Walrus (1).

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

 

1943

4 Sep 1943: Icefish (Balao class) is laid down at the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co. in Wisconsin (U.S.).

1944

20 Feb 1944: Icefish is launched

10 June 1944: Icefish is commissioned to the U.S. Navy and conducts several successful war patrols.

1945

8 May 1945: Germany surrenders.

15 Aug 1945: Japan surrenders.

1952

Icefish is modernized (Guppy refit)

1953

Jan - March 1953: A group Dutch submariners sails on the Ocean Liner MS Rijndam from Rotterdam to New London (Connecticut, USA). They are trained by USN submarines and sail/train, after first having some indoor classes, with mixed crews (US and Dutch) on board the Icefish  and Hawkbill. They sail on a daily basis in order to learn as much as possible on these subs. By mid March a second group of Dutch submariners has arrived.

21 Feb 1953: Icefish is decommissioned (U.S. Navy)

For more information on the Icefish check out the U.S.S. Icefish SS 367 website.

Under the terms of the "mutual aid and defence program" or "mutual defence assistance program" (MDAP), the Icefish and Hawkbill were loaned to the Netherlands for a period of 5 years. The period is then extended several times.

21 Feb 1953: Icefish is commissioned to the Royal Netherlands Navy and is renamed Walrus (1). The Walrus (1) is 'first of class' for the Dutch and, therefore, the class is called Walrus (1).

21 Feb - 13 Oct 1953: Walrus (1) is under the command of Ltz. I  .

21 May 1953: The new pennant number of Walrus (1) is S802.

17 Apr 1953: Walrus (1) is visited by His Royal Highness Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands.

13 Oct 1953 - 29 Apr 1954: Walrus (1) is under the command of Ltz. I  .

1954

23 Nov - 23 Dec 1954: Walrus (1) is under the command of Ltz. I  .

23 Dec 1954 - 19 Apr 1955: Walrus (1) is under the command of Ltz. I  .

1955

27 Jan 1955: During the annual exercises in the Mediterranean Sea the Walrus (1) has a man overboard situation. 

Matroos 1e klasse A.C. van Dael looses his life when he is washed overboard somewhere off Sicily (just before or after Walrus (1)'s visit to Cagliari). The sailor, who has no life line, has to remove the flag from the aft of the sail.  Immediately after the "man over board" alarm the sub turns around and searches for hours. Unfortunately the submariner is not found.

Ceremony commemorating Matroos 1e klasse A.C. van Dael. Feb 1955 Mediterranean Sea, off Sicily. Note the flag aft of the sail. (Photo: © Collection A de Keijzer).

The Dutch Aircraft Carrier Karel Doorman is possibly also part of the exercise and a chopper from this vessel delivers a wreath that is tossed into the sea during the ceremony to commemorate submariner A.C. van Dael.

Apr 1955 - 11 Apr 1956: Walrus (1) is under the command of Ltz. I  .

Late 1955: Walrus (1) and Zeeleeuw (1) sail to the Arctic Ocean. The trip is called 'Operation IJsduet'.

1956

14 Sep - 17 Dec 1956: Walrus (1) is under the command of Ltz. I  .

17 Dec 1956 - 6 July 1957: Walrus (1) is under the command of .

1957

6 July 1957 - 10 Oct 1958: Walrus (1) is under the command of .

Oct 1957: The Walrus (1) and Zeeleeuw (1) depart for a journey to the Dutch Antilles and Suriname.

Nov and Dec 1957: Walrus (1) conducts gravity measurement on both sides of the Panama Canal. The measurements are under the supervision of Prof. Dr. F.A. Vening Meinesz, B.Sc. The professor's assistant is probably named Bakker.

The procedure for taking the measurements is as follows:

- Submerge.
- Come to a full stop (no speed at all).
- Take measurements.
- Surface.
- About 1 hour sailing.
- Submerge.
- etcetera.

And all this for many days.

Check out the Walrus (1) & Zeeleeuw (1) voyage to the Netherlands West Indies photo special for images of this voyage.

For more information on  gravity measurements and the Professor's submarine voyages read the book .

1958

Mar 1958: Walrus (1) and Zeeleeuw (1) are back in the Netherlands.

1959

6 July 1959 - 27 May 1960: Walrus (1) is under the command of .

Envelope commemorating Walrus (1)'s arrival in Norfolk (1959).

1960

27 May 1960 - 6 Feb 1961: Walrus (1) is under the command of .

Dec 1960: As part of Squadron 'Smaldeel 1', which also consists of Zeeleeuw (1), the Walrus (1) sails to Edinburgh (Scotland) and several other (no data available yet) ports.

1961

29 June 1961 - 3 Sep 1963: Walrus (1) is under the command of .

1962

May. 1962: Walrus (1) departs for Dutch New Guinea in order to relieve the Zeeleeuw (1)

Jul. 1962: Walrus (1) relieves Zeeleeuw (1) and conducts two patrols in the Dutch New Guinea waters

30 Nov 1962: Walrus (1) arrives in the Netherlands.

1964

2 Mar 1964 - 16 July 1965: Walrus (1) is under the command of Ltz. II  / Ltz. I  .

1966

6 June - 10 Aug 1966: Walrus (1) is under the command of .

10 Aug 1966 - 23 Sep 1967: Walrus (1) is under the command of .

1967

23 Sep - 15 Dec 1967: Walrus (1) is under the command of .

1968

4 June 1968 - 15 Jan 1969: Walrus (1) is under the command of . Other sources often list the period 6 June 1968 - 5 Jan 1969. But B.A. Siemons himself confirmed that according to his files 4 June 1968 - 15 Jan 1969 is correct.

16 Dec 1968: Walrus (1) is missing (North of Ireland) for many hours. The submarine has official SUBSUNK status and many emergency scenarios are started.

This misunderstanding is caused by a malfunction in the radio communications. Due to this malfunction the sub is 'lost' for about 3 hours. At the time the Walrus (1) was exercising North off Ireland and many naval unit (planes and vessels) where ordered to the area in order to search for the submarine.
The submarine had to radio her position at 15:51 hrs but when this message was not received, even not one hour later at 16:51 hrs, the British Navy signalled all participating vessel the message 'Sub Missing'. Even at 17:51 the sub failed to respond and the message 'Sub Sunk' was signalled. Five submarines (including the Dutch Tonijn), three surface vessels and some planes where ordered to search for the submarine. An other six Royal Navy vessels where on standby.
Finally at 19:18 the submarine Walrus (1) surfaced an radioed in. While being submerged the submarine had picked up a radio message that ships where looking for the submarine, therefore the sub surfaced ASAP.

1969

5 Jan - 18 July 1969: Walrus (1) is under the command of .

2nd half of 1969: Zeeleeuw (1) and also Walrus (1) exercise in the Bay of Biscay. 

Early Oct 1969: Zeeleeuw (1) (soon to be stricken) and Walrus (1) say goodbye by sailing past one another in the Bay of Biscay (France). During this 'sail past' they throw potatoes at each other.

Check the Zeeleeuw(1) in the 1960s page for photos of this event.

1970

15 Jan - 15 Oct 1970: Walrus (1) is under the command of .

15 Oct 1970 - 15 July 1971: Walrus (1) is under the command of .

1971

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

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

15 July 1971: Walrus (1) is decommissioned.

12 Nov 1971: Walrus (1) is sold for scrapping to A.J. Van Den Kooy N.V., Pijnacker (The Netherlands) for $105,105 (450,000 Dutch guilders is also reported).

The engines are sold and used for a Norwegian offshore platform.

 

 

Walrus (1) related pages

Walrus (1) boat history

Walrus (1) class photos

Walrus (1) related books

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