Battle of the Java Sea - Dutch

In this, the second article on assembling models to refight the Battle of the Java Sea, I take a short look at the Dutch vessels involved. If you haven't read part one, which covers the Japanese, you can find it here. As background the Allies comprising American, British, Dutch and Australian forces defending the area from Malaya to the Dutch East Indies from late December 1941 to late February 1942 was known as ABDA Command. With the fall of Singapore the command increasingly broke down and command shifted to local commanders. However, the loss of the joint naval task force under the Dutch commander, Rear-Admiral Doorman, soon after the Battle of the Java Sea resulted in further collapse.

As before I am assembling the models in 1/3000th scale all of which are from the extensive Navwar range.

The obvious place to start is of course the flagship of Rear-Admiral Doorman, HNLMS De Ruyter. Designed during the Great Depression her design changed several times. She was officially called a flotilla leader instead of a cruiser, and every effort was made to cut costs. Yet her role required to provide support for the to Java class cruisers in the Dutch East Indies. Specifically, with three cruisers in the Dutch East Indies any one could be under repair while the other two were available for service. She was laid down in 1933 and commissioned in October 1936.

De Ruyter at anchor, shortly before her loss in the Battle of the Java Sea

Her main battery comprised seven 5.9" guns, compared to eight 6"guns of the British Leander class. Interestingly there was some debate about her even having seven guns as one design was based on her just six guns. There were three guns forward, with one being a single mount superfiring over a twin mount. She carried no long range anti-aircraft instead relying on ten 40mm guns and a number of machine guns. She had no torpedo armament. She did however have two Fokker C.XI-W seaplanes, visible in the photo above.

Here, De Ruyter in 1/3000th scale. I have completed her in the historical camouflage scheme used during the battle. You will also be able to see one of the seaplanes behind her funnel. Remember at 1/3000th scale these models are rather small.

During the early months of the war in the Pacific De Ruyter saw repeated action in the Dutch East Indies in attempts to disrupt the Japanese invasions. She was lightly damaged by air attack in the Battle of Makassar Strait on 4 February 1942. She then fought in the Battle of Badung Strait on 19th to 20th February. At the Battle of the Java Sea De Ruyter was hit by a single Type 93 torpedo fired by the Japanese heavy cruiser Haguro around 23:40 and set on fire. The torpedo disabled the ship's electrical systems and left the crew unable to combat the fire or the flooding. She sank less than three hours later.

The second Dutch light cruiser at the Battle of Java Sea was HNLMS Java. She was one of two Java class light cruisers, the other being HNLMS Sumatra. Her construction began in 1916 but she was not commissioned until 1925. 

HNLMS Java in the Dutch East Indies, date unknown

Java's main armament comprised ten 5.9" guns in single mounts, each with a forward facing gun shield. This design was a legacy of her World War I design and was, by 1941, outdated. Two mounts were placed fore and aft along the centreline with guns "No.2" and "No.9" superfiring. The other six mounts were placed abeam, three to each side of the superstructure. As a result of the layout Java's broadside consisted of seven guns. Her anti-aircraft armament consisted eight 40mm guns for anti-aircraft and several machine guns. She was also equipped with floatplanes, one of which is shown in the following photo between her funnels. The photo below shows more clearly some of her gun layout.

Java in 1935 in the Dutch East Indies

Below, HNLMS Java in 1/3000th scale. Close inspection of the model will show her main armament of ten 5.9" guns. Again I have tried to replicate her colour scheme in 1942.

During the evening phase of that battle she was struck by a Long Lance torpedo fired from the Japanese cruiser Nachi. The torpedo detonated an aft magazine and blew the stern off the ship, causing flooding in the aft engine room and setting fire to the anti-aircraft deck. As the ship took on a heavy list to port, the flooding caused the electrical equipment to shut down. The crew abandoned ship and the Java sank about fifteen minutes after being struck by the torpedo.

Now, while the Dutch had a number of ships available in theatre only two more were engaged at the Battle of the Java Sea. Specifically, two Dutch destroyers. 

These were HNLMS Kortenaer and HNLMS Witte de With. Both were from the Admiralen class of eight destroyers, seven of which fought in the Dutch East Indies. This class was based on the British destroyer HMS Ambuscade with Kortenaer being commissioned in 1928 and Witte de With in 1930. Each was armed with four 4.7" guns and six 21" torpedoes in two triple launchers. This armament was supplemented by a mixture of 3" or 40mm anti-aircraft guns and machine guns depending on the destroyer. An interesting feature of the ships was the provision of a seaplane for scouting. With no catapult, the plane was lowered into the sea by a crane.

At the Battle of the Java Sea Kortenaer was torpedoed at 17:14 by the Japanese cruiser Haguro. Witte de With survived the battle but was attacked and damaged by Japanese planes on 1st March 1942 and was scuttled the next day.

Below, the all four of the Dutch vessels seemingly under attack, though admittedly staged.

In the third article of the series I will look at the British and Australian vessels which will be attempting to disrupt the Japanese invasion force.



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