Dutch Leander Frigate Van Speijk - Warship No. 14 (Lanasta)

It is hard to imagine a Royal Navy without, for instance, an HMS Dreadnought, Warspite or London either in commission or under construction. The Royal Netherlands Navy goes one step further: by a Royal Decree of 1831, as long as the Dutch Navy exists, there will always be a ship named Van Speijk in its number. The reason why is explained in this book, the fourteenth in a series of informative and profusely illustrated monographs by Lanasta Publications featuring a range of mostly post-war Dutch but also other NATO warships. Historically, the Royal Navy and the Royal Netherlands Navy have enjoyed close links and exchanges in naval technology were a particular feature of the Cold War period. The Dutch took full advantage of the excellent Leander Class frigate design and purchased building plans and specifications from J. Samuel White of Cowes in the early 1960s. The first of six vessels of her class, HNlMS Van Speijk was commissioned in February 1967. In basic terms, the electrical and electronic engineering were wholly of Dutch origin and manufacture, together with parts of the armament fire control system. The hull, superstructure and propulsion system were British - hence the distinctive Leander profile. It is unsurprising that by the 1970s a design originating in the early 1950s was considered outdated both in terms of weaponry and running costs. Consequently the ships were given extensive ‘half-life’ modernisations. Among the more prominent external changes, the Dutch Leanders were fitted with an Oto Melara 76mm gun forward of the bridge, Harpoon surface to surface missiles amidships and an extended flight deck aft to accommodate a Lynx helicopter in place of the Limbo anti-submarine mortar. Books in this series follow a familiar pattern. Roughly two thirds is devoted to a very detailed analysis of all aspects of the design of the ship including propulsion, weapon systems, sensors, aircraft and internal layout. On every page, textual information is supported by a series of inboard photographs of equipment plus relevant tables giving technical data, plans and profiles. The remainder of this particular monograph is devoted to the operational history of Van Speijk which stretched from 1967 until the frigate was sold to Indonesia in 1986. Three years after first commissioning, the ship embarked on a world tour, the centre piece of which was participation in EXPO 1970 in Japan and also included visits to the Caribbean, the USA, Indonesia, Australia and South Africa. Thereafter, as a major unit of the Dutch Navy, the frigate was fully engaged in successive rounds of national and NATO exercises together with frequent port visits. The close bonds between the North Sea partners Britain and The Netherlands is frequently emphasised in the text; the Dutch Navy regularly made use of the FOST work-up facilities at Portland, for example. In common with other books in this series, a Dutch Leander Class frigate is not an obvious choice and this is a fine example of Lanasta’s highly informative and visually attractive publications.