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'''HNLMS ''Java''''' was the lead ship of the [[Java-class cruiser|''Java''-class]] [[Light cruiser|light cruisers]] operated by the [[Royal Netherlands Navy]]. She was designed to defend the [[Dutch East Indies]] and outperform all potential rivals. She was laid down in 1916, but a series of construction delays prevented her from being completed until 1925. By the time she entered service, her design was already dated. Over the next several years, she operated in the [[Indonesian archipelago]] and protected [[Merchant ship|merchant ships]] during the [[Spanish Civil War]].
During World War II, == Design ==
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== Construction ==
[[File:Kruiser Hr.Ms. Sumatra (1926-1942) Oplegperiode tijdens WOII in Portsrmouth, UK. Oefeningen 15 cm- geschut (2158 011547).jpg|thumb|''Java'''s single-barrel open turrets were already obsolete by the time she entered service (image from sister ship ''Sumatra'').]]
Dutch [[Naval architecture|naval architects]] had no experience with a ship such as ''Java'', so design work and construction of various components was done by German firms such as [[Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft|Germaniawerft]] and [[Krupp]]. On 15 November 1915, she was ordered from the [[NV Koninklijke Maatschappij De Schelde|N.V. Koninklijke Maatschappij De Schelde]] shipyard in [[Vlissingen]] and laid down on 31 May 1916.<ref name=":02" />{{Rp|pages=|page=8}} The reliance on German expertise soon backfired as [[World War I]] and the [[Treaty of Versailles]] crippled the German arms industry, which
The significant delays of her construction saw the ship outdated by the time she entered service, primarily regarding her armament. By 1922, the [[Washington Naval Treaty]] created a [[Heavy cruiser#Washington Treaty|new standard of cruiser]] equipped with {{Convert|203|mm|in|abbr=on}} guns, which Japan heavily invested in. In addition, the single-barrel turrets protected by [[Gun shield|gun shields]] used on ''Java'' had already been replaced by enclosed, multi-gun turrets fed by independent [[Magazine (artillery)#Naval magazines|magazines]] in other navies.<ref name=":74" />{{Rp|page=138|pages=}}<ref name=":02" />{{Rp|page=10}}
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[[File:H.M. Java 1935-5 in Nederlands Indië.jpg|thumb|''Java'' after her 1937 refit. Note her shorter and thicker mast. ]]
=== Peace time ===
After she entered service, ''Java'' sailed to [[Sweden]] and [[Norway]] before she left for the Dutch East Indies. She was soon fitted with [[Derrick|derricks]] to support two planes. The first aircraft she was fitted with was the [[Fairey IIID#IIID|Fairey IIID]], although they were fragile and replaced by the [[Fokker C.VII-W]] floatplane in 1926. For the next several years, she operated in the [[Indonesian archipelago|Indonesian Archipelago]] and visited numerous cities throughout [[Asia]] and [[Oceania]]. In 1937, she left Asia and protected convoys traveling through the [[Strait of Gibraltar]] during the [[Spanish Civil War]] for several months in 1937. While in Europe, she participated in the [[Coronation of George VI and Elizabeth#The Coronation Review of the Fleet|1937 Spithead Fleet Review]] before returning to the Netherlands for a refit. During her refit, her anti-air armament was swapped out for four twin [[Bofors 40 mm L/60 gun|
===Dutch East Indies Campaign===
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Following the [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|bombing of Pearl Harbor]] and [[Bombing of Singapore (1941)|Japanese attacks on British Malaya]], the [[Dutch government-in-exile]] declared war on Japan on 8 December 1941.<ref name=":02" />{{Rp|page=37}} Now in a war zone, ''Java'' continued to escort convoys.<ref name=":8">{{Cite book |last=Whitley |first=M. J. (Michael J. ) |url=https://archive.org/details/cruisers-of-wwii-enciclopedia-images/page/192/mode/2up?q=%22De+Ruyter%22+ |title=Cruisers of World War Two : an international encyclopedia |date=1995 |___location=London |publisher=Arms and Armour Press |isbn=978-1-85409-225-0}}</ref>{{Rp|pages=|page=191}} Over the next two months, Japan's rapid advances across Southeast Asia overwhelmed the region's [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] naval forces. In an effort to coordinate resistance, elements of the [[Royal Australian Navy|Australian]], [[Royal Navy|British]], Dutch, and [[United States Navy|American]] navies formed [[American-British-Dutch-Australian Command|ABDACOM]]: an [[ad hoc]] command that brought together each nation's available ships under a (nominally) unified structure. One of ABDACOM's first steps was the formation of an offensive fleet—the Combined Striking Force—composed of a mix of American and Dutch cruisers and destroyers. After initial delay, ''Java'' was reassigned to the Striking Force that was in desperate need of ships. Command of the fleet was under Dutch Admiral [[Karel Doorman]] on his [[flagship]] ''[[HNLMS De Ruyter (1935)|De Ruyter]]'', who was already in charge of the Dutch East Indies Fleet.<ref name=":74" />{{Rp|page=176–177,208-209|pages=}}
''Java''{{'}}s first role in the Combined Striking Force was to intercept the invasion of [[Sumatra]].<ref name=":74" />{{Rp|page=|pages=206-208}} A floatplane from ''De Ruyter'' found the Japanese invasion fleet, and the Allies were likewise detected. Without air support, the fleet was
==== Battle of Badung Strait ====
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==== Sinking ====
[[File:
During the night of 26 February, the cruisers were temporarily followed by Japanese [[Floatplane|floatplanes]], which gave the enemy an understanding of the fleet's route. Unaware, the Allied cruisers passed near the invasion force but were ambushed by the Japanese [[Heavy cruiser|heavy cruisers]] ''[[Japanese cruiser Haguro|Haguro]]'' and ''[[Japanese cruiser Nachi|Nachi]]''. Under cover of darkness, the Japanese closed to {{Convert|9,000|yd|m}} undetected and fired a spread of torpedoes followed by a renewed gun duel. ''Java''{{'}}s crew, exhausted and low on ammunition, did not shoot back at such a long range.<ref name=":74" />{{Rp|page=314-316|pages=}}
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==Wreck==
The cruiser sank on her starboard side and lies in {{Convert|67|m|ft|abbr=on}} deep water.<ref>{{Cite web |date=9 February 2017 |title=Verification of the Location and Condition of the Dutch Shipwrecks in the Java Sea |url=https://english.cultureelerfgoed.nl/binaries/cultureelerfgoed-en/documenten/publications/2017/01/01/report-of-the-dutch-shipwrecks-in-the-java-sea/Verification_of_the_location_and+_ondition_of_the_Dutch_Shipwrecks_in_the_Java_Sea.pdf |url-status= |access-date=18 April 2025 |publisher=[[Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed]] (Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands) |page=27}}</ref> Her wreck was discovered by an amateur diver in 2002. When an expedition in 2017 was only able to find an imprint left in the seabed, it was believed the wreck had been intentionally dismantled. The Dutch government investigated, offended at the mass disturbance of [[War grave|war graves]]. An investigation determined the wreck's disappearance was part of a trend
==References==
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