Government Navy
The Government Navy (Dutch: Gouvernements Marine or Gouvernementsmarine, GM) was a Dutch naval force in the former Dutch East Indies and Dutch New Guinea between 1861 and 1962. It succeeded the Civil Colonial Navy (Burgerlijke Koloniale Marine) of 1815 and existed alongside the Indies Military Navy (Indische Militaire Marine) until 1930, when the latter was disbanded and the Government Navy was militarized between 1939 and 1941.
| Government Navy | |
|---|---|
| Gouvernements Marine/Gouvernementsmarine | |
Government Navy paddle steamer Barito, 1894 | |
| Active | 22 August 1861–1 October 1962 |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Type | Navy |
| Size | ≈58 ships in 1940 |
| Part of | Ministry of the Colonies |
| Headquarters | Surabaya |
| Nickname(s) | "Van Heutsz's Navy" (c. 1900) |
| Engagements | Aceh War World War II Indonesian War of Independence Operation Trikora |
After the Pacific War and the Indonesian National Revolution that followed, the GM existed until the handover of Dutch New Guinea to the United Nations Temporary Executive Authority at the conclusion of the West New Guinea dispute between the Netherlands and Indonesia. Operating in a civil-administrative role alongside the Royal Netherlands Navy, the Government Navy had been primarily concerned with tasks such as policing and transport.