Member of Class
Boat
Dolfijn (3)
Sister Ships
Dolfijn (3), Zeehond (3)
Potvis, Tonijn

 

Dolfijn (3). Date and place unknown.

Dolfijn (3). Date and place unknown.

For additional photos and information please check the 'related pages list' at the bottom of this page.

 

1954

30 Dec 1954: Dolfijn (3) is laid down at R.D.M. shipyard in Rotterdam.

1959

20 May 1959: Dolfijn (3) is launched

1960

16 Dec 1960: Dolfijn (3) is commissioned to the Royal Netherlands Navy. The ceremony is held at the Rotterdam submarine base.

16 Dec 1960 - 1 May 1963: Dolfijn (3) is under the command of Ltz. I  .

17 Dec 1960: Dolfijn (3) departs from Rotterdam. The submarine conducts trials off Star Point and also sails the "measured mile" off Anville Point (south coast U.K.)

20 Dec 1960: Dolfijn (3) arrives in Rotterdam for a period of so called "guarantee maintenance".

1961

4 Jan 1961: Dolfijn (3) departs from Rotterdam. During the following trip the Dolfijn (3) visits several ports, including Horten (Norway) and Copenhagen (Denmark).

7 Jan 1961: Dolfijn (3) arrives in Horten.

8 Jan 1961: Dolfijn (3) departs Horten in order to conduct trials in the fjords off Oslo. After the trials she returns to Horten.

9 Jan 1961: Dolfijn (3) departs Horten in order to conduct trials in the fjords off Oslo. After the trials she returns to Horten.

10 Jan 1961: Dolfijn (3) departs Horten in order to conduct trials in the Skagerrak and the North Sea.

13 Jan 1961: Dolfijn (3) arrives in Copenhagen (Denmark).

16 Jan 1961: Dolfijn (3) departs from Copenhagen.

26 Jan 1961: Dolfijn (3) arrives in Rotterdam (the Netherlands).

7 Feb 1961: Dolfijn (3) departs from Rotterdam and heads for the Mediterranean Sea.

9 Feb 1961: Dolfijn (3) is in the Bay of Biscay.

11 Feb 1961: Dolfijn (3) passes the Strait of Gibraltar.

14 Feb - 15 Feb 1961: Dolfijn (3) visits Toulon (France).

17 Feb - 20 Feb 1961: Dolfijn (3) visits Toulon.

23 Feb - 26 Feb 1961: Dolfijn (3) visits Ajaccio (Corsica).

28 Feb - 1 Mar 1961: Dolfijn (3) visits Toulon.

3 Mar - 6 Mar 1961: Dolfijn (3) visits Toulon. She departs Toulon on the 6th   in order to conduct exercises at sea.

9 Mar 1961: Dolfijn (3) arrives in Toulon (France).

17 Mar 1961: Dolfijn (3) arrives in Rotterdam (the Netherlands).

After repairs ("guarantee maintenance") in Rotterdam the Dolfijn (3) departs for trials off the Scottish coast.

5 Apr 1961: Accompanied by the tender Mercuur (2) the Dolfijn (3) departs Rotterdam and heads for the Firth of Clyde (Scottish west coast).

7 Apr 1961: Dolfijn (3) anchors in Lamlash Bay.

8 Apr 1961: Dolfijn (3) departs from Lamlash Bay and arrives in Faslane.

10 Apr 1961: Dolfijn (3) departs from Faslane.

12 Apr - ? Apr 1961: Dolfijn (3) visits Arrocham.

13 Apr - ? Apr 1961: Dolfijn (3) visits Loch Ranza. During the day the tender Mercuur (2) and the Dolfijn (3) work together. At night the submarine is moored (on a buoy) in Rothesay Bay, Lamlash Bay or anchored in Loch Ranza, Ettrick Bay, Shipness Point. The weekends between 15 Apr and 13 May are usually spend in Rothesay Bay.

21 Apr - 23 Apr 1961: Dolfijn (3) visits Greenock.

14 May - 17 May 1961: Dolfijn (3) visits Loch Fane.

17 May 1961: Dolfijn (3) encounters her sister ship Zeehond (3), which is  on her way to Faslane to conduct the same trials Dolfijn (3) just completed.

20 May 1961: Dolfijn (3) arrives in Rotterdam (The Netherlands)

1962

24 Jan 1962: Dolfijn (3) departs from Den Helder (home port) for a voyage to the Netherlands Antilles, where she will join squadron 5. The first leg of the voyage is via Las Palmas, Port of Spain, and Paramaribo.

13 Feb 1962: Dolfijn (3) arrives off Curaçao.

14 Feb 1962: Dolfijn (3) is welcomed officially by squadron 5.

16 Feb - ? 1962: Dolfijn (3) and squadron 5 visit Willemstad (Curaçao).

9 Mar 1962: Dolfijn (3) arrives in Cartagena (Colombia).

16 Feb - ? 1962: Dolfijn (3) and squadron 5 visits Willemstad (Curaçao).

12 Mar - ? Mar 1962: Dolfijn (3) visits Willemstad.

14 Mar 1962: Squadron 5, including the submarines Dolfijn (3) and Zeeleeuw (1), are ordered to the west coast of the United States for a "showing the flag" voyage.  Dolfijn (3) and Zeeleeuw (1) make the trip together.

March 1962: A group of Dutch Naval vessels (Task Group 228.0 consisting of several destroyers,  Dolfijn (3) and Zeeleeuw (1) are directed to Hollandia (via the Panama Canal) because of the political situation in Dutch New Guinea. After the situation in Indonesia improves Dolfijn (3) will return to the Netherlands.

17 Mar 1962: Dolfijn (3) and Zeeleeuw (1) arrive in Cristobal (Colombia), and departs again for Balboa (via the Panama Canal) where she will be re-supplied the same day at the US Naval Station Rodman.

18 Mar 1962: Dolfijn (3) and Zeeleeuw (1) depart from Balboa.

24 Mar 1962: Dolfijn (3) and Zeeleeuw (1) arrive in Manzanillo (Mexico). Here they get the order to transit to Guam.

27 Mar 1962: Dolfijn (3) departs from Manzanillo and heads for Guam. Zeeleeuw (1) will depart on the 28th.

The submarines have a different maximum surface speed and therefore will not make the transit together. Zeeleeuw (1) soon catches up with the Dolfijn (3) and when arriving Zeeleeuw (1) is arriving in Hollandia she will already be 3 days ahead of Zeeleeuw (1). This is increase even further by a tropical storm encountered by Dolfijn (3) while transiting from Guam to Hollandia. This makes her divert her course several times.

9 Apr 1962: Dolfijn (3) passes the international date line on the Midway-Guam leg.

17 Apr 1962: Dolfijn (3) arrives at Apra Harbour (Guam), she will depart the  next day (18th).

22 Apr 1962: Dolfijn (3) arrives in Hollandia.

22 Apr - 1 Oct 1962: While based at Biak (New Guinea) the Dolfijn (3) conducts several "war" patrols during the conflict with Indonesia.

1 Oct 1962: Accompanied by the destroyers Groningen and Evertsen the Dolfijn (3) departs for the Netherlands.

9 Oct 1962: Dolfijn (3) arrives in Singapore and is re-supplied, she departs for Karachi (Pakistan) the same day.

19 Oct - ? Oct 1962: Dolfijn (3) visits Karachi.

29 Oct - 31 Oct 1962: Dolfijn (3) visits Aden (Yemen).

4 Nov 1962: Dolfijn (3) arrives in Port Said (Egypt), she departs the same day.

9 Nov - ? Nov 1962: Dolfijn (3) visits Naples (Italy).

22 Nov 1962: Dolfijn (3) arrives in the Den Helder (home port).

1963

27 Feb - 12 April 1963: Dolfijn (3) sails to Toulon and tests a new type of torpedo tube. For these trials the new tube is fitted on the outside of the sub, on the casing. This new type of tube can fire torpedoes from greater depths then the standard tubes.

1 May 1963: Dolfijn (3) is withdrawn from active service in order to refitted at the R.D.M. shipyard in Rotterdam.

15 Oct 1963: Dolfijn (3) returns to active service.

15 Oct 1963 - 4 Mar 1965: Dolfijn (3) is under the command of Ltz. I  .

18 Nov 1963: Dolfijn (3) departs from Den Helder (home port), during the following voyage she will visit the ports of Portsmouth (England), Londonderry (Ireland), The Sound Range (Rothesay, Scotland) and Campbeltown (Scotland).

20 Dec 1963: Dolfijn (3) arrives in Den Helder (home port).

1964

22 Feb 1964: Dolfijn (3) departs from Den Helder (home port) for a voyage to Gibraltar and Lisbon.

20 Mar 1964: Dolfijn (3) arrives in Den Helder (home port).

1 Apr - 11 May 1964: Dolfijn (3) from Den Helder (home port) for a voyage to the Netherlands Antilles, she sails via New London (U.S.A.).

11 May 1964: Dolfijn (3) arrives in Willemstad (Curaçao).

13 May - 29 May 1964: the Dolfijn (3) participates in exercise "Long Look" off Canada, between Greenland and Northern Canada.

Right after exercise "Long Look": The Dolfijn (3) visits US Navy Submarine Base New London, (Groton, Connecticut). The crew makes several daytrips, including a trip to the New York World Fair.

15 Jun 1964 - 2 Jul 1964: Dolfijn (3) departs from Willemstad (accompanied by squadron 5), she sails via Punta Delgada (Azores) and Funchal (Madeira) to Den Helder (home port), where she arrives on 2 Jul.

7 Sep - 4 Oct 1964: Dolfijn (3) is attached to squadron 5 and departs from Den Helder (home port) to take a trip to Plymouth (England). She arrives back in Den Helder (home port) on 4 Oct.

26 Oct - 10 Dec 1964: Dolfijn (3) is attached to squadron 5 and departs from Den Helder (home port) to take a trip to Las Palmas, Santa Cruz (both on the Canary Islands) and Casablanca (Morocco). She arrives back in Den Helder (home port) on 10 Dec.

1965 - 1966

4? Jan - 4 Feb 1965: Dolfijn (3) is attached to squadron 5 and departs from Den Helder (home port). Due to engine trouble (main engine) she has to return to port.

4 Feb 1965: Dolfijn (3) arrives in Den Helder (home port). The so called "4e traps onderhoud" (4th stage maintenance) is moved forward because of the engine trouble during the last trip.

4 Mar? 1965: Dolfijn (3) is withdrawn from active service and is being refitted until 1967.

1967

Check out the Dolfijn (3) photo special for some 1967 images of this years voyage.

15 Feb 1967: Dolfijn (3) returns to active service.

15 Feb 1967 - 18 Dec 1968: Dolfijn (3) is under the command of Ltz. I  .

10 Mar - 13 Mar 1967: Dolfijn (3) visits Leixões (Portugal)

18 Mar - 19 Mar 1967: Dolfijn (3) visits Brest (France).

19 Jun - 29 Jul 1967: Dolfijn (3) operates off the south coast of England.

31 Aug - 2 Oct: Dolfijn (3) visits Faslane (Scotland).

4 Sep - 21 Sep 1967: Under assistance of the submarine tender Mercuur (2) the torpedo tubes of the Dolfijn (3) are adjusted.

20 Oct 1967 - 1 Dec 1967: Dolfijn (3), attached to squadron 5, departs from Den Helder (home port) for a trip to Toulon (France) and Barcelona (Spain). She returns to Den Helder on 1 Dec.

2 Nov - 13 Nov: Dolfijn (3) visits Toulon.

This stop over takes much longer as planned since several crew members suffer from angina and have to be taken to the local military hospital. But they are having a 'good' time there since they are trading cans of fruit (snuiverfruit) for bottles of beer!

17 Nov - 20 Nov: Dolfijn (3) visits Barcelona.

1 Dec 1967: Dolfijn (3) arrives in Den Helder (home port).

1968

Jan 1968: Potvis and Dolfijn (3) depart from Den Helder (home port) for a five-week patrol in the northern Atlantic. For the first time a war situation is simulated as much as possible. The Potvis (and maybe Dolfijn (3) as well) also visit Halifax (Canada).

In 2000 RCN Submariner Bob writes:

" . . .The exercise included the Dutch submarines, Dolfijn (3)and Potvis. It included the Canadian submarines Onondaga, the one I served in, and Ojibwa. There were two British submarines as well one was the Orpehus not sure of the other, but it was an Oberon class sub. Also the carrier, USS , and numerous American ships and Canadian Atlantic fleet ships, about seven and several NATO ships.
Two week exercise orange versus blue forces. Weather was rough, I remember  specifically manoeuvring in Onondaga when my captain wanted to play hard ball. We submerged by Chebucto head and lay on the bottom for some time in a small bay.  when the Canadian convoy exited Halifax harbour with helicopter and Argus air support, we slowly came to periscope depth and sank the task groups ship. One of the support ships of the provider/preserver/protector class, not sure which. Obviously the task group commander was really pissed off. First half hour of the major NATO exercise and he was out of it. He was not a happy camper in the debriefing. Neither was the CO of the Essex when we sank it some 8 days later. We had an American submariner on board as the "referee".
When submarines got into attack position in those days, you actually had to roll dice to see what your torpedoes did.    e.g.  1  a miss,  2  malfunction, 3 slight damage,  4 miss, etc  My captain had a pink pearle eraser that had only sixes on it that he used to carry in case the referee could really understand the capabilities of the torpedoes.   e.g  there are not 1,3,4, or 5's  for the mark 48 today. Well we rolled a six for the three shots on
the Essex. The Admiral on Essex was down right hostile at the debriefing. The search periscope photographs and the time and course and speed and the picture of the  helicopter and its number taking off changed the tone of the meeting and he couldn't argue with the proof of where we were when we fired. They sure look big at 1800 yards on their beam. And that was real close in those days.   you didn't have to be there, but we snuck in there. Actually, when I think  about it, it seems like centuries ago, those 32 years that have gone by since that exercise and that high excitement time of my life. I do know we had a lot of fun in the midst of the carrier and her screen. Lots of propeller noise and sonar all over the place, not much sleep for the navigator in those times. "Where are we?" the captain always used to say. Pre GPS in Canadian boats in those days. Big sonar and helicopter sonar pining all the while. Perfect mixing with the temperature and heavy seas. If I remember we were simulating a soviet penetration of the eastern sea board. Also did a similar exercise in the arctic that summer. . . ."

26 Jan - 29 Jan 1968: Dolfijn (3) and Potvis visit Lisbon (Portugal).

Jun 1968: Dolfijn (3) is attached to squadron 5.

Sep 1968: Squadron 5, including Dolfijn (3), participates in a NATO exercise. The exercise is held between Iceland and Scotland.

18 Dec 1968: Dolfijn (3) is withdrawn from active service. Until Aug 1969 she will be at the R.D.M. shipyard in Rotterdam for the so called 3e traps (third stage) maintenance.

1969

15 Aug 1969: Dolfijn (3) returns to active service.

15 Aug - 24 Dec 1969: Dolfijn (3) is under the command of Ltz. I  .

Aug 1969 - Nov 1969: In this period, which is used for trials and work-up, Dolfijn (3) visits Haakonsvern (?), Toulon, and Nice (both in France).

6 Dec 1969: Dolfijn (3) and her sister ship Tonijn depart from Den Helder (home port).

11 Dec - 12 Dec 1969: Dolfijn (3) visits Londonderry (Ireland). She participates in the Joint Anti-submarine Course (JASS).

15 Dec - 17 Dec 1969: Dolfijn (3) visits Londonderry (Irelands).

20 Dec 1969: Dolfijn (3) arrives in Den Helder (home port).

24 Dec 1969 - 24 Aug 1970: Dolfijn (3) is under the command of Ltz. I  .

1970

Feb - Mar 1970: Off Scotland the new sonar-interception equipment LWS-20D is evaluated. Following this evaluation Dolfijn (3), Potvis and planes of the VSQ 320 squadron participate in the Western approaches sub vs sub exercise "Brown Bear".

Mar 1970: Off Gibraltar the Dolfijn (3) participates in a Joint Anti-submarine Course (JASS) (For the first time not off Londonderry). The Dolfijn (3) performs very well and receives recommendation from JASS.

May 1970: Dolfijn (3) participates in the international exercise "Rusty Nut". Following this exercise she sails (accompanied by squadron 5) to Portuguese waters from where she transits submerged to the Scilly islands (U.K.) Off the islands a mine laying exercise held and the Dolfijn (3) conducts a coastal photo reconnaissance mission.

Jun 1970: Dolfijn (3) and squadron 5 participate in the exercise (one week) off Norway.

24 Aug 1970 - 2 June 1971: Dolfijn (3) is under the command of .

31 Aug 1970: Dolfijn (3) departs from Den Helder (home port) for a five week trip. She visits the ports of Dundee (Scotland) and Oslo (Norway).

Sep 1970: Dolfijn (3) encounters Potvis off Norway.

Sep 1970: The new sonar-interception equipment LWS-20D is evaluated.

14 Sep - 26 Sep: Dolfijn (3) participates in the NATO exercise "Northern Wedding" in northern waters.

2 Oct 1970: Dolfijn (3) arrives in Den Helder (home port).

Oct 1970: The new sonar-interception equipment LWS-20D is evaluated.

Dec 1970: Dolfijn (3) is dry-docked at the R.D.M. yard in Rotterdam for scheduled periodical maintenance.

1971

Jan 1971: Dolfijn (3) takes a 3 1/2 week trip. She is accompanied by Walrus (1) and planes of the Dutch Navy.

15 Jan - 18 Jan 1971: The subs visit Brest (France).

In the Gulf of Biscay the Dolfijn (3) exercises together with her sister ship Zeehond (3).

Feb 1971: After a period of maintenance the Dolfijn (3) participates in the exercise "Sunny Seas". During this exercise three weekends are spend in Lisbon (Portugal).

Mar 1971: Dolfijn (3), accompanied by destroyers and planes of VSQ 320, patrols the North Sea.

13 Apr 1971: Dolfijn (3) departs from Den Helder (home port) for a five week work-up period, with 7 English subs, in Scotland and England.

18 Apr - 24 Apr: Dolfijn (3) participates in exercise "Running Scrap". The Dutch sub wins the first prize for her coastal photo reconnaissance mission.

15 May - 10 May: Dolfijn (3) participates in exercise "Rusty Razor"

2 Jun 1971: Dolfijn (3) is withdrawn from active service in order to be refitted (third stage maintenance) at the R.D.M. yard in Rotterdam.

1972

6 June 1972: Dolfijn (3) returns to active service.

6 June 1972 - 2 Apr 1974: Dolfijn (3) is under the command of Ltz. I  .

8 June 1972: Dolfijn (3) departs from Rotterdam and heads for Den Helder (home port).

9 Sep 1972: Dolfijn (3) departs from Den Helder. Because of mechanical trouble and lack of personnel it took Dolfijn (3) until September to get ready for her first exercise. After a short exercise with the frigate Van Speyk the submarine heads for Loriënt (France).

10 Sep 1972: Dolfijn (3) arrives in Loriënt, where her sonar equipment is calibrated.

Because of mechanical failures and a sick crewmember the submarine returns to the Netherlands.

28 Sep 1972: Dolfijn (3) arrives in Den Helder (home port) for repairs.

31 Oct 1972: Dolfijn (3) and Holland depart from Den Helder to exercise in the Clyde area. Dolfijn (3), accompanied by the submarine tender Mercuur, will also conduct a torpedo-fire program.

Nov 1972: Because of storm damage the Dolfijn (3) enters Plymouth harbour (England).

Nov 1972: Dolfijn (3), Tijgerhaai (2) and the Navy Air force (MLD) exercise together.

11 Dec 1972: Dolfijn (3) arrives in Den Helder (home port).

1973

22 Jan  - 2 Feb 1973: Dolfijn (3) conducts trials in Norwegian waters.

10 Feb - 13 Feb 1973: Dolfijn (3) visits Ponta Delgada (Azores).

13 Feb - 22 Feb 1973: Being part of Stanavforlant the Dolfijn (3) participates in exercises off Lisbon (Portugal).

9 Mar 1973: Dolfijn (3) arrives in Den Helder (home port).

13 Mar - 12 Apr 1973: Dolfijn (3), Zeehond (3) and the submarine tender Mercuur (3) are in Norwegian waters.

3 Apr 1973: Zeehond (3) exercises together with the Dolfijn (3). Dolfijn (3) has had some problems and can not dive below 70 m. Both subs dive and approach each other up to a distance of 200 m. For safety the Zeehond (3) is at 80 m and the Dolfijn (3) is at 50 m depth.

3 May - 6 May 1973: Dolfijn (3) visits Copenhagen.

8 May 1973: Dolfijn (3) participates in a squadron exercise on the North Sea.

11 May 1973: Dolfijn (3) arrives in Den Helder.

5 Jun - 13 Jul 1973: Dolfijn (3) conducts a surveillance patrol in Northern waters.

10 Sep 1973: Start of a Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST) period in Portland (England).

18 Sep 1973: Dolfijn (3) is dry-docked in Den Helder (home port). This is an unscheduled dry-docking.

Sep 1973: Dolfijn (3) participates in the NATO exercise "Swift Move".

12 Oct - 15 Oct: Dolfijn (3) visits Oslo (Norway).

12 Nov - 17 Dec 1973: Dolfijn (3) once again the submarine is available to FOST (Clyde area).

1974

18 Feb 1974: The Dolfijn (3) runs aground in Lower Loch Fyne (off Scotland). The boat is heavily damaged and therefore she will be overhauled as soon as possible. Pictures of the extensive damage are located at the Dolfijn (3) in the 1970's photo page.

12 Apr 1974: The Dolfijn (3) is withdrawn from active service and will be overhauled until January 1975.

1975

14 Jan 1975: Dolfijn (3) returns to active service.

14 Jan 1975 - 1 Nov 1976: Dolfijn (3) is under the command of Ltz. I  .

20 Jan - 22 Apr 1975: Dolfijn (3) makes several voyages for work-up and trials. The ports of Loriënt (France), Faslane (Scotland) and Newcastle (England) are visited.

5 May - 6 June 1975: Dolfijn (3) makes an exercise voyage on the North Sea.

16 June 1975: Dolfijn (3) departs from Den Helder.

20 June 1975: Dolfijn (3) arrives in Kiel (Germany) and participates in the so called Kielerwoche (the week of Kiel).

30 June 1975: Dolfijn (3) departs from Kiel (Germany)

4 July 1975: Dolfijn (3) arrives in Den Helder.

26 Aug 1975: Dolfijn (3) has a Flag Officer Submarine-period and she participates in the squadron exercise "German Ops".

28 Nov 1975: Dolfijn (3) participates in the FOST and in the NATO exercise "Ocean Safari". During this period the submarine visits the ports of Newcastle (England), Stornoway (Scotland), Portland (England), Arendal (Norway), Plymouth (England), Faslane (Scotland) and Haugesund (Norway).

1976

27 Jan - 1 Mar 1976: Dolfijn (3) exercises with her squadron off Gibraltar. The ships visit the following ports: Portsmouth (England), Gibraltar, Plymouth and Falmouth (both England).

13 Feb - 25 Mar 1976: Dolfijn (3) operates in the "Gibraltar-area".

26 Apr 1976: Dolfijn (3) departs from Den Helder for the squadron voyage of SBN H.L. van Beek to the United States. The purpose of this voyage is "showing the flag". The squadron visits: St. George, Mayport, Norfolk, Baltimore, New London and New York

Envelope commemorating Dolfijn (4)'s arrival in Norfolk (1976). Envelope commemorating Dolfijn (4)'s arrival in Norfolk (1976).

21 May- 24 May 1976: The squadron visits Mayport.

4 June - 14 June 1976: The squadron visits Baltimore.

26 June - 29 June 1976: The squadron visits New London.

4 July - 7 July 1976: The squadron visits New York. On the fourth of July they participate in the fleet show commemorating 200 years of independence of the United States of North America.

16 July 1976: Dolfijn (3) arrives in Den Helder.

26 Sep - 23 Sep: Dolfijn (3) participates in the NATO exercise "Team Work"

1 Nov 1976: Dolfijn (3) is withdrawn from active service in order to receive her so called "derde traps onderhoud" (third stage maintenance).

1977

7 Apr 1977: Dolfijn (3) returns to active duty.

7 Apr 1977 - 29 Mar 1979: Dolfijn (3) is under the command of Ltz. I  . First there will be a period of trials and work-up.

29 Aug 1977: Dolfijn (3) makes a three week voyage off the United Kingdom. Off the U.K. coast a life torpedo firing exercise is held, other ships participating in this exercise are: Dutch submarine Zwaardvis (2), Dutch submarine tender Mercuur (3) and the Canadian submarine Onondaga. The ports of Falmouth (England) and Faslane (Scotland) are visited.

10 Oct 1977: Dolfijn (3) makes a ten week voyage off the UK, the submarine has Dutch marines (Royal Netherlands Navy Marine Corps) on board. The Dolfijn (3) participates in NATO exercise "Ocean Safari" and she visits the ports of   Plymouth and Southampton (both England). After this NATO exercise the submarine participates in a squadron and FOST exercise, the ports of Torbay and Portland (both England) are visited.

27 Nov 1977: Dolfijn (3) arrives in Den Helder.

1978

14 Jan - 27 Apr 1978: Dolfijn (3) and her squadron make a voyage to the Caribbean. The purpose of this voyage is "showing the flag". The following ports are visited: San Juan (Puerto Rico), St. Maarten, Willemstad (both Netherlands Antilles), St Thomas (U.S.) , Port Everglades and Mayport.

12 July - 21 July 1978: The Dolfijn (3), Potvis, Zeehond (3) and Zwaardvis (2) conduct a firing exercise.

28 Aug - 1 Dec 1978: The Dolfijn (3) has a FOST period, among which the NATO exercises "Northern Wedding" and "Octeval 78". The following ports are visited: Liverpool, Falmouth (both England), Dublin (Ireland). In Faslane (Scotland) the submarine is docked for maintenance for a period of two weeks.

1979

15 Jan - 1 Mar 1979: Dolfijn (3), together with several British ships, exercises in the English Channel, Mediterranean and the Plymouth-area.

28 Mar 1979: Dolfijn (3) is withdrawn from active duty for a maintenance period, which includes a dry-docking.

29 Mar - 26 Nov 1979: Dolfijn (3) is refitted at the R.D.M. yard in Rotterdam.

26 Nov 1979 - 7 Aug 1980: Dolfijn (3) is under the command of Ltz. I  Esq. .

1980

21 Jan - 24 Jan 1980: Dolfijn (3) makes a trim-dive.

?29 Mar - 14 Mar? 1980: During this period of work-up and trials the Dolfijn (3) visits the ports of Loriënt (France), Faslane (Scotland) and Plymouth (England).

8 Apr - 8 May 1980: The torpedo tubes of Dolfijn (3) are tuned. The submarines visits Dublin (Ireland), Rothesay and Dundee (both Scotland).

28 May - 18 June: Dolfijn (3) conducts firing exercises, she visits the port of Greenock (Scotland)

7 Aug 1980 - 29 Apr 1982: Dolfijn (3) is under the command of  Ltz. II  .

1 Sep - 26 Nov 1980: The Dolfijn (3) is under operational command of STANAVFORLANT and the squadron. She participates in the NATO exercise " Display Determination 1980" and visits the ports of Lisbon (Portugal), Palma de Mallorca (Mallorca) and Falmouth (England).

1981

26 Jan - 14 Mar 1981: The Dolfijn (3) and her squadron make a winter voyage to the Mediterranean. The submarine participates in NATO exercise "Testgate", and the ports of Gibraltar, Cadiz (Spain), Casa Blanca (Morocco), Las Palmas (Canary Islands) and Funchal (Madeira).

3 May - 16 June 1981: Dolfijn (3) and her squadron are in Norwegian waters. Together with submarine tender Mercuur (3), submarines Tijgerhaai (2) and Potvis the Dolfijn (3) conducts firing exercises.

28 Aug - 19 Sep 1981: Dolfijn (3), together with STANAVFORLANT, participates in the NATO exercise "Ocean Safari". During this exercise, during which the Dolfijn (3) operates in the English Channel, the submarine visits the ports of Falmouth, Devonport and Plymouth (all England).

20 Oct - 1 Dec 1981: Dolfijn (3) makes an exercise voyage and visits Naples (Italy) twice.

1982

18 Jan - 27 Feb 1982: Together with British ships and helicopters the Dolfijn (3) participates in an exercise in the English Channel and the Atlantic.

Tonijn, Dolfijn (3) and Potvis in Faslane, 1982 (Photo: © J. Jaspers).

29 Apr 1982: The Dolfijn (3) is definitely withdrawn from active service and is decommissioned. Due to the budget the planned maintenance is not implemented and the boat is taken into reserve

1983

1983: Dolfijn (3) is still in kept in reserve.

1985

1 Feb 1985: Dolfijn (3) is stricken from the reserve list

25 Jun 1985: Dolfijn (3) is transferred to the Domeinen (Dutch government agency that sells government surplus material)

22 Jul 1985: Dolfijn (3) is sold for brake up to the shipyard Heuvelman in Puttershoek.

Dolfijn (3) being scrapped at 'S-gravendeel scrap yard, Nov 1985. Dolfijn (3) being scrapped at 'S-gravendeel scrapyard, Nov 1985.

Torpedo tube #3 is used for the Mercuur (4) torpedo tender.

 

 

Dolfijn(3) related pages
Dolfijn (3) boat history
Dolfijn (3) photos
 
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