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Description

The Java was the first of the Java-class of light cruisers, she was a modern answer to numerous problems regarding the Dutch fleet in the East Indies. By then the task for the defence of the East Indies lies solely on the Pantserschips (coastal defence cruisers) however the dawn of the Dreadnought age have rendered them obsolete. Many plans were devised to keep the Dutch up and running in the naval armaments race, from Pantserschip 1912 to Slagschip 1913 but all that was rudely interrupted by the unimportant war next door. So in the middle of World War 1, the Dutch realising theyve spent the last several years arguing and discussing for nothing. So they decided to actually build something.
The Java-class was then finally designed, with 10 152mm guns in single mounts scattered all over the ship. No torpedoes as all good Dutch ships do. Construction started in 1915, with three units ordered. They were to be named Java, Sumatra, and Celebes. All named after islands in the Dutch East Indies. Due to the war next door acquiring sufficient materials became challenging and all three units was threatened to be scraped in the shipyard, however a compromise was found by simply discarding the Celebes and continue the construction of Java and Sumatra. The Great War significantly affected the speed of the construction and only by 1925 was the Java commissioned. When she was designed in 1915, she was the most state-of-the-art light cruiser there is, however by 1925, she was obsolete.
Java would serve in the Dutch East Indies for the majority of her career. Her sister, Sumatra, was incapable of accompanying her in the Dutch East Indies due to propulsion issues which persisted until the end of her service. By the outbreak of the war she conducted patrols intercepting any merchant convoy, but once Japan attacked she now joined allied convoys as escorts. When the penultimate battle on the 27th of February 1942 arrived, she was struck by a single torpedo from the Nagiri midship. She rapidly took on water, electricity immediately died, and 512 of her crew joined her as she sunk on a sea named after her namesake.

Description

The Java was the first of the Java-class of light cruisers, she was a modern answer to numerous problems regarding the Dutch fleet in the East Indies. By then the task for the defence of the East Indies lies solely on the Pantserschips (coastal defence cruisers) however the dawn of the Dreadnought age have rendered them obsolete. Many plans were devised to keep the Dutch up and running in the naval armaments race, from Pantserschip 1912 to Slagschip 1913 but all that was rudely interrupted by the unimportant war next door. So in the middle of World War 1, the Dutch realising theyve spent the last several years arguing and discussing for nothing. So they decided to actually build something.
The Java-class was then finally designed, with 10 152mm guns in single mounts scattered all over the ship. No torpedoes as all good Dutch ships do. Construction started in 1915, with three units ordered. They were to be named Java, Sumatra, and Celebes. All named after islands in the Dutch East Indies. Due to the war next door acquiring sufficient materials became challenging and all three units was threatened to be scraped in the shipyard, however a compromise was found by simply discarding the Celebes and continue the construction of Java and Sumatra. The Great War significantly affected the speed of the construction and only by 1925 was the Java commissioned. When she was designed in 1915, she was the most state-of-the-art light cruiser there is, however by 1925, she was obsolete.
Java would serve in the Dutch East Indies for the majority of her career. Her sister, Sumatra, was incapable of accompanying her in the Dutch East Indies due to propulsion issues which persisted until the end of her service. By the outbreak of the war she conducted patrols intercepting any merchant convoy, but once Japan attacked she now joined allied convoys as escorts. When the penultimate battle on the 27th of February 1942 arrived, she was struck by a single torpedo from the Nagiri midship. She rapidly took on water, electricity immediately died, and 512 of her crew joined her as she sunk on a sea named after her namesake.