Orion was ordered in 1911 at the Marine Etablissement te Soerabaja in the Dutch East Indies.[5] The ship was launched on 9 March 1912 and commissioned into the Dienst der bebakening en kustverlichting on 1 August 1912.[2][7] The Dutch engineer R.G. Leegstra was responsible for the design of Orion.[5][8] The cost of building Orion was estimated at 271.700 Dutch guilders.[2]
Orion was frequently repaired throughout its career because of various defects.[9]
Service history
In 1916 Orion was used to experiment with a different type of coal by testing if it could be used to power steamboilers.[10][11]
Government Navy
On 1 October 1920 Orion was taken out of service of the Dienst der bebakening en kustverlichting and rebuild at the Marine Etablissement te Soerabaja.[6] After being rebuild the ship was transferred to the Government Navy and stationed in 1921 at Tandjong Priok.[6]
In 1924 two ship's boats of the Orion collapsed near Koeaia Peudada.[12]
In 1926 Orion was extensively repaired at the Droogdok Maatschappij Tandjong Priok.[9][13]
In December 1929 Orion searched in the Java Sea for a reef that had been spotted a month earlier by a captain of the KPM.[14] During the search the ship was joined by two Dornier Do J Walflying boats.[15]
Mark, Chris (1997). Schepen van de Koninklijke Marine in W.O. II (in Dutch). Alkmaar: De Alk. ISBN90-6013-522-9.
von Münching, L.L. (1978). Schepen van de Koninklijke Marine in de Tweede Wereldoorlog (in Dutch). Alkmaar: Alk. ISBN90-6013-903-8.
Backer Dirks, F.C. (1986). De Gouvernements marine in het voormalige Nederlands-Indië in haar verschillende tijdsperioden geschetst: 1861-1949 (in Dutch). Vol. II. Weesp: De Boer Maritiem. ISBN90-228-1883-7.
Backer Dirks, F.C. (1986). De Gouvernements marine in het voormalige Nederlands-Indië in haar verschillende tijdsperioden geschetst: 1861-1949 (in Dutch). Vol. III. Houten: De Boer Maritiem. ISBN90-228-1884-5.