HNLMS O 19

O 19
History
Netherlands
Name	O 19
Builder	Wilton-Fijenoord, Rotterdam
Laid down	15 June 1936
Launched	22 September 1938
Commissioned	3 July 1939
Fate	Scuttled on 10 July 1945
General characteristics [1]
Class and type	O 19-class submarine
Displacement	1109 tons surfaced 1491 tons submerged
Length	80.7 m (264 ft 9 in)
Beam	7.41 m (24 ft 4 in)
Draught	3.87 m (12 ft 8 in)
Propulsion	2 × 2,650 bhp (1,976 kW) diesel engines 2 × 500 bhp (373 kW) electric motors
Speed	19.5 kn (36.1 km/h; 22.4 mph) surfaced 9 kn (17 km/h; 10 mph) submerged
Range	10,000 nmi (19,000 km; 12,000 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) on the surface 27 nmi (50 km; 31 mi) at 8.5 kn (15.7 km/h; 9.8 mph) submerged
Complement	40
Armament	4 × 21 in (530 mm) bow torpedo tubes 4 × 21 in (530 mm) stern torpedo tubes 2 × external amidship mine tubes (10 mines each) 1 x 88 mm gun 1 x 40 mm gun

O 19, laid down as K XIX, was an O 19-class submarine of the Royal Netherlands Navy that saw service during World War II. O 19, along with her sister ship O 20, were the first submarines in the world to be equipped with a submarine snorkel that allowed the submarine to run its diesel engines while submerged.^[1][2]

The submarine's keel was laid at the Wilton-Fijenoord shipyard in Rotterdam on 15 June 1936 as K XIX but was renamed O 19 at some point. The submarine was launched on 22 September 1938 and commissioned in the Dutch navy on 3 July 1939. After her commissioning the HNLMS O 19 was put into service by commander Lieutenant-on-sea 1 (LTZ 1) K. van Dongen on July 3, 1939, following a short training period. Three weeks later, on 25 July 1939, the new submarine was already on its way to the Dutch East Indies via the Suez Canal where the boat arrived on 13 September.^[3]

On 10 May 1940, the day the Germans invaded the Netherlands, the entire mobilization was proclaimed in the Dutch colony. Most Dutch warships, including the O 19, were used to protect allied merchant ships and to patrol the Indonesian archipelago. On May 31, 1941, the command of the Dutch submarine was taken over by LTZ 1 F.J.A. Knoops.^[4]

The submarine performed patrols and missions in the Pacific theater, sinking several Japanese vessels, attacking convoys and laying mines.^[3] On 8 July 1945, O 19 was en route to Subic Bay in the Philippines at a speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) when it struck Ladd Reef in the South China Sea. Unable to pull free of the reef, the crew of O 19 were rescued by the U.S. Navy submarine USS Cod. To prevent capture, O 19 was scuttled by both crews using explosives, torpedoes and gunfire.^[3]

The diesel engines for the HNLMS O 19 was built under the license of the Swiss Sulzer by the Koninklijke Maatschappij De Schelde in Vlissingen. It had 40 mm Bofors guns, which could be stored in watertight compartments in front of and behind the command tower, just like the O 12-class submarines. O 19 was also equipped with noise pulses from Atlas Werke in Bremen, Germany, which at that time were considered the best in the world. In 1943, during a major maintenance period in Great Britain, the noise spanner of O 19 was replaced by an Asdic system of type 120B.^[5]

Ships sunk by O 19.^[2]

• Horneman, Gerard D. (2015). Hr. Ms. O 19; 3 juli 1939 tot 8 juli 1945. Den Helder: Traditiekamer Onderzeedienst.

• Video of USS Cod sinking O 19
• IWM Interview with survivor Elke Scholte

8°40′N 111°40′E / 8.667°N 111.667°E / 8.667; 111.667