MSColombia as a passenger liner in 1934 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | Colombia |
| Launched | 1930 |
| Commissioned | 20 May 1941 |
| Out of service | 27 February 1943 |
| Fate | Torpedoed off the coast ofSimonstad in 1943. |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Auxiliary,submarine tender |
| Displacement | 14,600 t (14,400 long tons)standard |
| Length | 139.30 m (457 ft 0 in) |
| Beam | 18.7 m (61 ft 4 in) |
| Draught | 8.10 m (26 ft 7 in) |
| Installed power | 8,000 hp (6,000 kW) |
| Propulsion | 2 × Werkspoor four stroke expansion engines powering 2 shafts |
| Speed | 15.5knots (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph) |
| Complement | 273 |
| Armament |
|
HNLMSColombia was originally anocean liner, registered asMSColombia. She was the flagship of theKoninklijke Nederlandse Stoomboot-Maatschappij. She would be commandeered and militarized by theRoyal Netherlands Navy on 8 November 1940.[1]
Serving as atroopship during the first year of her career with the Royal Netherlands Navy,Colombia was converted atDundee into a submarine tender with the conversion work lasting from 1 May to 18 September 1941. She served in her role as submarine tender until she was torpedoed by theGerman submarine U-516, off the coast ofSimonstown,Union of South Africa (33°36′S27°29′E / 33.600°S 27.483°E /-33.600; 27.483), on 27 February 1943. Eight of the 326 crew died during her sinking, with remaining survivors rescued byHMS Genista and aRoyal Air Forcelaunch.[2]