policy of these navies was that 1st class frigates mounted heavy 30-pounders on their lower deck, and shorter versions on the upper deck. For the Wassenaar this meant 22 long 30-pdr No 4 on the main gun deck and 12 long 30-pdr No 3 on the upper deck. As shell guns were also required, 8 shell guns 20 cm No 2 were added on the main deck, and 2 shell guns 20 cm No 3 were added on the upper deck. To fight faster steamers a Long 60-pounder guns on pivot and sled was placed on the bow.
This resulted in an armament comparable to foreign steam frigates, e.g. the English frigate HMS Arrogant (1848). The Arrogant had a 32-pounder 56 cwt gun comparable to the Dutch long 30-pounder No 4 and the French long 30-pounder. The same can be said of Arrogants 32-pounder (42cwt), the Dutch long 30-pounder No 3 and the French 30-pounder short gun The Dutch shell gun 20 cm No 2 weighed 3,100 kg and was comparable to the English ML 8-inch shell gun of 3,300 kg.
A comparison with other ships in the Dutch navy shows that the Wassenaar really did add significant power to the Dutch navy. The previous sailing frigates 1st class had 30 long 30 pounders No 1,2 or 3 (of 2,500 kg) and 22 medium 30 pounders (of 1650 kg). They did not mount a gun comparable to the heaviest foreign 30-pounders and had a weak battery on the upper deck. The Medusa-class, built simultaneously with the Wassenaar, mounted 12-15 long 30-pounder No 3, resulting in a total weight of artillery that was only about one-third of that of the Wassenaar. In summary: the Wassenaar introduced a 30-pounder comparable to the heaviest foreign 30-pounders as main armament on Dutch frigates, and provided the main fire power of the Dutch steam fleet.
By 1869 the Wassenaar had been re-armed. It retained the 60-pounder and had 24 Long 30-pounders No 4, 8 16 cm RML, 12 light grenade guns of 20 cm (probably no3). The exact distribution over the decks was not indicated. When the Wassenaar became a training ship a limited number of guns was retained for the students to practice with.
Criticism Her first captain was very enthusiastic about the Wassenaar. His only doubt was the amount of ballast on board. He noted that in rough weather the ship was damaged because it had 80 tons too much ballast. Later he noted that in a storm the ballast had caused so many shocks that amongst other damage the main yard fell down. In January 1858 the Wassenaar was allowed to dump 40 tons of Ballast near Mahon. After dumping another 40 tons of ballast at Malta, and making an alteration that allowed her to lift the screw out of the water, the captain declared the Wassenaar to have been the best sailer that he had ever set foot on. She made 10-10.5 knots on a close reach course. During the 1862 parliamentary investigation Captain-lt J.A.H. Schreuder would state that the Wassenaar was the best of the 5 steam frigates that the Netherlands had.
In the media there were doubts about the fine lines and size of the Wassenaar. When it was getting coppered for its first trip in Vlissingen, the media wrote that the visually perfect ship would make a good steam frigate according to some, but also raised a lot of mixed feelings with others.
History of Construction of the Wassenaar
Laid down as ship of the line Piet Hein / Wassenaar The Wassenaar was built using many parts of the Piet Hein. The Piet Hein had been laid down as a ship of the line of 74 guns. On 1 January 1834 she was under construction in Amsterdam. In 1844 the Piet Hein was mentioned as renamed to Wassenaar. In 1850, the Wassenaar was simply mentioned as a ship of the line of 74 guns under construction in Amsterdam. In January 1850 Vice-Admiral Lucas wrote to the king that not half of the ship had yet been finished. Also that the form of the ship was no longer in accordance with the time. It would be best to take of the upper part, make some changes to the rear, and then to finish it as a frigate first class. That would result in a heavy frigate meeting modern demands. Because the wooden slipway parts under the ship had rotted away after 17 years, the ship would be taken apart and laid down again on the slipway of the Tromp. The foremast, bowsprit and sails of the ship Zeeuw would be used. In 1851 the Admiraal van Wassenaar was mentioned as a Ship of the line of the Second class. It had been laid down in 1833 and was to have 74 guns, and was finished 7/20, but she would be finished as a frigate. In 1852 the Wassenaar was mentioned as a frigate of the first class of 54 guns originally laid down as a ship of the line in Amsterdam in 1833.
The Wassenaar becomes a steam frigate There can be little doubt about the date of 12 February 1853 for the Wassenaar being laid down. The ship of the line Tromp was launched on 17 July 1850, because her slipway was also rotten. The presence of the Wassenaar as a ship of the line of 74 under construction in the overview of 1 January 1851 suggests that not much had changed in 1850, but the process to take the Wassenaar apart might have started already in 1850. It had been finished at the latest by August 1851. Meanwhile, the big slipway of the Tromp, where she would be laid down again, would be renovated, a process that had not finished by 3 November 1851. Indeed, the overview of ships on the slipways of the Rijkswerf Amsterdam in late 1851 shows the Wassenaar not present on any of these.
Therefore, from August 1851 till 12 February 1853 the Wassenaar was merely a set of part laying around somewhere on the Rijkswerf Amsterdam. This made her very suitable for conversion to a frigate with auxiliary power. In foreign countries this had sometimes been done by jumboisation, i.e. cutting a ship in two and lengthening her to make place for the steam engine. A simple comparison of the size of some sailing frigates and the Wassenaar suggests such an operation, but in fact the above shows that she was rebuilt. This seems to have been done by adding an extra scantling between the main mast and the mizzen mast, and by adding some length in the front.
Name Laid down Length beam draught De Rijn (54) 1813-1816 53.25 m 12.30 m 5.75 m Waal / Prins van Oranje (52-60) 1828-1840 54.00 m 14.24 m 6.30 m Doggersbank (52) 1831-1841 54.00 m 14.30 m 6.30 m Ruyter (45) as steam battery 1831-1853 64.52 m 14.46 m 6.80 m Wassenaar (45) 1833-1853 62.36 m 14.30 m 6.30 m
Construction of the Wassenaar In 1853 the Wassenaar was mentioned as a frigate with auxiliary power laid down in Amsterdam in 185'''3, the number of guns to be mounted not yet known. On 1 January 1854 the number of guns was mentioned as 51. On 1 January 1855 the number of guns was mentioned as 45. On 1 January 1856 this was still the case. On 1 January 1858 the Wassenaar was mentioned as having been launched in 1856. The Wassenaar was indeed launched on 6 September 1856. That not all went well during construction can be deduced by that the Wassenaar had been expected for fitting in Vlissingen in the spring of 1856.
Fitting out On 2 May 1857 the Wassenaar passed Willem I Lock on the IJ, the entrance to the Noordhollandsch Kanaal. This was done by letting the Wassenaar wait for some days while the authorities blocked the water in the canal at Buiksloot and let water through the sluice, making that stretch of the canal level with the IJ. This way the Wassenaar was able to pass the sluice that was too short. The cost was a lot sea water damaging the land. On 3 May the Wassenaar passed the sluice in Purmerend without any problem. On 6 May the Wassenaar arrived in Nieuwediep to receive her rigging there. On 22 May the engines of the Wassenaar were tested. On 23 May the Warship Cycloop arrived from Hellevoetsluis. The Cycloop left for Vlissingen that same day with the Wassenaar in tow. On 24 May both arrived in Vlissingen, where the Wassenaar would be coppered. Part of the coppering took place in one of the city's canals, and the last pieces were fit in Vlissingen Navy Drydock. After coppering had been done, some changes had to be made in the lodgings, leading to another delay.
On 6 June the Cycloop arrived in Nieuwediep with the Wassenaar in tow. In Nieuwediep the sailing equipment would be completed. On 15 July the frigate Doggersbank was decommissioned, the crew transferring to the Wassenaar. On 16 July the Wassenaar was commissioned. This might have been a mere administrative affair, because on 24 July there was a message that one had to live on the Doggersbank because the Wassenaar was not yet habitable. On the 25th authorities concluded that her first trip had to be delayed, because there was much trouble with the ironwork. About three weeks after her official commissioning the Wassenaar would indeed be ready to sail.
Service of the Wassenaar First trip to the Mediterranean