The O13, launched in 1928 at the De Schelde Company in Flushing, was commissioned by the Submarine Service on 1 October 1931. The submarine was developed as a so-called coastal submarine, but immediately made trips across the Atlantic.

For instance, the boat was made available to the Dutch Geodetic Institute so that Professor Felix Vening Meinesz could perform gravity measurements at sea with a special pendulum apparatus. The boat also made a trip to Curaçao in 1939.

During the Spanish Civil War, the O 13 carried out convoy services to protect Dutch commercial shipping. In the May days of 1940, the O 13 was on patrol off the Dutch coast and was attacked several times by German planes. After having fled to the United Kingdom, the ship was lost during a patrol on the North Sea. It was removed from service on June 25, 1940.

• May 10-12, 1940: O 13 patrols off the Dutch coast. She is attacked by German planes several times.
• May 1940: O 13, escorted by the minesweeper Jan van Gelder, sails to the United Kingdom.
• May 12, 1940: O 13 arrives in Portsmouth (England).
• May 15 – June, 1940: O 13is based at Portsmouth and is under British operational control.
• May ??: O 13 is equipped with a loop-aerial.
• May 29 – June 1: O 13 patrols the English Channel (evacuation of Dunkirk and Bordeaux). One night, off the French coast, she encounters a German U-boat.
• June 1940: O 13 is based at Portland (England) under British operational control.
• June 5-7 June: O 13 sails to Dundee (Scotland).
• June 6/7: O 13 arrives at the King George Wharf, Dundee.
• June 11, 1940: O 13 is attached to the 9^th Flotilla in Dundee.

O 13 lost

June 12, 1940: O 13 departs for a patrol near the entrance of the Skagerrak,

Position: 57°N-05°E. The O 13 and all hands (34) are lost during the patrol.

There are three possible explanations for the loss of the O 13:

1. June 13, 1940: A German mine strikes the O 13near the Great Fisher Bank. O 13 crosses the German minefield (named 16B or 168) at approximately 56°55'N-03°40'E.
2. June 16, 1940: O 13 is bombed by two Arado type planes from the German battleship Scharnhorst. The planes reported a position 400 m north of the patrol area of O 13. It is more likely the planes attacked the British submarine Porpoise.
3. June 20, 1940, 00:25 hrs: O 13 is accidentally rammed by the Polish submarine O.R.P. Wilk, whose location was reported to be 56°50'N-03°37'E, only 16 m from the estimated position of O 13. According to details described by Wilk's XO Cdr. Romanowski in his memoirs, it is unlikely the Polish submarine rammed the O 13.

The first option seems to be the most likely. More information about the searches can be found on the project organisation's website: Stillonpatrol.eu

The Hr.Ms O 13 was an O12 class submarine. It was built in 1928 and launched April 18, 1931. It entered into service on October 1, 1931.

• Dimensions: 60.4 x 6.8 x 3.6 m
• Displacement: 610 tons (above water); 754 tons (under water)
• Machine power 2 x 900 hp (diesel engine)
• 2 x 310 hp (electric motor)
• Speed 16 knots (above water) 8 knots (under water)

Armament

• 5 x 53.3 cm torpedo tube
• 2 x 44 mm machine gun
• 1 x 12.7 mm machine gun

Number of Dutch sailors: 31
+3 British sailors

• Jouke Spoelstra en Stef van der Velden.
  O13 - Still on patrol project website.
• O13 Still on Patrol documentaire.