History
Requisitioned for war service
Coast guard vessel Hr.Ms. BV 34 was built as a tugboat in 1927 and had the name Noordzee. In her working life as a tugboat the ship was probably mostly deployed in and around the port of Rotterdam.
On August 24th, 1939, the ship was requisitioned by the Dutch Royal Navy as a coast guard vessel because of the war threat and renamed BV 34.
Demise
On May 14th, 1940, the ship had picked up a life raft of a Norwegian ship in the sea-lane near Deurlo (the Netherlands) during a patrol. This raft was to be delivered at the junction buoy Deurlo-Oostgat in the Oosterschelde river near Zoutelande. When she arrived there, she struck a magnetic mine and sank. Two victims were fished from the water by a British destroyer and the bodies of two others washed up on the shore of the island of Walcheren. The other 16 crewmen died and were not found again.
Description
Type: tugboat and coast guard vessel
Yard: L Smit & Zn. Kinderdijk
Yard number: 829
Owner: L. Smit & Co. Sleepdienst, Rotterdam
Propulsion: triple-expansion steam engine
Armament: 1x 50 mm gun
The BV 34 in her days as the tugboat the Noordzee. Photographer unknown.
| Power | 550 hp |
|---|---|
| Speed | 10 knots ~ 12 mph (19 km/h) |
| Length | 118.1 feet (36 m) |
| Width | 22.6 feet (6.9 m) |
| Draft | 13.1 feet (4 m) |
| Displacement | 260 ton |
Status
The wreck has been designated as a war grave.
References
- Stichting Maritiem Historische Databank.
Noordzee. - Databank Oorlogsslachtoffers Zeeland.