Screw steamship gunvessel – S. Lankhorst after Gerard Voorduin, 1866

“Schroefstoomschip 4de klasse | model Amstel, Apeldoorn, Soestdijk enz.” Colour lithograph made by S. Lankhout after a drawing by Gerard Voorduin, published by Hendrik Nijgh in 1866. Size. (scene): 25,5 x 35,7 cm (incl. text 29,2 x 37 cm).

In comparison to other small navies the Dutch navy had to guard and control an enormous area. This is obvious with regard to the Dutch East Indies, but it also applied to the Netherlands themselves. Most major cities bordered the sea or major navigable rivers, and so did many smaller places. It was clear that the Dutch army and the regular warships of the Dutch navy could not deter enemy gunboats from entering the many rivers or the Zuiderzee and the Zeeland deltas. Therefore, the Dutch required a disproportionately large number of shallow draught vessels for the defense of their cities.

But the screw steamships of the 4th class were no good — everyone agreed on that:

“During the construction of the screw steamships of the 4th class, also called steam flotilla vessels, an attempt was made to meet three distinct requirements. The intention was to make these vessels suitable for the defense of the country on our rivers, for ocean travel, and to serve in the Dutch East Indies. The result, according to nearly everyone, was that these steamships met none of those goals. They have too much draught, are hindered by overly heavy rigging, offer insufficient space to lodge the crew, and there is an excessive heat on board that is almost unbearable in the Indies. Reports mentioned temperatures in the ship’s engine room ranging from 150° to 180° Fahrenheit, and stokers who fainted while performing their duties. Misplaced frugality seems to have had its usual consequences here.”

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