HNLMS K VII

Design and description

The K V-class submarines were designed to patrol the waters of the Dutch East Indies. The boats had a length of overall, a beam of and a draft of. They displaced on the surface and submerged. The submarines had a crew of 31 officers and enlisted men.
For surface running, the boats were powered by two Sulzer diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a electric motor. They could reach on the surface and underwater. On the surface, the boats had a range of at and at submerged. The submarines had a diving depth of.
The K V class was armed with six torpedo tubes. Two of these were in the bow and two tubes in the stern. The other pair were on a rotating mount amidships. They were also armed with a 3-inch deck gun and a machine gun.

Construction and career

K VII was ordered on 29 November 1915 and laid down on 25 July 1916 at the shipyard of Fijenoord in Rotterdam. The submarine was launched on 8 March 1921 and completed on 5 September 1922.

World War II

At the time of the declaration of war with Japan in December 1941, the boat was in Surabaya, Java, where it was kept in reserve. On 18 February 1942 K VII was destroyed in a Japanese Airstrike on Surabaya harbor. At the time of the bombing, the boat was submerged in the harbor in an attempt to save the ship from destruction. The submarine was struck by a direct hit and all aboard died in the attack.