The Jan van Amstel-class ships were 55.8m (183.1feet) long, with a beam of 7.8m (25.6feet) and a draught of 2.2m (07.2feet) at deep load. They displaced was 450LT at normal load, which increased to 585LT at deep load. A pair of Yarrow boilers fed steam to two triple-expansion steam engines that each drove a single propeller shaft. The engines were rated at 1690ihp which gave the ships a speed of . They carried up to of fuel oil and had a complement of 45 officers and ratings.[1]
Willem van Ewijck was sunk on 8 September 1939 after hitting a mine off Terschelling. The ship was assisting in minelaying and hit a dutch mine while doing so. Thirty-three of the crew were killed.[2]