HNLMS K XV

Design and description

The K XIV-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 38 officers and enlisted men.
For surface running, the boats were powered by two MAN 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 XIV class was armed with eight torpedo tubes. Four of these were in the bow and two tubes were in the stern. The other pair were on a rotating mount amidships. The boats carried a total of 14 torpedoes. They were also armed with a deck gun and two single Bofors AA guns.

Construction and career

K XV was ordered on 30 May 1929 and laid down on 31 May 1930 at the shipyard of Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij in Rotterdam. The boat was launched on 10 December 1932 and commissioned on 30 December 1933.
During the Pacific War, K XV damaged a Japanese oil tanker in 1942 and sank a small patrol ship in 1944. Most of her war patrols in the service of Allied intelligence agencies. She survived the war and was decommissioned on 23 April 1946.