Template:Short description Template:Good article
Template:Infobox ship imageTemplate:Infobox ship class overviewTemplate:Infobox ship characteristicsThe Java class was a series of light cruisers operated by the Royal Netherlands Navy during the Interwar period and World War II. Designed to defend the Dutch East Indies against the Empire of Japan, the cruisers were designed in 1916 to be the best in the world. However, a series of issues due to World 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By the time the remaining two ships were launched in the mid 1920s, their design was outdated and little work was done to address the issue.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 during World War II. Template:HNLMS was in the Netherlands when the country was invaded 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 a breakwater off Normandy. Template:HNLMS was in the East Indies when the Pacific War began in 1941, and joined Allied efforts in attempting to repulse several Japanese invasions. During the Battle of the Java Sea, she was torpedoed and promptly sunk.
DesignEdit
DevelopmentEdit
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 expanding Japanese Empire and its significantly larger and more powerful navy. 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.Template:Sfn In 1914, the Navy planned for a large expansion of its fleets, concerned about Japanese naval expansion and the need to maintain Dutch neutrality during World War I. One major aspect of the plan was the Java-class cruiser, intended to outperform all comparable cruisers, especially those of Japan. The new Japanese Chikuma-class scout cruiserTemplate:En dashwith Template:Convert displacement, eight Template:Convert guns and a top speed of Template:ConvertTemplate:En dashwas used as a template for what the new design needed to surpass.Template:Sfn
The first two cruisers were ordered in 1915. However, Dutch naval architecture firms lacked experience with such ships. Instead, contracts for their design were offered to British and German companies. The contract was given to Germaniawerft who emphasized German technical assistance and German-made guns, turbines, and other equipment.Template:Sfn
CharacteristicsEdit
When the ships were designed in 1915, the Navy believed they were the most powerful and modern cruisers in the world. Armed with ten Bofors-built SK L/50 Template:Convert caliber guns in single mountsTemplate:En dashtwo on the bow, two on the stern, and three broadside guns on either sideTemplate:En dashthe ships were the most well-armed of their kind.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Anti-air weaponry consisted of two Template:Convert guns located below both masts, and four Template:Convert Vickers machine guns.Template:Sfn They had an overall length of Template:Convert, a beam of Template:Cvt, a draught of Template:Convert, displacement of Template:Convert and were Template:Cvt at full load.Template:Sfn
As designed, the ships were powered by three turbines supplied by eight boilers that provided Template:Convert through three propellers for a top speed of Template:Convert. Due to a bunkerage of 1,200 tons of oil, the ships had a cruising radius of Template:Convert at a cruising speed of Template:Convert. The waterline belt was Template:Convert thick for most of the ships' length, which tapered to Template:Convert towards the stern. The armored deck was Template:Convert, funnel uptakes Template:Convert, bulkheads Template:Convert, and the conning tower Template:Convert thick. The main guns were protected by gun shields which were Template:Convert at the thickest.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
Celebes, the third ship of the class, was intended to operate as the flagship of the East Indies Fleet and was about Template:Cvt longer and Template:Convert heavier than the rest of her class.Template:Sfn After she was canceled, CelebesTemplate:' role of flagship was filled with the commissioning of Template:HNLMS in 1936.Template:Sfn
ConstructionEdit
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Reliance on foreign expertise soon backfired as the German arms industry buckled and collapsed as a result of World War I and resulting political 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-started Celebes 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 into English Channel ferries. Ultimately, the Navy successfully argued that completing the ships would be more cost-effective than abandoning them, and progress resumed in 1920. Both ships were launched over the next year as parts were sourced from countries such as the United Kingdom and Sweden, although eight SK L/50 Template:Convert guns were found in a Krupp warehouse and were incorporated.Template:Sfn Construction was further delayed by a series of strikes, the newly introduced 8-hour work day, supply issues, and a fire that destroyed turbines intended for the future Sumatra. New turbines for the cruiser were sourced, allowing her to produce Template:Cvt.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
The significant delays of her construction saw the ships outdated by the time she entered service, primarily regarding their armament. By 1922, the Washington Naval Treaty created a new standard of cruiser equipped with Template:Convert 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 independent magazines in other navies.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
ModificationsEdit
Soon after the two ships entered service, they were fitted with two derricks and two floatplanes. Initially, the ships were equipped with the Fairey S.III, although it was fragile and replaced by the Fokker C.VII-w in 1927, itself later replaced by the Fokker C.XI-w in 1937.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn 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 twin [[Bofors 40 mm L/60 gun|Template:Convert Bofors guns]], while Java had two.Template:Sfn
ShipsEdit
| Name | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:HNLMS | Koninklijke Maatschappij de Schelde | 31 May 1916 | 9 August 1921 | 1 May 1925 | Sunk, 27 February 1942 |
| Template:HNLMS | Nederlandsche Scheepsbouw Maatschappij | 15 July 1916 | 29 December 1920 | 26 May 1926 | Scuttled, 9 June 1944 |
| Celebes | Wilton-Fijenoord | Template:N/a | Template:N/a | Template:N/a | Cancelled, 1919 |
Service historyEdit
JavaEdit
After she was commissioned, Java sailed to the East Indies and visited several cities throughout East Asia and Oceania. In 1937, she returned to Europe to escort convoys through the Strait of Gibraltar during the Spanish Civil War and underwent a refit in 1938. By 1939, she continued to escort convoys in Asia before she joined an Allied fleet and participated in several attempts to repulse Japanese invasions of the East Indies. After several failed attacks, the cruiser was torpedoed and sunk while attempting to prevent the invasion of Java during the Battle of the Java Sea.Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn
SumatraEdit
Sumatra likewise operated with Java in the East Indies. Upon JavaTemplate:'s return from her 1938 refit, Sumatra sailed to Europe where she also escorted convoys during the Spanish Civil War and served as a training ship. She was docked and awaited her own refit in May 1940 when Germany invaded the Netherlands. She then fled for the United Kingdom and was placed under the command of the British Royal Navy. The next month, she sailed for Canada to evacuate members of the Dutch Royal Family and later patrolled the Caribbean and mid-Atlantic for commerce 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 an artificial harbors after the Invasion of Normandy.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
CitationsEdit
SourcesEdit
Further readingEdit
External linksEdit
- Netherlandsnavy - Detailed breakdown of the class's equipment and ship histories
- Nationaal Archief - Original blueprints for both ships and related equipment
Template:Java class light cruiser Template:Royal Netherlands Navy cruisers Template:WWII Dutch ships