HNLMS O 19
O 19, laid down as K XIX, was an of the Royal Netherlands Navy that saw service during the Second World War. O 19, along with her sister ship, were the first submarines in the world to be equipped with a submarine snorkel that allowed the submarine to run its diesel engines while submerged.
Ship history
Commissioning
The submarine's keel was laid at the Wilton-Fijenoord shipyard in Rotterdam on 15 June 1936 as K XIX but was renamed O 19 at some point. The submarine was launched on 22 September 1938 and commissioned in the Dutch navy on 3 July 1939. After her commissioning, HNLMS O 19 was put into service by the commander, Lieutenant-on-sea 1 K. van Dongen, on July 3, 1939, following a short training period. Three weeks later, on 25 July 1939, the new submarine was already on its way to the Dutch East Indies via the Suez Canal where the boat arrived on 13 September.Second World War
On 10 May 1940, the day the Germans invaded the Netherlands, mobilisation was proclaimed in the Dutch colony. Most Dutch warships, including the O 19, were used to protect Allied merchant ships and to patrol the Indonesian archipelago. On 31 May 1941, the command of the Dutch submarine was taken over by LTZ 1, F.J.A. Knoops.The submarine performed patrols and missions in the Pacific theater, sinking several Japanese vessels, attacking convoys and laying mines. In 1944 O 19 was placed under Task Force 71 of the United States Navy. On 16 November 1944 a Japanese coaster was spotted and sunk. On 8 July 1945, O 19 was en route to Subic Bay in the Philippines at a speed of when it struck Ladd Reef in the South China Sea. Unable to pull free of the reef, the crew of O 19 were rescued by the U.S. submarine. To prevent capture, O 19 was scuttled by the crews using explosives, torpedoes and gunfire.
Design
The diesel engines for the HNLMS O 19 was built under the license of the Swiss Sulzer by the Koninklijke Maatschappij De Schelde in Vlissingen. It had 40 mm Bofors guns, which could be stored in watertight compartments in front of and behind the command tower, just like the s. O 19 was also equipped with noise pulses from Atlas Werke in Bremen, Germany, which at that time were considered the best in the world. In 1943, during a refit in Britain, the noise spanner of O 19 was replaced by an Asdic Type 120B.Summary of raiding history
Ships sunk by O 19.| Date | Ship | Flag | GRT | Fate |
| 10 January 1942 | Akita Maru |  Japanese Empire |