| Navy | The Royal Dutch Navy |
| Type | Submarine |
| Class | O 19 |
| Pennant | |
| Built by | Wilton-Feijenoord (Schiedam, Holland) |
| Ordered | |
| Laid down | 15 Jun 1936 |
| Launched | 31 Jan 1939 |
| Commissioned | 28 Aug 1939 |
| Lost | 19 Dec 1941 |
| History | HrMs O 20 (Lt.Cdr. Pieter Gerardus Johan Snippe, RNN) was scuttled by her own crew, about 25 miles east of Kota Baru, to prevent her capture by Japanese destroyers. The Commanding Officer and 6 others died, the remainder of the crew were saved by the Japanese destroyer Uranami and made prisoners of war. She had been damaged by depth charges from the Japanese destroyers Ayanami and Yugiri (both offsite links) earlier that day. O 20 then surfaced after dark but was spotted and engaged with gunfire by Uranami (All links are offsite links). |
| Former name | K XX |
Commands listed for HNMS O 20
Please note that we're still working on this section
and that we only list Commanding Officers for the duration of the Second World War.
| Commander | From | To | |
| 1 | luitenant ter zee 1e klasse (Lt.Cdr.) Antonie Jacobus Bussemaker, RNN | 28 Aug 1939 | 9 Nov 1940 |
| 2 | luitenant ter zee 1e klasse (Lt.Cdr.) Frederik Johan Adolf Knoops, RNN | 9 Nov 1940 | 1 May 1941 |
| 3 | luitenant ter zee 1e klasse (Lt.Cdr.) Pieter Gerardus Johan Snippe, RNN | 1 May 1941 | 19 Dec 1941 (+) |
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Notable events involving O 20 include:
This page was last updated in July 2016.
2 Oct 1939
HrMs O 20 (Lt.Cdr. A.J. Bussemaker, RNN) and HrMs O 15 (Lt. H.M.L.F.E. van Oostrom Soede, RNN) departed Den Helder, Netherlands for the Dutch West Indies. They were escorted by the gunboat HrMs Van Kinsbergen (Cdr. J.L.K. Hoeke, RNN).
14 Oct 1939
HrMs O 20 (Lt.Cdr. A.J. Bussemaker, RNN) and HrMs O 15 (Lt. H.M.L.F.E. van Oostrom Soede, RNN) and their escort HrMs Van Kinsbergen (Cdr. J.L.K. Hoeke, RNN) arrived at Ponta Delgada, Azores.
18 Oct 1939
HrMs O 20 (Lt.Cdr. A.J. Bussemaker, RNN) and HrMs O 15 (Lt. H.M.L.F.E. van Oostrom Soede, RNN) and their escort HrMs Van Kinsbergen (Cdr. J.L.K. Hoeke, RNN) departed Ponta Delgada, Azores to continue their passage to the Dutch West Indies (Curacao).
31 Oct 1939
HrMs O 20 (Lt.Cdr. A.J. Bussemaker, RNN) and HrMs O 15 (Lt. H.M.L.F.E. van Oostrom Soede, RNN) and their escort HrMs Van Kinsbergen (Cdr. J.L.K. Hoeke, RNN) arrived at Willemstad, Curacao, Dutch West Indies.
2 Nov 1939
HrMs O 20 (Lt.Cdr. A.J. Bussemaker, RNN) departed Curacao for the Dutch East Indies, via Honolulu, Hawai.
2 Dec 1939
HrMs O 20 (Lt.Cdr. A.J. Bussemaker, RNN) departed Honolulu, Hawai for the Dutch East Indies.
19 Dec 1939
HrMs O 20 (Lt.Cdr. A.J. Bussemaker, RNN) arrived at Ambon, Netherlands East Indies.
23 Dec 1939
HrMs O 20 (Lt.Cdr. A.J. Bussemaker, RNN) arrived at Surabaya, Java, Netherlands East Indies.
7 Dec 1941
Before the war with Japan started the submarines of the 4th submarine division, HrMs O 19 (Lt.Cdr. F.J.A. Knoops, RNN) and HrMs O 20 (Lt.Cdr. P.G.J. Snippe, RNN), were ordered to patrol in the eastern part of the Java Sea.
8 Dec 1941
The submarines of the 4th submarine division, HrMs O 19 (Lt.Cdr. F.J.A. Knoops, RNN) and HrMs O 20 (Lt.Cdr. P.G.J. Snippe, RNN), were ordered to patrol off Strait Karimata.
11 Dec 1941
The submarines of the 4th submarine division, HrMs O 19 (Lt.Cdr. F.J.A. Knoops, RNN) and HrMs O 20 (Lt.Cdr. P.G.J. Snippe, RNN), were ordered to patrol to the north of Strait Karimata.
12 Dec 1941
The submarines of the 4th submarine division, HrMs O 19 (Lt.Cdr. F.J.A. Knoops, RNN) and HrMs O 20 (Lt.Cdr. P.G.J. Snippe, RNN), were placed under the command of the British Commander in Chief Eastern Fleet. The boats were ordered to proceed to Singapore.
13 Dec 1941
The submarines of the 4th submarine division, HrMs O 19 (Lt.Cdr. F.J.A. Knoops, RNN) and HrMs O 20 (Lt.Cdr. P.G.J. Snippe, RNN), both arrived at Singapore. (1)
14 Dec 1941
The submarines of the 4th submarine division, HrMs O 19 (Lt.Cdr. F.J.A. Knoops, RNN) and HrMs O 20 (Lt.Cdr. P.G.J. Snippe, RNN), both departed Singapore for their 1st war patrols. They were ordered to patrol off the west coast of Malaya.
Sources
- De Nederlandse onderzeedienst in de Tweede Wereldoorlog (The Dutch submarine service during the Second World War), by Gerard Horneman (ISBN 9789059119574)