Dutch submarine O-20
Encyclopedia
The O 20 was a Dutch in the Royal Netherlands Navy
that saw service during World War II
. O 20 along with her sister ship O 19 were the first boats in the world to be equipped with a "getrimd diesel systeem" or "snort system"
that allowed the submarine to run its diesel engines while submerged.
O 20 was laid down June 15, 1936 as the K XX. After which at some point she was renamed O 20. She was launched on January 31, 1939, and on August 28 of the same year she was commissioned and assigned to the command of Ltz. I A.J. Bussemaker.
. This squadron departed the Netherlands for the Netherlands West Indies
on either October 2 or 3rd 1939.
By December 23, 1939 O 20 reached the Netherlands West Indies via the Panama Canal
.
. On the 14th, two battleships and six cruisers were sighted, O 20 and O 19 were given orders to gain position on the enemy ships. The two subs would split paths en route to the target when 13 transports were spotted off Patani, Thailand
and another 20 off Kota Bharu, Malaysia
.
Given a new patrol route, O 20 spotted Japanese destroyers off and on from December 17 to 19th. On the 19th at 7:00, she spied two Japanese transports being escorted by two destroyers. In a few hours a third destroyer joined them. These destroyers were the Ayanami, the Uranami, and the Yugiri
.
s which soon destroyed the sub's listening device and caused other minor damage.
The destroyers scanned the bay for O 20, dropping eight depth charges every half hour. Some of these detonated directly above the submarine, but were set to detonate too shallow to badly damage it. (It turned out that the next deepest setting would have buried the charges in the mud)
That night, the commander attempted to surface to escape at full speed, but was detected by a new Japanese sonar
. Two more tanks were blown and the sub surfaced at a 25° angle and engines were set to full speed. Because of some pre-existing defects O 20 began to take on water at the screw shafts.
The hatch was opened and with no enemy ships in sight, the machine guns were not manned or prepared. The commander decided to dump a fuel tank in order to escape even faster, which rose the sub even higher in the water exposing the diesel exhaust pipes. Due to more pre-existing damage coupled with damage from the depth charges, the pipes began to spark, giving away the O 20's position to anyone who looked in her direction. The commander decided to do nothing.
After daylight, Uranami rescued the 32 survivors, having dropped depth charges throughout the remainder of the night to keep sharks away. Seven men, including the commander were found to be missing. The commander was known to not have been wearing his life vest, which may have also been the cause of the other six deaths. An alternative suggestion is that since the six men all worked in the engine room, they may have not been warned in time to evacuate the ship before it was scuttled.
The wreck is located approximately 35 nautical miles (65 km) NE of Kota Baru, Malaysia at a depth of about 144 ft (44 m). The divers report that the masts are no longer visible, the snort is gone, and that the bridge was shelled so badly it could be seen through easily. The divers retrieved a deck phone from the sub in order to positively identify it, but left the wreck alone, as it was likely the gravesite of six seamen.
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...
that saw service during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. O 20 along with her sister ship O 19 were the first boats in the world to be equipped with a "getrimd diesel systeem" or "snort system"
Submarine snorkel
A submarine snorkel is a device which allows a submarine to operate submerged while still taking in air from above the surface. Navy personnel often refer to it as the snort.-History:...
that allowed the submarine to run its diesel engines while submerged.
O 20 was laid down June 15, 1936 as the K XX. After which at some point she was renamed O 20. She was launched on January 31, 1939, and on August 28 of the same year she was commissioned and assigned to the command of Ltz. I A.J. Bussemaker.
Pre-WWII
She was put into a squadron that consisted of two submarines: O 20 and O 15, and the sloopSloop
A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
. This squadron departed the Netherlands for the Netherlands West Indies
Netherlands Antilles
The Netherlands Antilles , also referred to informally as the Dutch Antilles, was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, consisting of two groups of islands in the Lesser Antilles: Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao , in Leeward Antilles just off the Venezuelan coast; and Sint...
on either October 2 or 3rd 1939.
By December 23, 1939 O 20 reached the Netherlands West Indies via the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
.
World War II
- On May 10, 1940 Germany attacked the Netherlands
- On May 31, 1941 the O 20 was put in the command of F.J.A. Knoops followed by Ltz. I P.G.J. Snippe on September 20, 1941.
- December 7, 1941, the Japanese attack Pearl HarborAttack on Pearl HarborThe attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
, brought the US into the war. The Netherlands followed suit hours later.
- By early December 1941, O 20 has been stationed at Singapore Submarine Base and is under the command of the British Eastern FleetBritish Eastern FleetThe British Eastern Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy which existed from 1941 to 1971...
.
The sinking of O 20
On December 14, 1941 O 20 was under orders to patrol the South China SeaSouth China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
. On the 14th, two battleships and six cruisers were sighted, O 20 and O 19 were given orders to gain position on the enemy ships. The two subs would split paths en route to the target when 13 transports were spotted off Patani, Thailand
Pattani (town)
Pattani is a town in the far south of Thailand, near the boundary to Malaysia. It is the capital of the Pattani Province. The city has a population of 43,631...
and another 20 off Kota Bharu, Malaysia
Kota Bharu
Kota Bharu is a city in Malaysia, is the state capital and Royal City of Kelantan. It is also the name of the territory in which Kota Bharu City is situated. The name means 'new city' or 'new castle/fort' in Malay. Kota Bharu is situated in the northeastern part of Peninsular Malaysia, and lies...
.
Given a new patrol route, O 20 spotted Japanese destroyers off and on from December 17 to 19th. On the 19th at 7:00, she spied two Japanese transports being escorted by two destroyers. In a few hours a third destroyer joined them. These destroyers were the Ayanami, the Uranami, and the Yugiri
Japanese destroyer Yugiri
was the fourteenth of twenty-four destroyers, built for the Imperial Japanese Navy following World War I. When introduced into service, these ships were the most powerful destroyers in the world...
.
Spotted
At 11:00, O 20 was spotted by enemy planes which dropped two bombs on the submarine and alerted the destroyers to her presence. The submarine dove and was able to avoid the bombs, but the destroyers began to drop depth chargeDepth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
s which soon destroyed the sub's listening device and caused other minor damage.
The destroyers scanned the bay for O 20, dropping eight depth charges every half hour. Some of these detonated directly above the submarine, but were set to detonate too shallow to badly damage it. (It turned out that the next deepest setting would have buried the charges in the mud)
Retreat
In order to escape, the commander ordered full speed ahead with all planes set to rise, but O 20 had become mired in the mud. An air tank was blown in an attempt to loose the submarine from the seabed, but also ended up alerting the destroyers to O 20's position by releasing bubbles.That night, the commander attempted to surface to escape at full speed, but was detected by a new Japanese sonar
Sonar
Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...
. Two more tanks were blown and the sub surfaced at a 25° angle and engines were set to full speed. Because of some pre-existing defects O 20 began to take on water at the screw shafts.
The hatch was opened and with no enemy ships in sight, the machine guns were not manned or prepared. The commander decided to dump a fuel tank in order to escape even faster, which rose the sub even higher in the water exposing the diesel exhaust pipes. Due to more pre-existing damage coupled with damage from the depth charges, the pipes began to spark, giving away the O 20's position to anyone who looked in her direction. The commander decided to do nothing.
Showdown
After 20 minutes of running in this manner, one of the destroyers (the Uranami) closed in, spotted the O 20 with her searchlight and opened fire. The shot missed. The commander now ordered the machine guns manned, and the ship turned about to fire the torpedoes. She couldn't get in position until after the fourth volley, which struck the Conn Tower and main hull. O 20 returned fire with the 40 mm machine gun. The port side torpedo was ordered to be fired, but because of extreme vibrations due to the speed, both sides fired. Both torpedoes missed.Defeat
The sub badly damaged, the commander decided then that there was no hope for escape, and ordered all hands on deck. He then ordered the sub be scuttled by flooding all the main ballast tanks. The sub descended under the water, still running at full speed, as the crew floated above. Uranami, apparently not noticing that the crew had abandoned ship, followed the sub, cutting through the crew at 20 knots (39 km/h), and dropped depth charges on the now abandoned sub.After daylight, Uranami rescued the 32 survivors, having dropped depth charges throughout the remainder of the night to keep sharks away. Seven men, including the commander were found to be missing. The commander was known to not have been wearing his life vest, which may have also been the cause of the other six deaths. An alternative suggestion is that since the six men all worked in the engine room, they may have not been warned in time to evacuate the ship before it was scuttled.
The shipwreck
On June 12, 2002 a group of 7 Dutch divers associated with the International Association for Handicapped Divers participated in a dive expedition to locate the O 20. The dive, led by IAHD CEO Klaas Brouwer, Dive Leader Michael Lim, and Mr H Besançon, also included three physically disabled members.The wreck is located approximately 35 nautical miles (65 km) NE of Kota Baru, Malaysia at a depth of about 144 ft (44 m). The divers report that the masts are no longer visible, the snort is gone, and that the bridge was shelled so badly it could be seen through easily. The divers retrieved a deck phone from the sub in order to positively identify it, but left the wreck alone, as it was likely the gravesite of six seamen.