"The Terrible Twins..

the nickname earned by a pair of heavily armed Dutch destroyers/light Cruisers.
They served with honor in WW2 in spite of the fact their country/home-port was occupied by the Germans.
They were attached to both British and American Task-Forces.
Are any of you Dutch fellers familiar with these ships... and their contributions?

Tim

 

From the spare parts stand point keeping the various warships in exile going must have been a bit of a nightmare.

 

i belive they were used against the japs

 

I'd have thought that in the 30's to the 60's stocks of standard spare parts for ships didn't really exist and all parts were hand crafted to order?

FNG

 

Those would be the light cruisers Jacob van Heemskerck and the Tromp.
Both where light cruisers (guns bigger than 5 inch) and both ended up with the British Eastern Fleet.
Here's already a link to where you can find more detaisl (ships => NL => Tromp)
http://www.world-war.co.uk/

 

yes that is true

 

I thought the Terrible twins were the Hr.Ms. Flores and Soemba?

 

actually i Know they are

http://www.netherlandsnavy.nl/Special_twins.htm

 

Yes, one of them was. The other served in the ETO.

The RNN Tromp was a light cruiser armed with three turrets equipped with dual 5.9 inch Krupp guns. She was the only Dutch warship to escape the battles of the NEI. She was referred to as "The Lucky Ship" by her crew and served with distinction in the Pacific, surviving the war.

Tim

 

Ome:

Yes, I saw an internet link that lists the sloops you mentioned as "The Terrible Twins." It may be in error.

The two I am referring to are heavily-armed light cruisers:
RNN Tromp
RNN Jacob Van Heemskerck--later modified into an AA-cruiser.

My source is WW2-a monthly publication of some years back.

Tim

 

Really they the Soemba and Flores were the terrible Twins never heard of any other ships refered to as Terible Twins!?

It had to do with their actions at the time of landings on sicily in 1943 going upwards till normandy.

Tromp's nickname (i know of) was Ghostship as it was supposedly sunken 5 times.

My main source is The Koninklijke Marine...

http://www.marine.nl/historie/geschiede ... index.html


http://www.eurosurf.com/RNNDD/RNNDD.5.html

 

Ome:
Well, at least two of us posters have.
Do you trust everything you read on the internet?
(big Smile)

I like to think it was the Tromp, and not some stinking "Sloops" fer Chris'sake.

Your sources against mine.
Step-off ten paces, turn and fire.
Last one standing is correct.
heh-heh.

Tim

 

sorry to hear of your death...

Problem is of the ones posted i'm the only Dutch one with sources....So i think i got the best cards here
Another problem with your twins altough from the same class they didn't operate together....Soemba and Flores did!

 

Good point Ome.

I'm loading my dueling pistol as we speak...
(big smile)
We have a real, original Dutch windmill in Holland, Michigan you know...
heh-heh

Tim

 

I think all of our windmills here are Dutch :lol:

 

Ome:
They've got 'yer tulips in Michigan too!

Actually, the article I'm quoting is from a monthly periodical titled World War II, July 1991 issue under the Armaments section. (page 8) The piece was written by Jon Guttman (sounds Dutch eh?) and is titled:
As the "Terrible Twins" two Dutch cruisers survived the war with proud battle stars.
and I quote:
"All in all, Tromp might have been described as a "pocket-cruiser, and the Dutch were sufficiently satisfied with her design to lay down a sistership, the Jacob van Heemskerck, immediately after Tromp was commisioned. The potent salvos they harbored soon earned the two vessels the nickname of "the Terrible Twins" in Dutch naval circles."


:bang:
havin' some fun now ain't we!?

Tim

 

From Schepen van de Koninklijke Marine in W.O. II by Chris Mark:

Niet voor niets kregen de beide Nederlandse kanonneerboten Hr. Ms. "FLORES" en "SOEMBA" van de geallieerden de gevleugelde bijnaam "The Terrible Twins".

 

1st Jon Guttman doesn't sound Dutch at all....
2nd problem is that the nickname Terrible Twins was given by the English...otherwise we would have said Verschrikkelijke Tweeling and i never heard of them being called that (sounds not really good for a beloved ship)
Another problem wat that the van Heemskerck wasn't really commisioned yet before our war started..
All sources i know of talk about the Soemba and Flores as terrible twins (look if even our official Royal Navy say it's them it must be true.....) all books i've read also say this and no website source talks about Tromp and van Heemskerck as terrible twins....

Also there is suposed to be book :

Hr.Ms. Flores en Soemba (The Terrible Twins) € 14,95

I'll try to get it if i'm lucky

http://gertjann.speed.planet.nl/pmt/news.php
http://www.dutchfleet.net/viewtopic.php ... 1accb8efbd

http://www.netherlandsnavy.nl/

 

"Terrible" and "terrific" are interesting words. Their definitions are both linked to the word "terror," but connotatively they have headed in opposite directions for some years now. As I recall, FDR's last words were, "I have a terrific headache." He was not expressing any admiration for his headache, I am sure.

 

What page is that on...i couldn't find it...im an owner of a copy!