Lex van Eck

This painting shows a rendezvous between the Seahawk 6-61 and the cruiser "Hr. Ms. De Zeven Provinciën" of the Royal Navy.

The Naval Aviation Service used 22 Seahawks of the FGA50 type from 1956 to 1964. The aircraft were assigned to the Squadrons 3 and 860, under numbers 6-50 to 6-71, later renumbered to 111 to 131. Both squadrons rotated between Valkenburg airbase and aircraft carrier “Hr. Ms. Karel Doorman”. It was the only operational jet fighter in operation with the Royal Navy.

The “Hr. Ms. De Zeven Provinciën” was a Dutch light cruiser of the Zeven Provinciën class. Together with its sister ship “Hr. Ms. De Ruyter”, the ships were planned before the Second World War started. It was not until December 17, 1953 that “Hr. Ms. De Zeven Provinciën” was taken into service. It was the last cruiser to serve in the Dutch navy and she was retired in 1975.