Schorpioen-class monitor

The Schorpioen-class ships were designed to the same specification, but varied somewhat in details. The dimensions here are for Schorpioen, with her British-built sister, Stier, being marginally smaller. The ships were {{convert|205|ft|m|1}} long overall, had a beam of {{convert|38|ft|m|1}} and a draft of {{convert|16|ft|2|in|m|1}}. They displaced {{convert|2069|-|2175|LT|t|0}} and was fitted with a ram bow. Their crew consisted of 110–136 officers and enlisted men.Silverstone, p. 340

The Schorpioen class were twin-engined ships, with each engine driving one {{convert|3.84|m|ft|adj=on|order=flip}} propeller."Dutch Ironclad Rams", p. 303 Stier was equipped with horizontal trunk steam engines that used steam from four square boilers. Schorpioen had a pair of two-cylinder compound-expansion steam engines powered by four boilers. Their engines produced {{convert|2225|-|2250|ihp|lk=in}} and gave the ships a speed of {{convert|12|kn|lk=in}}. They carried a maximum of {{convert|200|LT|t|0}} of coal that gave them a range of {{convert|1030|nmi|lk=in}} at a speed of {{convert|10|kn}}."Dutch Ironclad Rams", pp. 303–304 The ships had two pole masts.Gardiner, p. 373

The Schorpioens were armed with a pair of Armstrong {{convert|9|in|adj=on|0}} rifled, muzzle-loading guns mounted in the Coles-type gun turret. The ships had a complete waterline belt of wrought iron that ranged in thickness from {{convert|6|in|0}} amidships to {{convert|3|in|0}} at the ends of the ships. The gun turret was protected by {{convert|8|in|0}} inches of armor and the armor thickness increased to {{convert|11|in|0}} around the gun ports. The base of the turret was also protected by 8 inches of armor and the walls of the conning tower were {{convert|144|mm|1|order=flip}} thick. The deck armor ranged in thickness from {{convert|0.75|to|1|in|mm|0}}.

The ships had uneventful careers since the Netherlands was at peace during their careers. Stier was stricken in 1908 and later sunk as a target for aircraft in 1925. Schorpioen was sunk at dock when she was accidentally rammed by another ship in 1886. The monitor was refloated and stricken in 1906. She was hulked and converted into an accommodation ship in 1909.

The ship was captured by the Germans during World War 2, but survived the war. Schorpioen remained in service until 1982 when she was purchased by a private foundation for restoration as a museum ship in Rotterdam. She was repurchased by the Dutch Navy in 1995 and moved to the Dutch Navy Museum in Den Helder.{{cite web|url=http://www.hnsa.org/hnsa-ships/hnlms-schorpioen/|title=HNLMS SCHORPIOEN|date=16 May 2014|work=Netherlands|publisher=Historic Naval Ships Association|accessdate=4 August 2015|archive-date=13 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190913213609/http://www.hnsa.org/hnsa-ships/hnlms-schorpioen/|url-status=dead}}

• List of ironclads

{{Reflist|2}}

• {{cite book|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905|editor=Gardiner, Robert|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=Greenwich|date=1979|isbn=0-8317-0302-4|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/conwaysallworlds0000unse_l2e2}}
• {{cite journal|year=1972|title=Dutch Ironclad Rams|journal=Warship International|volume=IX|issue=3|pages=302–304}}
• {{cite book|last=Silverstone|first=Paul H.|title=Directory of the World's Capital Ships|year=1984|publisher=Hippocrene Books|location=New York|isbn=0-88254-979-0}}

{{commons category|Schorpioen class coastal defence ships|Schorpioen class monitors}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100918140203/http://arbeitskreis-historischer-schiffbau.de/ontour/swmschif/buffel/buffel.htm Photo-collection on Dutch ironclads]
• [http://www.marinemuseum.nl HMLMS Schorpioen at Dutch Naval Museum]

{{Schorpioen-class monitor}}

Category:Ironclad classes

Category:19th-century naval ships of the Netherlands