BV 3-class patrol ship

HNLMS BV 3 was a Royal Netherlands Navy patrol boat. Originally laid down as the tugboat Amsterdam in 1938, she would soon after be commandeered and militarized. One of many militarized tugs, she was the only tug to be armed with a 12 cm (4.7 in) cannon.^[1][2][3] BV 3 was an acronym for Bewakingsvaartuig 3, Dutch for Guard vessel 3.

History
Netherlands
Name	BV 3
Builder	Jan Smit Czn., Alblasserdam
Laid down	1938
Launched	1938
Commissioned	August 1939
Decommissioned	1947
Renamed	Amsterdam (1938 + 1940-1947)
Fate	Sold to Union de Remorquage et de Sauvetage S.A., Antwerp in 1947
General characteristics
Type	Patrol tug
Displacement	368 t (362 long tons) standard
Length	42.57 m (139 ft 8 in)
Beam	8.63 m (28 ft 4 in)
Draught	4.57 m (15 ft 0 in)
Installed power	1,300 hp (970 kW)
Propulsion	1 x Triple expansion
Speed	14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Complement	15
Armament	1 × 12 cm (4.7 in) cannon 1 × 7.5 cm (3.0 in) cannon 2 x 12.7 mm (0.50 in) machine gun

Service history

BV 3 collided with the submarine HNLMS O 11 on 6 March 1940. Three crewmembers of the submarine were killed in the collision. Additionally, O 11 was still being repaired when the invasion of the Netherlands occurred. As a result, the crew of O 11 scuttled the submarine, but the wreck was captured by the Germans.^[4]

On 14 May 1940 HNLMS BV 3 escaped to England together with the torpedo boat HNLMS G 13. Once arrived, most of her weaponry was removed. The vessel was renamed Amsterdam and served out the remainder of the war as a tugboat in the Rescue Tug Section of the Royal Navy.

After the end of World War II, Amsterdam returned to the Netherlands and was eventually sold to Union de Remorquage et de Sauvetage S.A. of Antwerp, in 1947.