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A Dutch proposal to build new battleships was originally tendered in 1912, after years of concern over the expansion of the Imperial Japanese Navy and the withdrawal of allied British warships from the China Station. Only four coastal defense ships were planned, but naval experts and the ''Tweede Kamer'' (lower house of the parliament) believed that acquiring dreadnoughts would provide a stronger defense for the ''Nederlands-Indië'' (Netherlands East Indies, abbr. NEI), so a Royal Commission was formed in June 1912. The Royal Commission reported in August 1913. It recommended that the ''Koninklijke Marine'' (Royal Navy) acquire nine dreadnought-type battleships to protect the NEI from attack and help guarantee the country's neutrality in Europe. Five of these would be based in the colony, while the other four would operate out of the Netherlands. Seven foreign companies submitted designs for the contract; naval historians believe that a 26,850-long-ton (27,280 tonnes) ship, whose design was submitted by the German firm Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft, would have been eventually selected. The Royal Commission's proposal led to a debate between senior officers in the Navy and the ''Koninklijke Landmacht'' (Royal Army) over how to best protect the NEI, and the question of how the cost of the ships should be split between the Netherlands and the NEI also was not settled until July 1914. After considering the recommendations, the Dutch Government decided to acquire four battleships, and a bill seeking funding for them was introduced into the Dutch parliament in August 1914. However, this was withdrawn following the outbreak of the First World War that month. A new royal commission into Dutch defense needs held after the war did not recommend that battleships be procured and none were ever ordered. ==Background== During the early years of the 20th century, the Dutch became concerned about their ability to defend their colonial empire in the NEI from foreign aggressors. Fears of an eventual Japanese attack developed following the total defeat of the Russian Pacific and Baltic Fleets in the Russo–Japanese War.〔van Dijk, ''The Netherlands Indies and the Great War 1914–1918'', 73–75〕 Moreover, the withdrawal of most of the British China Station's warships in 1905 meant that there was no credible force in the Pacific to deter the Imperial Japanese Navy, which had been victorious over the Russians and was building powerful cruisers armed with guns.〔Sturton, "Netherlands", 363〕 At the time, the Dutch naval force in the NEI, the Dutch Squadron in the East Indies, was widely seen as inadequate. It comprised a small number of destroyers, ironclads and armored cruisers, most of which were not battle-worthy.〔van Dijk, ''The Netherlands Indies and the Great War 1914–1918'', 95〕 In response to the perceived threat of Japanese attack, the Dutch laid down a coastal defense ship, , and eight destroyers of the , while beginning plans for other ships. In addition, a submarine for the colony was approved in 1911.〔van Dijk, ''The Drawingboard Battleships for the Royal Netherlands Navy. Part I.'', 359〕 Four coast defense ships were projected in one of the two major bills to come before the House of Representatives in 1912.〔Breyer, ''Battleships and battle cruisers'', 452〕〔Claflin, ed., "Holland and Belgium", 322b〕 Specifications for these ships included an armament of four 280-mm (11-inch) and ten 102-mm (4-inch) guns and three torpedo tubes and they would have been armored with a belt of 152-mm (6-inch) and turret armor of 203 mm (8 inches). Two triple-expansion engines generating 10,000 indicated horsepower would drive the ships through the water at .〔 One ship of this design was very close to being authorized in 1912, but it was felt by experts and the House of Representatives that the Netherlands would be better served by constructing dreadnoughts of a type similar to the Spanish .〔〔 Further plans for coast-defense ships were shelved pending the findings of a Royal Commission, formed on 5 June 1912.〔〔 Its goal was to assess the steps needed to improve the defenses of the East Indies.〔〔 Meanwhile, in September 1912 the Navy Minister, Hendrikus Colijn, contacted the German firm Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft and asked them to prepare a design for dreadnought battleships suited to the NEI.〔 Germaniawerft submitted their design to the Royal Netherlands Navy on 25 September 1912.〔van Dijk, ''The Drawingboard Battleships for the Royal Netherlands Navy. Part II.'', 30〕 The proposed ships were generally similar to the German , but with eight L/50 guns in four turrets mounted ''en echelon'' rather than ten guns in five turrets, and two fewer medium guns. The proposed Dutch ships were faster and had a longer range, at the expense of lighter armor protection, similar to that used in contemporary German battlecruisers. By the time the design was proposed the Dutch authorities had decided that mounting the armament ''en echelon'' was inferior to superfiring turrets, and asked Germaniawerft to submit a revised design incorporating this armament, enhanced ammunition storage and other minor improvements.〔van Dijk, ''The Drawingboard Battleships for the Royal Netherlands Navy. Part II.'', 35〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Dutch 1913 battleship proposal」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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