Issue date: 28th April 2025
The unescorted 23,000 mile around the world voyage of The Dutch submarine Hr.Ms. K-XVIII created considerable interest worldwide. During its voyage visits were made to numerous Countries, including Madeira, São Vicente in Cape Verde, Dakar in Senegal, Pernambuco and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, Montevideo in Uruguay, Buenos Aires and Mar del Plata in Argentina, Cape Town and Durban in South Africa, Port Louis in Mauritius, and Fremantle in Australia as well as to Tristan da Cunha.
This long and challenging journey was also an important one. The submarine was carrying a team of scientists, headed by Prof. Vening Meinesz, who were conducting gravity measurements that helped our understanding of the Earth's crust and mantle.
The vessel's visit to the island of Tristan da Cunha in March 1935 was especially interesting as it gave the world a rare glimpse of one of the world's most isolated inhabited islands.
K-XVIII was part of the K XIV-class submarines, designed for operations in the Dutch East Indies during the interwar period. The "K" in its name stands for "Koloniën" (Colonies), indicating that its primary role was for defending the Netherlands' vast colonial territories. In the context of a Dutch submarine, "Hr.Mr." refers to "Her Majesty" in Dutch, part of the ship prefix used for vessels of the Royal Netherlands Navy when the reigning monarch is a queen. The Dutch monarch in 1933 was Queen Wilhelmina who reigned from 1890 to 1948, making her the longest-serving Dutch monarch in history, part of which was spent in London leading a government in exile during WWII.
The vessel was specifically designed for long-range patrols and reconnaissance missions in the tropical waters of the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Indonesia). The overall mission was to highlight the Dutch Navy's global reach during peacetime. The stop-over at Tristan was primarily to conduct surveys of the isolated island, to offer assistance to the island's small population (around 200 at the time) and to strengthen diplomatic and naval connections. During the visit, the crew provided essential medical supplies and aid to the islanders, whose only contact with the outside world was with occasional visiting ships.
The voyage was documented and shared with the Dutch public, highlighting the strategic and humanitarian missions of the Dutch Navy. The footage taken during this visit was used in the Polygoon film-documentary "20,000 Miles Across the Sea", bringing Tristan da Cunha's existence to the attention of audiences in the Netherlands.
A small booklet telling the story of the voyage, shown on the FDC, was released to accompany the Polygoon film adding to the interest. Lt. Wytema of the ship's crew thought that Dutch clogs would be better for the islanders' health than their usual moccasin footwear (worn wet). Consequently, an appeal by Tristan historian Jan Brander in the Netherlands resulted in over 750 pairs of clogs being sent to Tristan - the first 273 pairs went on the Cape Pilar in 1937, and the rest on HMS Milford in 1938. They were floated ashore (see right). They turned out not to be ideal for wearing on Tristan's rocky shores, but it is said they kept the islanders in firewood for six months! A pair of clogs, remembering this amazing act of kindness, is on display in the island's museum.
Many items of mail were carried aboard the K-XVIII and these are still greatly sought after by philatelists. Some of these items appear on the souvenir sheet.
In 1942 K-XVIII encountered and potentially ambushed elements of the Japanese invasion fleet. While it's not definitively known if it was the specific fleet that had attacked Pearl Harbor, K-XVIII engaged Japanese ships near Balikpapan in January 1942 and was ordered to patrol areas where Japanese forces were expected to be operating. In March 1942, while under repair, she was scuttled at Surabaya to avoid capture by the Japanese.
We acknowledge with thanks the help of Ray Lloyd.
Technical details:
Design Andrew Robinson
Printer Cartor
Process Stochastic lithography
Perforation 13 ¼ x 13 per 2cms
Souvenir Sheet size 100 x 70mm
Stamp size 48 x 29mm
Release date 28 April, 2025
Production Co-ordination Creative Direction (Worldwide) Ltd