Belgian Navy
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- This article is about the Royal Navy of Belgium. For other Royal Navies, see Royal Navy (disambiguation).
The Belgian Navy is the naval force of Belgium.
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[edit] History
[edit] Early history
The Belgian Navy was created as Marine Royale in 1831. She has operated in various forms throughout Belgian history.
When after the Belgian Revolution, Belgium became independent in 1830, a Dutch squadron blocked the Scheldt estuarium. To deal with this threat the Belgian congress ordered two brigantines to be built, which bore the names Congrès and Les Quatre Journées. After the French army, lead by Marshal of France Etienne Gérard, captured the citadel of Antwerp in 1832, the captured Dutch gun boats were pressed into Belgian service. In 1840 the Belgian government bought the schooner Louise Marie and in 1845 the brig Duc de Brabant. In 1865, the Belgian government discarded of its navy and pursued a minimalistic naval policy. This meant that at the outbreak of World War I, Belgium had no navy.
The War caused this policy to change and in 1917 a Corps of Destroyers and Sailors was created. The Belgian naval personnel served onboard French mine sweepers and provided the artillerists for Belgian merchant ships. The Treaty of Versailles allocated Belgium 11 torpedoboats and 26 mine sweepers. Because of budgetary reasons, Belgium again abolished its navy. In 1939, against the looming threat of a new war with Germany, Belgium once again resurrected its navy as the Naval Corps. This new navy lasted barely a year until the German invasion of May 1940.
During World War II many members of this naval corps, alongside with fishermen and Belgian merchant sailors escaped to England with the explicit wish to fight the German occupier. The Royal Navy jumped to the opportunity and enlisted the Belgians into separate groups of more or less entirely Belgian-manned ships. From 1940 to 1946, this Belgian Section of the British Royal Navy manned two corvettes, (Buttercup and Godetia), a squadron of MMS mine sweepers and three patrol boats (Phrontis, Electra and Kernot). In 1946, Britain gracefully donated the ships (along with its crews) to Belgium to become the backbone of the new Belgian Navy.
[edit] Post Cold War
In the beginning of the nineties, the end of the Cold War caused the Belgian government to restructure the Belgian Armed Forces in order to cope with the changed threats. This meant cutbacks and crimping the Armed Forces. With regards to the Belgian navy these cutbacks meant that one Wielingen class frigate was stricken and that three Tripartite class minehunters were sold to France. In 2002, the government decided to impose a "single structure" on the armed forces in which the independent Belgian Navy ceased to exist. The former Navy became the Belgium Naval Component (COMOPSNAV) of the Armed Forces.
On July 20, 2005, the Belgian government decided to buy two of the remaining six Dutch M-class frigates to replace the two remaining frigates of the Wielingen class (Wielingen and Westdiep) currently still in service with the Belgian Navy which in turn might be sold to Bulgaria. On December 21, 2005, the Dutch government sold the Karel Doorman (F827) and Willem Van Der Zaan (F829) to Belgium. The two ships were be sold for about 250 million euro. This two M-class frigates are expected to enter service with the Belgian Navy between 2007-2008, in which they will be renamed Leopold I and Louise-Marie before entering service.
In October 2005, the Wielingen class frigate Wandelaar was officially handed over to the Bulgarian Navy, which christened it as the Drazki.
[edit] Mission
In times of crisis and war the Belgian Navy will manage, with the support of its allies, the crises rising from the infringements to the principles of International law and/or from the Humans right and exercise the Belgian sovereignty in the maritime zones where the Navy is qualified, defend the lines maritime of communication, main roads and allied, and protect the ports against any air, surface or underwater attack.
In times of peace the Belgian Navy has the following roles:
- To ensure the presence of Belgium at sea.
- To give a support for our diplomacy and our foreign trade.
- Technical and military collaboration with the allied countries.
- Participation in humane actions.
- Contribute to the nation in the maritime zones for which Belgium is responsible:
- Contribution to oceanographical search.
- Control of fishing
- Contribution to the control of pollution at sea.
- Participation in the plan of assistance in territorial waters
- Support for the customs and police operations
- Detection of wrecks of boats.
- Participation in rescues at sea.
- Contribution to the training of the commercial naval officers
- Control of territorial waters and the exclusive economic zone.
- If necessary, opening of the center of medicine hyperbare to the population.
- Destruction of explosive machines at sea
- Preparation with the tasks to be carried out in times of crisis and war.
- Contribution to dissuasion at sea by the means of permanent allied squadrons.
[edit] Ships of the Belgian Navy
[edit] Frigates
- F910 Wielingen
- F911 Westdiep
- F930 Leopold 1 (ex-HNLMS Karel Doorman, delivery in 2007)
- F931 Louise-Marie (ex-HNLMS Willem van der Zaan, delivery in 2008)
[edit] Mine hunters
- M915 Aster
- M916 Bellis
- M917 Crocus
- M921 Lobelia
- M923 Narcis
- M924 Primula
[edit] Support ships
- A950 Valcke, Ready Duty Ship
- A960 Godetia, A960 Godetia - Command and Logistic support ship
- A962 Belgica, Oceanografic Research Vessel
- A963 Stern, Ready Duty Ship
- A996 Albatros, Ready Duty Ship
[edit] River boat
- P902 Liberation
[edit] School ship
- A958 Zenobe Gramme, a sailing ship.
[edit] Reserve
- A961 Zinnia, a Command and Logistic support ship
- M903 Dufour (iii) (ex USN AM 498, ex USN MSO498, ex KNM Lagen, acquired 1966)
- M904 De Brouwer (ii) (ex USN AM 498, ex USN MSO499, ex KNM Nansen, acquired 1966)
- M908 Truffaut (ex USN AM515, ex USN MSO515, acquired 1956)
- M909 Bovesse (ex USN AM516, ex USN MSO516, acquired 1957)
[edit] Former Belgian naval ships
The former ships were once part of the Belgian Navy but have now been sold or discarded:
- Wielingen class frigates
- F912 Wandelaar, Wielingen class frigate (sold to Bulgaria 2005)
- F913 Westhinder, Wielingen class frigate (stricken 1993)
- Tripartite minehunter
- M918 Dianthus, Tripartite minehunter (sold to France 1993)
- M919 Fuchsia, Tripartite minehunter (sold to France 1993)
- M920 Iris, Tripartite minehunter (sold to France 1993)
- M922 Myosotis, Tripartite minehunter (to be sold)
- Algerine class minesweeper
- M900 Adrien de Gerlache (ex HMS Liberty, acquired 1949 - stricken 1969)
- M901 Georges Lecointe (i) (ex HMS Cadmus, acquired 1950 - stricken 1959)
- M901 Georges Lecointe (ii) (ex HMCS Wallaceburg, acquired 1959 - stricken 1969)
- M902 Van Haverbeke (i) (ex HMS Ready - acquired 1951 - stricken 1960)
- M903 Dufour (i) (ex HMS Fancy - acquired 1951 - stricken 1959)
- M903 Dufour (ii) (ex HMCS Winnipeg - acquired 1959 - stricken 1966)
- M904 De Brouwer (i) (ex HMS Spanker - acquired 1953 - stricken 1966)
- M905 De Moor (ex HMS Rosario - acquired 1953 - stricken 1966)
- MSO class minesweeper (Aggressive class)
- M902 Van Haverbeke (ii) (ex USN MSO522 - acquired 1960 - stricken)
- M906 Breydel (ex USN AM504, ex USN MSO504, acquired 1956 - stricken 1993)
- M907 Artevelde (ex USN AM503, ex USN MSO503, acquired 1955 - stricken 1985)
- MSC class coastal minesweeper (akin to US Navy Minesweeper Coastal
- M910 Diest (sold to Taiwan 1969)
- M911 Eeklo (sold to Taiwan 1969)
- M912 Lier (sold to Taiwan 1969)
- M913 Maaseik (sold to Taiwan 1969)
- M914 Roeselare (sold to Norway 1966)
- M915 Arlon (sold to Norway 1966)
- M916 Bastogne (sold to Norway 1966)
- M917 Charleroi (sold to Taiwan 1969)
- M918 Sint-Niklaas (sold to Taiwan 1969)
- M919 Sint-Truiden (sold to Greece 1969)
- M920 Diksmuide (sold to Taiwan 1969)
- M921 Herve (sold to Greece 1969)
- M922 Malmedy (sold to Greece 1969)
- M923 Blankenberge (sold to Greece 1969)
- M924 Laroche (sold to Greece 1969)
- M926 Mechelen (converted to research ship - stricken)
- M927 Spa (converted to munition transport and renumbered A963 - stricken)
- M928 Stavelot (stricken 1987)
- M929 Heist (stricken 1992)
- M930 Rochefort (stricken 1992)
- M931 Knokke (stricken 1976)
- M932 Nieuwpoort (stricken 1991)
- M933 Koksijde (stricken 1991)
- M934 Verviers (ex USN MSC259 - converted to minehunter 1972 - stricken 1988)
- M935 Veurne (ex USN MSC260 - converted to minehunter 1972 - stricken 1987)
- MSI class inshore minesweepers
- M470 Temse (sold to South Korea 1970)
- M471 Hasselt (broken up 1986)
- M472 Kortrijk (stricken 1989)
- M473 Lokeren (stricken 1987)
- M474 Turnhout (stricken 1991)
- M475 Tongeren (stricken 1991)
- M476 Merksem (stricken 1992)
- M477 Oudenaarde (stricken 1989)
- M478 Herstal (stricken 1991)
- M479 Huy (stricken 1990)
- M480 Seraing (stricken 1990)
- M481 Tournai (sold to South Korea 1970)
- M482 Visé (stricken 1991)
- M483 Ougrée (stricken 1992)
- M484 Dinant (stricken 1992)
- M485 Andenne (stricken 1991)
- Auxiliary ships
- AP907 Kamina (stricken 1967)
[edit] External link
http://zm-fn.blogspot.com/, non-official blog of pictures of our old ships, in French.
