HNLMS K XVI

HNLMS K XVI was one of five K XIV-class submarines built for the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNN). Entering service in 1934, the submarine was deployed to the Netherlands East Indies. On 24 December 1941, K XVI torpedoed and sank the Sagiri; the first Allied submarine to sink a Japanese warship. A day later, the Dutch submarine was torpedoed by the Japanese submarine I-66 (later renumbered to be I-166) off Borneo, with all aboard killed. The wreck of K XVI was rediscovered in October 2011 by a group of recreational divers and has since been illegally salvaged.

HNLMS K XVI in the Dutch East Indies, circa 1939, shortly before the outbreak of World War II.
History
Netherlands
Name	HNLMS K XVI
Ordered	30 May 1929
Awarded	31 May 1930
Builder	Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij
Yard number	RDM-169[1]
Laid down	8 April 1933
Commissioned	31 January 1934
Fate	Sunk on 25 December 1941
General characteristics
Class & type	K XIV-class submarine
Displacement	865 tons surfaced 1045 tons submerged
Length	73.64 m (241 ft 7 in)
Beam	6.51 m (21 ft 4 in)
Draught	3.93 m (12 ft 11 in)
Propulsion	2 × 1,600 bhp (1,193 kW) diesel engines 2 × 430 bhp (321 kW) electric motors
Speed	17 kn (31 km/h; 20 mph) surfaced 9 kn (17 km/h; 10 mph) submerged
Range	10,000 nmi (19,000 km; 12,000 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) on the surface 26 nmi (48 km; 30 mi) at 8.5 kn (15.7 km/h; 9.8 mph) submerged
Complement	38
Armament	4 × 21 inch bow torpedo tubes 2 × 21 inch stern torpedo tubes 2 × 21 inch external-traversing torpedo tubes forward of the conning tower 1 x 88 mm gun 2 x 40 mm guns

Construction

K XVI was ordered from Rotterdam-based shipbuilder Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij on 30 May 1929, and was laid down on 31 May 1930.^[2] The submarine was launched on 8 April 1933, and commissioned into the RNN on 31 January 1934.^[2]

Operational history

In January 1935, the boat was deployed to the Netherlands East Indies.^[2] She remained in this area after the start of World War II.^[2]

On 24 December 1941, approximately 35 nautical miles (65 km; 40 mi) off Kuching at 02°30′N 109°50′E, the submarine torpedoed and sank the Sagiri.^[3][4][5] The destroyer's aft magazine caught fire and exploded, sinking the ship with 121 of the 241 personnel aboard killed.^[4][5] Later that evening, the submarine attempted to attack the destroyer Murakumo, but was fended off by depth charges.^[2]

K XVI was torpedoed by the I-66 a day later, and sank with all 36 aboard.^[2][3] The boat was one of seven Dutch submarines lost during World War II.^[3]

On 25 October 2011, the Dutch Ministry of Defence announced that the wreck of K XVI had been found by Australian and Singaporean recreational divers off the northern coast of Borneo.^[3] In July 2024 it was reported that the wreck of K XVI had been illegally salvaged.^[6][7]