Dutch Onderzeeboot Hr.Ms. K XI at Satonda, Nederlands-Indië, March 1931. She was the class leader of a trio of 218-foot 800-ton “colonial” submarines of the Royal Netherlands Navy, so-called as they were based out of Soerabaja on Java. (NIMH 2158_007091)
Western Australia-based non-profit WreckSploration reports having recently discovered the final resting place of the WWII-era Dutch submarine Hr.Ms K XI (N 53) off the coast of Rottnest Island.
Launched in April 1924, HNLMS K XI served in the Dutch East Indies during WWII, patrolling the waters of what is now Indonesia from its base in Surabaya.
In 1942, the submarine played a heroic role, rescuing 18 survivors of the lost sloop HMAS Yarra (U77), the British depot ship HMS Anking, and the KPM steamer Parigi after they were sunk by an overwhelming Japanese force.
In all, she completed seven war patrols in the Pacific and, perhaps more importantly, spent months working out of Bombay and Colombo as a “tame submarine” for Allied ASW forces to hone their skill on.
After being decommissioned in Fremantle in 1945, K XI was scuttled in 1946, its final resting place lost to time – until now.
