 Java soon after her commissioning, evident with her tall, slender, masts | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Java class |
| Builders | |
| Operators |  Royal Netherlands Navy |
| Preceded by | Holland class |
| Succeeded by | De Ruyter |
| Built | 1916–1926 |
| In commission | 1925–1944 |
| Planned | 3 |
| Completed | 2 |
| Cancelled | 1 |
| Lost | 2 |
| General characteristics as built | |
| Type | Light cruiser |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 155.3 m (509 ft 6 in)oa |
| Beam | 16 m (52 ft 6 in) |
| Draught | 6.1 m (20 ft) |
| Installed power | 8boilers 73,000 shp (54,000 kW) (Java) 82,000 shp (61,000 kW) (Sumatra) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 31knots (57 km/h; 36 mph) |
| Range | 3,600 nmi (6,700 km; 4,100 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Complement | 525 |
| Armament |
|
| Armour |
|
| Aircraft carried | 2 ×floatplanes |
TheJava class was a series oflight cruisers operated by theRoyal Netherlands Navy during theinterwar period and World War II. Designed to defend theDutch East Indies against theEmpire of Japan, the cruisers were designed in 1916 to be the best in the world. However, a series of issues due toWorld War I, supply chain issues,worker strikes, instability in Germany, and a change in national policy delayed the ships for more than a decade. Of the three ships planned, one was canceled during a construction pause.
By the time the remaining two ships were launched in the mid 1920s, their design was outdated and little work was done to address the issue. Both ships saw action duringWorld War II.HNLMS Sumatra was in the Netherlands when the country wasinvaded by Germany in 1940, and the cruiser fled to the United Kingdom. Under British control, she sailed around the world, was disarmed, and sunk as abreakwater offNormandy.HNLMS Java was in the East Indies when thePacific War began in 1941, and joinedAllied efforts in attempting to repulse several Japanese invasions. During theBattle of the Java Sea, she wastorpedoed and promptly sunk.
During the early 20th century, the primary purpose of the Royal Netherlands Navy was the protection of the oil-rich and economically vital Dutch East Indies. The largest threat was from the rapidly expandingJapanese Empire and its significantly larger and more powerfulnavy. Unable and unwilling to build a comparable force, the Netherlands focused on maintaining a small but high-quality fleet designed to delay any invasions until reinforcements from other European powers with similarly threatened colonies could arrive.[1] In 1914, the Navy planned for a large expansion of its fleets, concerned about Japanese naval expansion and the need to maintainDutch neutrality during World War I. One major aspect of the plan was theJava-class cruiser, intended to outperform all comparable cruisers, especially those of Japan. The new JapaneseChikuma-class scout cruiser–with 5,000 long tons (5,080 t)displacement, eight 15 cm (5.9 in) guns and a top speed of 26knots (48 km/h; 30 mph)–was used as a template for what the new design needed to surpass.[2]
The first two cruisers were ordered in 1915. However, Dutchnaval architecture firms lacked experience with such ships. Instead, contracts for their design were offered to British and German companies. The contract was given toGermaniawerft who emphasized German technical assistance and German-made guns,turbines, and other equipment.[3]
When the ships were designed in 1915, the Navy believed they were the most powerful and modern cruisers in the world. Armed with tenBofors-built SK L/50 15 cm (5.9 in)caliber guns in single mounts–two on the bow, two on the stern, and threebroadside guns on either side–the ships were the most well-armed of their kind.[4][5] Anti-air weaponry consisted of two 7.5 cm (3 in) guns located below both masts, and four 12.7 mm (0.50 in)Vickers machine guns.[6] They had anoverall length of 155.3 metres (509 ft 6 in), abeam of 16 m (52 ft 6 in), adraught of 6.1 metres (20 ft), displacement of 6,776tonnes (6,669long tons) and were 8,339 t (8,207 long tons) at full load.[5]
As designed, the ships were powered by three turbines supplied by eight boilers that provided 73,000shaft horsepower (54,000kilowatts) through threepropellers for a top speed of 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph). Due to a bunkerage of 1,200 tons of oil, the ships had a cruising radius of 3,600nautical miles (6,700 km; 4,100 mi) at a cruising speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph). The waterline belt was 7.5 cm (3 in) thick for most of the ships' length, which tapered to 5.0 cm (2 in) towards the stern. The armored deck was 2.5–5.0 cm (0.98–1.97 in),funnel uptakes 5.0 cm (2 in),bulkheads 60 mm (2.4 in), and theconning tower 12.5 cm (4.9 in) thick. The main guns were protected bygun shields which were 10.0 cm (3.9 in) at the thickest.[6][5]
Celebes, the third ship of the class, was intended to operate as the flagship of the East Indies Fleet and was about 3 m (9 ft 10 in) longer and 155 tonnes (153 long tons) heavier than the rest of her class.[5] After she was canceled,Celebes' role of flagship was filled with the commissioning ofDe Ruyter in 1936.[7]
_Oplegperiode_tijdens_WOII_in_Portsrmouth%2c_UK._Oefeningen_15_cm-_geschut_(2158_011547).jpg)
Reliance on foreign expertise soon backfired as the German arms industry buckled and collapsed as a result of World War I and resultingpolitical unrest throughout Germany. Construction stalled as materials were delayed and some parts never arrived at all. After the war, the Dutch government questioned the need to build new, expensive, warships. As a result, the newly-startedCelebes was canceled and work on the other two ships was suspended. During the pause, the government explored alternative uses for the cruisers, including a proposal to convert them intoEnglish Channelferries. Ultimately, the Navy successfully argued that completing the ships would be morecost-effective than abandoning them, and progress resumed in 1920. Both ships werelaunched over the next year as parts were sourced from countries such as the United Kingdom and Sweden, although eight SK L/50 15 cm (5.9 in) guns were found in aKrupp warehouse and were incorporated.[4] Construction was further delayed by a series ofstrikes, the newly introduced 8-hour work day, supply issues, and a fire that destroyed turbines intended for the futureSumatra. New turbines for the cruiser were sourced, allowing her to produce 82,000 shp (61,000 kW).[8][6]
The significant delays of her construction saw the ships outdated by the time she entered service, primarily regarding their armament. By 1922, theWashington Naval Treaty created anew standard of cruiser equipped with 203 mm (8 in) guns, which Japan heavily invested in. In addition, the single-barrel weapons protected only by gun-shields had already been replaced by enclosed, multi-gun turrets fed by independentmagazines in other navies.[9][6]
Soon after the two ships entered service, they were fitted with twoderricks and twofloatplanes. Initially, the ships were equipped with theFairey S.III, although it was fragile and replaced by theFokker C.VII-w in 1927, itself later replaced by theFokker C.XI-w in 1937.[5][6] During the mid 1930s, the ships were refitted: the forward mast was rebuilt and shortened, and the anti-air weapons was expanded.Sumatra received three twin4 cm (1.6 in) Bofors guns, whileJava had two.[5]
| Name | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Java | Koninklijke Maatschappij de Schelde | 31 May 1916 | 9 August 1921 | 1 May 1925 | Sunk, 27 February 1942 |
| Sumatra | Nederlandsche Scheepsbouw Maatschappij | 15 July 1916 | 29 December 1920 | 26 May 1926 | Scuttled, 9 June 1944 |
| Celebes | Wilton-Fijenoord | — | — | — | Cancelled, 1919 |
After she was commissioned,Java sailed to the East Indies and visited several cities throughoutEast Asia andOceania. In 1937, she returned to Europe to escort convoys through theStrait of Gibraltar during theSpanish Civil War and underwent a refit in 1938. By 1939, she continued to escort convoys in Asia before she joined anAllied fleet and participated in several attempts to repulseJapanese invasions of the East Indies. After several failed attacks, the cruiser wastorpedoed and sunk while attempting to prevent theinvasion of Java during theBattle of the Java Sea.[10] Her outdated design proved fatal as she lacked modern protections and redundancies. She was struck by a Japanese torpedo on her stern, which caused her aft magazine to detonate. The resulting explosion ripped apart the ship, and she sank in about 15 minutes with most of her crew.[11]
Sumatra likewise operated withJava in the East Indies. UponJava's return from her 1938 refit,Sumatra sailed to Europe where she also escorted convoys during the Spanish Civil War and served as atraining ship. She was docked and awaited her own refit in May 1940 whenGermany invaded the Netherlands. She then fled for the United Kingdom and was placed under the command of theBritish Royal Navy. The next month, she sailed for Canada to evacuate members of theDutch Royal Family and later patrolled theCaribbean andmid-Atlantic forcommerce raiding. Later that year, she returned to the East Indies, was retrofitted, and had her crew reassigned to other vessels. After war was declared against Japan, the cruiser fled Asia with only a portion of her crew and machinery online. She sailed around the world and arrived back to the United Kingdom. The Royal Navy viewed her as obsolete, and had her disarmed to replace worn-out weapons on other Dutch vessels and later had her sunk as a breakwater during the construction of anartificial harbor after theInvasion of Normandy.[12][13]
