The Admiralen Class were eight destroyer

Destroyer

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

s built for the Royal Netherlands Navy

Royal Netherlands Navy

The Koninklijke Marine is the navy of the Netherlands. In the mid-17th century the Dutch Navy was the most powerful navy in the world and it played an active role in the wars of the Dutch Republic and later those of the Batavian Republic and the Kingdom of the Netherlands...

 between 1926 and 1931. All ships fought in World War II and were scuttled or sunk. As is the tradition in the Dutch Navy they were named after Admiral

Admiral

Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...

s.

Design

These ships were built in the Netherlands with assistance from the British company Yarrow

Yarrow Shipbuilders

Yarrow Limited , often styled as simply Yarrows, was a major shipbuilding firm based in the Scotstoun district of Glasgow on the River Clyde...

 (at that time the leading builder of destroyers in the world). The Dutch ships were based on the British destroyer . The guns were bought from the Swedish company Bofors

Bofors

The name Bofors has been associated with the iron industry for more than 350 years.Located in Karlskoga, Sweden, the company originates from the hammer mill "Boofors" founded 1646. The modern corporate structure was created in 1873 with the foundation of Aktiebolaget Bofors-Gullspång...

. A novel feature was the provision of a seaplane

Seaplane

A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...

 for scouting. There was however no catapult, the plane being lowered into the sea by a crane.

Ships

First Group

Name	Builder	Launched	Commissioned	Fate
HNLMS Van Ghent (ex-De Ruyter) HNLMS Van Ghent (1926) HNLMS Van Ghent was an , launched on 13 October 1926, commissioned on 31 May 1928 as HNLMS De Ruyter, and renamed in 1935.Van Ghent served in the Netherlands East Indies as part of Rear Admiral Karel Doorman's command. She was involved in the salvage of the . She ran aground and was scuttled on 15...	KM de Schelde	13 October 1926	31 May 1928	Served in the Netherlands East Indies as part of Admiral Karel Doorman's command. Ran aground and was scuttled on 15 February 1942.
HNLMS Evertsen HNLMS Evertsen Seven ships of the Royal Netherlands Navy have been named HNLMS Evertsen, after a family from Zeeland with many sea heroes:*Admiral Evertsen , cannon schooner;*Admiral Evertsen , ship-of-the-line;...	Bergerhout	29 December 1926	31 May 1928	Served in the Far East. Sunk by the Imperial Japanese Navy Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...  on 1 March 1942.
HNLMS Kortenaer	Bergerhout	30 June 1927	3 September 1928	Served in the Far East. Sunk by a torpedo from the Japanese cruiser Haguro Japanese cruiser Haguro |-External reference links: -External links:**...  during the Battle of the Java Sea Battle of the Java Sea The Battle of the Java Sea was a decisive naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, that sealed the fate of the Netherlands East Indies....  on 27 February 1942.
HNLMS Piet Hein	Bergerhout	2 April 1927	25 January 1928	Served in the Far East. Sunk by Japanese destroyers during the Battle of Badung Strait Battle of Badung Strait The Battle of Badung Strait was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the night of 19/20 February 1942 in Badung Strait between the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command and the Imperial Japanese Navy...  on 19 February 1942.

Second Group

Name	Builder	Launched	Commissioned	Fate
HNLMS Van Galen	Fijenoord	28 June 1928	22 October 1929	Based in the Netherlands at the start of World War II, the ship was dispatched to help with the defence of Rotterdam Rotterdam Blitz The Rotterdam Blitz refers to the aerial bombardment of Rotterdam by the German Air Force on 14 May 1940, during the German invasion of the Netherlands in World War II. The objective was to support the German troops fighting in the city, break Dutch resistance and force the Dutch to surrender... . Targeted by German bombers in the narrow river she suffered bomb damage and sank on 10 May 1940. The wreck was salvaged and scrapped by the Germans.
HNLMS Witte de With	Fijenoord	12 September 1928	20 February 1930	Scuttled on 2 March 1942 on account of damage incurred during the Battle of the Java Sea Battle of the Java Sea The Battle of the Java Sea was a decisive naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, that sealed the fate of the Netherlands East Indies.... .
HNLMS Banckert	Bergerhout	14 November 1929	14 November 1930	Damaged by Japanese bombers and scuttled in Surabaya Surabaya Surabaya is Indonesia's second-largest city with a population of over 2.7 million , and the capital of the province of East Java... dockyard. Salvaged by the Japanese, but not repaired and returned to the Dutch after the war. Sunk as a target in September 1949.
HNLMS Van Nes	Bergerhout	20 March 1930	12 March 1931	Sunk after a two-hour battle by Japanese aircraft on 17 February 1942, while escorting a refugee ship (which was also sunk).