MBT "Holland" class destroyers (1954/55); "Holland", "Zeeland", "Noord Brabant", "Gelderland" - Construction drawing, scale 1:100 (10.11.025)

The Holland-class A-hunters were four submarine hunters designed and built specifically for the Royal Netherlands Navy immediately after the Second World War. They were the first entirely Dutch post-war warships and, together with the later B-hunters (Friesland class), formed the core of the Dutch navy during the early Cold War.

Holland-class submarine hunters

(A-class destroyers, 1954–1970s)

General information

Type: Anti-submarine destroyer (destroyer escort / ASW destroyer)

Number of ships: 4

In service: 1954–1955

Decommissioned: 1972–1979

Class: Holland class (A-class destroyers)

Primary purpose: Anti-submarine warfare (ASW)

List of ships

Technical specifications

Displacement: approx. 2,465 tonnes (standard), approx. 2,890 tonnes (full load)

Length: 113.4 metres

Beam: 11.4 metres

Draught: 4.3 metres

Propulsion: 2 steam turbines, 2 propellers

Power: approx. 45,000 hp

Speed: 32 knots

Crew: approx. 240

Armament (original configuration)

2 × twin 120 mm guns (fore and aft)

4 × 40 mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns

Anti-submarine weapons:

2 × depth charge racks

2 × Hedgehog ASW mortars

Torpedo tubes (added/replaced later)

No missile armament – purely conventional artillery and ASW weapons.

Sensors

Type 170 and 174 sonar (for submarine detection)

Dutch radar systemsfor surface and air targets

Over the years, these systems have been somewhat modernised

Operational deployment

Patrols in Dutch waters and overseas territories

Support during political tensions in the Dutch East Indies / New Guinea

NATO fleet formations (ASW tasks)

Diplomatic flag-showing and exercises in the Caribbean

End of service

In the early 1970s, the ships became redundant

Not suitable for modernisation with guided weapons or a helicopter deck

Replaced by B-class destroyers (Friesland class) and later by frigates

A few ships served temporarily as auxiliary vessels or training ships

Historical significance

First Dutch post-war warships

Designed with limited resources but with high-quality craftsmanship

Formed the basis for the reconstruction of the Royal Netherlands Navy

The transition from an expeditionary colonial navy to a NATO-oriented navy

Specifications: