War at Sea
Allied Nations
- Australia
- Brazil
- Canada
- France
- Greece
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Poland
- Soviet Union
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Allies stat table
Axis Nations
Neutral Nations/Installations
Sets
- War At Sea
- Task Force
- Flank Speed
- New Starter
- Condition Zebra
- Set V (Fleet Command)
- Surface action
- First Strike (Forumini Expansion Deck A)
- Infamy (Forumini Expansion Deck B)
- Battle Line (Forumini Expansion Deck C)
- All Hands on Deck (Forumini D)
- Action Stations (Forumini E)
- Dead Reckoning (Forumini F)
Unit Card:
Set - Rarity - Number
War At Sea - Common - 7/60
History:
Shortly after the German invasion of the Netherlands, a Dutch-build Admiralen class destroyer named Van Galen succumbed to the bombs of German Stuka dive-bombers. After loosing their homeland to Germany, their most important colonies to Japan, and much of their navy, surviving Dutch sailors served their government in exile from British ports. Numerous ships of British and American construction were transferred to the Royal Netherlands Navy to be crewed by the plucky Dutch refugees. Among them was the destroyer HMS Noble, renamed Van Galen in Dutch service. Van Galen was among the twenty-eight destroyers of the J,K and N classes, and a sister to HMS Javelin. This class of destroyer followed the Tribal class, replacing some of the Tribals' guns with a second bank of torpedoes. Entering service in 1942, the new Van Galen survived the war, and though she rendered valuable service, she was probably chosen for inclusion in WAS because a mold for her class already existed rather than because of her service record. From a historical standpoint, one of the Admiralen class probably would have been a more interesting choice.
Reviews:
swarbs:
Van Galen is a generally unremarkable destroyer. Her stats in each area are high enough to be useful, and her Close Escort SA is nice too. Considering the lack of a Dutch fighter, putting three ships in a sector with Close Escort is a good idea in a pure Dutch fleet if anyone ever dares to play one. A good torpedo armament means that packing a Van Galen into a sector with two other destroyers in a surface ship swarm could also be a useful tactic. In all, though, Van Galen doesn't seem so cost effective when compared to some of the other allied destroyers, particularly the cheaper Fletcher, or either of the Tribals when building an unlimited Allied fleet.
Plastic Figure Notes:
