HNLMS De Ruyter (F 804):
Service history:
Standing Group flagship:
From 2005 until 2007 De Ruyter was commanded by Rob Bauer, during
which period she was deployed to the Mediterranean as part of
Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 as part of the NATO Response Force in
Operation Active Endeavour. In late 2006, Bauer was deployed to
Bahrain for five months as Deputy Commander of Combined Task Force
150 in Operation Enduring Freedom. From 12 January 2007 to July 2009
De Ruyter was commanded by Commander Jeanette Morang, the first
woman to command a frigate of the Royal Netherlands Navy. Commander
Harold Liebregs was HNLMS De Ruyter's commanding officer from
December 2012.
On 12 January 2012 De Ruyter sailed from her home port of Den Helder
to take up the role of flagship for Standing NATO Maritime Group 1.
The group, led by Dutch Commodore Ben Bekkering, was under Dutch
command for the remainder of the year, beginning on 23 January when
De Ruyter assumed the flagship role in the Italian port of Taranto.
De Ruyter took part in maritime operations and exercises in the
Mediterranean and counterpiracy operations around the Horn of
Africa, before being replaced by her sister ship HNLMS Evertsen in
April.
Atalanta deployments:
In early 2013 De Ruyter deployed with Operation Atalanta, the EU's
anti-piracy mission off the Horn of Africa. On 19 February De Ruyter
was tasked to locate a group of suspected pirate skiffs reported by
a Panamanian merchant ship. De Ruyter located two skiffs 200
nautical miles north east of Eyl, which split up when approached.
One was stopped and detained by the De Ruyter, the other was
apprehended by the Spanish frigate Méndez Núñez. Nine suspected
pirates were then detained aboard the De Ruyter. The suspected
pirates were transferred to authorities in the Seychelles on 25
February for prosecution. On 27 March De Ruyter's NH-90 helicopter
carried out a series of exercises involving landing on the Spanish
patrol vessel Rayo, the "first helicopter from another Operation
Atalanta unit to land on the Spanish warship".
On 9 April 2013 De Ruyter hosted Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte,
Defence Minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, and the Chief of
Defence General Tom Middendorp on an official visit while De Ruyter
was operating off the Somalian coast.
Exercises and groups:
De Ruyter served as the flagship for the maritime component of the
NATO exercise "Steadfast Jazz 2013", which took place in the Baltic
Sea in October and November 2013.
In September 2016 she became flagship of Standing NATO Maritime
Group 2 in the Aegean Sea, replacing the German frigate FGS
Karlsruhe in the role. De Ruyter was in turn replaced in December
2016 by the German frigate FGS Sachsen. De Ruyter was then involved
in Exercise Formidable Shield off the Scottish coast in 2017. De
Ruyter was tasked with providing data from her Thales Nederland
SMART-L long-range air and surface surveillance radar to a US
destroyer launching a SM-3 missile against a ballistic missile
target.
On 3 July 2018 De Ruyter once again became the flagship of Standing
NATO Maritime Group 2, taking over from the Royal Navy's HMS Duncan,
with Dutch Commodore Boudewijn G.F.M. Boots succeeding British
Commodore Mike Utley. In September 2018 De Ruyter and Standing NATO
Maritime Group 2 took part in the Hellenic Navy's biennial
multinational naval Exercise Naias 2018.
25 October 2018, the frigate is scheduled to take part in the NATO
exercise Trident Juncture which is held in and around Norway in
2018.
source: wikipedia
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6 ships of the Royal Netherlands Navy have been named HNLMS De
Ruyter after Admiral Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter:
De Ruyter, launched in 1880, was an Atjeh-class unprotected cruiser
De Ruyter, launched in 1926, was an Admiralen-class destroyer. She
was renamed Van Ghent to make way for the 1935 De Ruyter
She served in World War II and was wrecked on Bamidjo reef on 15
February 1942
De Ruyter, launched in 1935, was the lead ship of her class of light
cruisers
She served in World War II and was sunk in the battle of the Java
Sea on February 28, 1942
HNLMS De Ruyter (C 801),
launched in 1944, was a De Zeven Provinciën-class cruiser (laid down
as De Zeven Provinciën,
renamed after the sinking of the 1935 De Ruyter). She was sold to
Peru in 1973 and renamed
BAP Almirante Grau (CLM 81)
HNLMS De Ruyter (F 806),
launched in 1974, was a Tromp-class guided missile frigate
HNLMS De Ruyter (F 804), launched in 2002, is a De Zeven
Provinciën-class frigate
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NOTE: Royal Netherlands Navy vessels are
given the international prefix "HNLMS", short for His/Her
Netherlands Majesty's Ship)
In Dutch Zr.Ms. for Zijner Majesteits (His Majesty's) or Hr.Ms. for
Harer Majesteits (Her Majesty's) and then the ship's name without
using the word ship.
e.g. Zr.Ms. Evertsen means 'His Majesty's Evertsen' and not 'His
Majesty's ship Evertsen'.
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Michiel Adriaenszoon De Ruyter (March 24, 1607 - April 29,
1676):
Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter is one of the most
famous admirals in Dutch history. De Ruyter is most famous
for his role in the Anglo-Dutch Wars of the 17th century. He
fought the English and French in these wars and scored
several major victories, the best known probably being the
Raid on the Medway. The pious De Ruyter was very much loved
by his sailors and soldiers; from them his most significant
nickname derived: Bestevaêr (older Dutch for 'grandfather').
He is honoured by a statue in his birthplace Vlissingen,
where he stands looking over the sea.
De Ruyter was born in 1607 in Flushing (Vlissingen) as the
son of beer porter Adriaen Michielszoon and Aagje
Jansdochter. Little is known about De Ruyter's early life,
but he probably became a sailor at the age of 11. In 1622 he
fought as a musketeer in the Dutch army under Maurice of
Nassau against the Spaniards during the relief of
Bergen-op-Zoom. That same year he rejoined the Dutch
merchant fleet and steadily worked his way up. According to
English sources he was active in Dublin between 1623 and
1631 as an agent for the Vlissingen-based merchant house of
the Lampsins brothers. Although Dutch sources have no data
about his whereabouts in those years, it is known that De
Ruyter spoke Irish fluently. He would occasionally travel as
supercargo to the Mediterranean or the Barbary Coast. In
those years he usually referred to himself as "Machgyel
Adriensoon", his name in the Zealandic dialect he spoke, not
having yet adopted the name "De Ruyter". "De Ruyter" most
probably was a nickname given to him. An explanation might
be found in the meaning of the older Dutch verb ruyten or
ruiten which means "to raid", something De Ruyter was known
for to do as a privateer with the Lampsins ship Den Graeuwen
Heynst.
In 1631 he married a farmer's daughter named Maayke Velders.
The marriage lasted until the end of the year 1631 when
Maayke died after giving birth to a daughter who followed
her mother in death three weeks later.
In 1633 De Ruyter set sail for Jan Mayen Island serving as
first mate on a fleet of five whalers. He repeated this
action in 1634 and 1635. At this point he did not yet have a
command of his own. In the summer of 1636 he remarried, this
time to a daughter of a wealthy burgher named Neeltje
Engels, who would give him four children. One of these died
shortly after birth, the others were named Adriaen (1637),
Neeltje (1639) and Aelken (1642).
In the midst of this, in 1637, De Ruyter became captain of a
private ship meant to hunt for raiders operating from
Dunkirk who were preying on Dutch merchant shipping. He
fulfilled this task until 1640. After sailing for a while as
schipper (skipper) of a merchant vessel named de Vlissinge,
he was contacted again by the Zeeland Admiralty to become
captain of the Haze, a merchant ship turned man-of-war
carrying 26 guns in a fleet under admiral Gijsels fighting
the Spanish, teaming up with the Portuguese during their
rebellion.
A Dutch fleet, with De Ruyter as third in command, beat back
a Spanish-Dunkirker fleet in an action of Cape St Vincent 4
November 1641. After returning he bought his own ship, the
Salamander, and between 1642 and 1652, he mainly traded and
travelled to Morocco and the West Indies to amass wealth as
a merchant. During this time his esteem grew among other
Dutch captains as he would regularly free Christian slaves
by redeeming them at his own expense.
In 1650 De Ruyter's wife, who in 1649 had given him a second
son named Engel, unexpectedly died. On 8 January 1652 he
married the widow Anna van Gelder and decided the time had
come to retire. He bought a house in Flushing, but his
blissful family life would not last long.
First Anglo-Dutch War
During the First Anglo-Dutch War (1652–1654), De Ruyter was
asked to join the expanding fleet as a subcommander of a
Zealandic squadron of "director's ships": privately financed
warships. After initially refusing and stating he wasn't
qualified enough for such a job, De Ruyter proved his worth
under supreme commander Lieutenant-Admiral (the nominal rank
of Admiral-General was reserved for the stadtholder but at
the time none was appointed) Maarten Tromp, winning the
Battle of Plymouth against Vice-Admiral George Ayscue. He
also fought at the Battle of Kentish Knock, the Battle of
Plymouth and the Battle of the Gabbard. De Ruyter functioned
as a squadron commander, being referred to as a Commodore,
which at the time was not an official rank in the Dutch
navy.
Tromp's death during the Battle of Scheveningen ended the
war and De Ruyter declined an emphatic offer from Johan de
Witt for supreme command, because he considered himself
'unfit' and also feared that bypassing the seniority
principle would bring him into conflict with Witte de With
and Johan Evertsen. Later De Ruyter and De Witt would become
personal friends. Colonel Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam then
became the new Dutch supreme commander of the confederate
fleet. De Ruyter - after refusing to become Obdam's naval
'advisor' - remained in service of the Dutch navy however
and later accepted an offer from the admiralty of Amsterdam
to become their Vice-Admiral on 2 March 1654. He relocated
with his family to the city in 1655.
1655-1663
In July 1655 De Ruyter took command of a squadron of eight
of which the Tijdverdrijf was his flagship and set out for
the Mediterranean with 55 merchantmen in convoy. His orders
were to protect Dutch trade. Meeting an English fleet under
Robert Blake along the way, he managed to avoid creating a
new flag incident. Operating off the Barbary Coast he
captured several infamous corsairs and having negotiated a
peace agreement with Salé, De Ruyter returned home May 1656.
The same month the States-General, becoming ever more wary
of Swedish king Charles X and his expansion plans, decided
to intervene in the Northern Wars by sending a fleet to the
Baltic Sea. The Swedes controlled this area after Charles
had invaded Poland and made himself king there. De Ruyter
once again embarked on the Tijdverdrijf arriving in the
Sound the 8th of June; there he waited for
Lieutenant-Admiral Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam to arrive.
After Obdam had assumed command De Ruyter and the Dutch
fleet sailed to relieve the besieged city of Gdańsk on 27
July, without any bloodshed. Peace was signed a month later.
Before leaving the Baltic De Ruyter and other flagofficers
were granted audience by Frederick III of Denmark. De Ruyter
took a liking to the Danish king who would later become a
personal friend.
In 1658 the States-General decided to once again send a
fleet to the Baltic Sea to protect the important Baltic
trade and to aid the Danes against Swedish aggression,
continued despite a peace settlement. In accordance with the
States' balance of power politics a fleet under
Lieutenant-Admiral Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam was sent,
without De Ruyter, who at the time was blockading Lisbon. On
8 November a bloody melee took place: the Battle of the
Sound, which resulted in a Dutch victory, relieving
Copenhagen. Still the Swedes were far from defeated and the
States decided to continue their support. De Ruyter took
command of a new expeditionary fleet and managed to liberate
Nyborg in 1659. For this he was knighted by the Danish king
Frederick III of Denmark. From 1661 until 1663 De Ruyter had
convoy duty in the Mediterranean.
Second Anglo-Dutch War
In 1664, a year before the Second Anglo-Dutch War officially
began, he clashed with the English off the West African
coast, where both the English and Dutch had significant
slave stations, retaking the Dutch possessions occupied by
Robert Holmes and then crossing the Atlantic to raid the
English colonies in America.
Arriving off Barbados in the Caribbean at the end of April,
1665 aboard his flagship Spiegel, he led his fleet of
thirteen vessels into Carlisle Bay, exchanging fire with the
English batteries and destroying many of the vessels
anchored there. Unable to silence the English guns and
having sustained considerable damage to his own vessels, he
retired to French Martinique for repairs.
Sailing north from Martinique, de Ruyter captured several
English vessels and delivered supplies to the Dutch colony
at Sint Eustatius. Given the damage he had sustained, he
decided against an assault on New York (the former New
Amsterdam) to retake New Netherland. He then took off to
Newfoundland, capturing several English fishing boats and
temporarily taking St. John's before proceeding to Europe.
On his return to The Netherlands he learned that Van
Wassenaer had been killed in the disastrous Battle of
Lowestoft. Many expected that Tromp's son Cornelis would now
take command of the confederate fleet, especially Cornelis
Tromp himself, who had already been given a temporary
commission. Tromp however was not acceptable to the regent
regime of Johan de Witt because of his support of the Prince
of Orange's cause. De Ruyter's popularity had grown after
his heroic return and, most importantly, his affiliation lay
with the Estates-General and Johan de Witt in particular. He
therefore was made commander of the Dutch fleet on 11 August
1665, as Lieutenant-Admiral (a rank he at the time shared
with six others) of the Amsterdam admiralty.
In this Second Anglo-Dutch War (1665–1667) he won a
hard-fought victory in the Four Days Battle (June 1666) but
narrowly escaped disaster in the St James's Day Battle
(August 1666) which brought him into conflict with Cornelis
Tromp, eventually leading to Tromp's dismissal. He then
became seriously ill, recovering just in time to take
nominal command of the fleet executing the Raid on the
Medway in 1667. The Medway raid was a costly and
embarrassing defeat for the English, resulting in the loss
of the English flagship HMS Royal Charles and bringing the
Dutch close to London and the war to its end. Between 1667
and 1671 he was forbidden by De Witt to sail, in order not
to endanger his life. In 1669 a failed attempt on his life
was made by a Tromp supporter, trying to stab him with a
bread knife in the entrance-hall of his house.
Third Anglo-Dutch War and death
De Ruyter saved the situation for the Netherlands in the
Third Anglo-Dutch War. His strategic victories over larger
Anglo-French fleets at the Battles of Solebay (1672), the
double Schooneveld (1673) and Texel (1673) warded off
invasion. The new rank of Lieutenant-Admiral-General was
created especially for him in February 1673, when the new
stadtholder William III of Orange became Admiral-General.
Again taking the battle to the Caribbean, this time against
the French, De Ruyter arrived off Martinique aboard his
flagship De Zeven Provinciën on 19 July 1674. He led a
substantial force of eighteen warships, nine storeships, and
fifteen troop transports bearing 3,400 soldiers. Attempting
to assault Fort Royal, his fleet was becalmed, allowing the
greatly outnumbered French defenders time to solidify their
defenses. The next day, newly-placed booms prevented de
Ruyter from entering the harbor. Nonetheless, the Dutch
soldiers went ashore without the support of the fleet's
guns, and were badly mauled in their attempt to reach the
French fortifications atop the steep cliffs. Within two
hours, the soldiers were returning to the fleet, with 143
killed and 318 wounded, as compared to only fifteen French
defenders lost. His ambitions thwarted and with the element
of surprise lost, De Ruyter sailed north to Dominica and
Nevis, then returned to Europe while disease spread aboard
his ships.
In 1676 he took command of a combined Dutch-Spanish fleet to
help the Spanish suppress the Messina Revolt and fought a
French fleet under Duquesne twice at the Battle of Stromboli
and the Battle of Agosta, where he was fatally wounded when
a cannonball hit his left leg. On 18 March 1677 De Ruyter
was given an elaborate state funeral when his body was
buried in the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) in Amsterdam. He was
succeeded as supreme commander by Cornelis Tromp in 1679.
De Ruyter was highly respected by his sailors and soldiers,
who used the term of endearment Bestevaêr ("Granddad") for
him, both because of his disregard for hierarchy (he was
himself of humble origin) and his refusal to back away from
risky and bold undertakings despite his usually cautious
nature.
Respect also extended far beyond the borders of the
Republic. On his last journey home, the late
Lieutenant-Admiral-General was saluted by canon shots fired
on the coasts of France by the direct orders of the French
king Louis XIV. The town of Debrecen erected a statue of him
for his role in freeing 26 protestant Hungarian ministers
from Slavery.
Modern reference
In the 2004 election of De Grootste Nederlander (The
Greatest Dutchman) Michiel de Ruyter was the seventh most
voted. 'Michiel de Ruyter' is the default name for the Dutch
in Sid Meier's 1994 game, Colonization. He was buried in the
Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) in Amsterdam. De Ruyter's burial
site has now turned in to a tourist attraction. De Ruyter's
praalgraf is visible, protected by a glass pane. However,
descendents of the De Ruyter family are granted unrestricted
access to his grave, and De Ruyter's descendent stated in a
2007 issue of Dutch newspaper Het Parool that he visited the
coffin privately in 1948 with his own grandfather, and they
decided to lift the coffin's lid. The grand-grand son was
shocked with the sight and said: "it wasn't a pleasant
sight. He (De Ruyter) was embalmed with great haste, and
they didn't bother with his shot-off leg, they just dropped
it in. It was just lying there. No, it wasn't pleasant, it
was a shock actually ".
source: wikipedia |
Michiel Adriaenszoon De Ruyter
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