Battle of the Java Sea

The Japanese invasion of the Dutch East Indies progressed at a rapid pace as the Japanese advanced from their Palau Islands colony and captured bases in Sarawak and the southern Philippines. On 13-16 February the Japanese attacked the major oil port of Palembang in eastern Sumatra. rendering Darwin useless as a supply and naval base to support operations in the East Indies. ==Battle==

flagship '', Admiral Takagi's flagship Prelude at anchor, 5 February 1942 Japanese amphibious forces gathered to strike at Java, and on 27 February 1942 the main Allied naval force, under Rear Admiral Karel Doorman, sailed northeast from Surabaya to intercept a convoy of the Japanese eastern invasion force approaching from the Makassar Strait. The Allied eastern strike force consisted of two heavy cruisers (HMS Exeter and USS Houston), three light cruisers (Doorman's flagship HNLMS De Ruyter, HNLMS Java, HMAS Perth), and nine destroyers (HMS Electra, HMS Encounter, HMS Jupiter, HNLMS Kortenaer, HNLMS Witte de With, USS Alden, USS John D. Edwards, USS John D. Ford, and USS Paul Jones). On paper, this seemed a formidable force, but its combat effectiveness was questionable. Belonging to several different navies, the ships had practically no experience in each other's naval doctrine and fighting styles, and most crucially there was a language barrier between the Dutch speaking Karel Doorman and the English-speaking US, UK, and Australian ships, hindering communications. Upon departure, the Allied force was immediately spotted by a Japanese floatplane launched from the convoy's main protection force, commanded by Rear Admiral Takeo Takagi. The main Japanese group consisted of the heavy cruisers Haguro and Nachi (the latter, Takagi's flagship, having launched the floatplane), and the destroyers Kawakaze, Yamakaze, Ushio, and Sazanami. This was supported by a second group led by Rear Admiral Shoji Nishimura, consisting of the light cruisers Naka and Jintsū and the destroyers Yūdachi, Samidare, Murasame, Harusame, Minegumo, and Asagumo. Upon learning of the opposing force's movements from Nachi, both groups sailed aside each other at 30 knots to intercept the opposing force. The Japanese heavy cruisers had ten 8-inch (203 mm) guns each and superb torpedoes. By comparison, Exeter was armed only with six 8-inch guns, and only six of Houston's nine 8-inch guns remained operable after her aft turret had been knocked out in an earlier air attack. While underway, Nishimura's group was joined by the nearby destroyers Yukikaze, Amatsukaze, Hatsukaze, and Tokitsukaze, before being attacked by land-based Dutch aircraft and B-17 bombers, but avoided damage due to the planes' poor marksmanship. Captain Tameichi Hara aboard Amatsukaze noted that the planes attacked the Japanese warships, confirming their goal was to mow through the protection force before attacking the convoy and believing it to have been a mistake by the planes to have not attacked the troopships. The next day, Doorman's force was tracked by Nachis floatplane while the Japanese fleet rigorously practiced in preparation for the coming engagement. Updates from Nachis floatplane worried the Japanese, as Doorman's ships were in a position to pounce on the vulnerable transport ships, but Doorman ordered his fleet to turn South to refuel at Surabaya. However, upon receiving reports of the Japanese fleet, Doorman immediately turned his ships back to attack the enemy. These actions, perhaps somewhat misunderstood, came as a relief to Admiral Takagi, who Captain Hara recalled saying "The enemy ships were staying clear of our air raids on Surabaya, the enemy is in no shape to fight us." He ordered the convoy to turn around and the escort ships to form up into a fighting formation. anchored off Sumatra in preparation for the battle By 16:00, spotters on the Electra noticed Jintsū, leading Yukikaze, Amatsukaze, Hatsukaze, Tokitsukaze, at 16,000 yards, and her 4.7-inch (12 cm) guns fired the first shots of the battle, closely followed by all the cruisers and several destroyers. Every ship aimed their guns at Jintsū, straddling her several times, but not a single shell made its mark. The Naka and her group of destroyers returned fire at 24,000 yards, and their shells, too, all missed their mark. Both sides rapidly closed the distance and, frustrated by the ineffective gunfire, Nishimura ordered Naka and his destroyers to fire torpedoes at 15,000 yards, letting out 43 torpedoes. A few exploded after running a few thousand yards; the rest missed. Nishimura's hastiness to engage at long range was later criticized by the Japanese admiralty due to the sheer amount of wasted ammunition. Recognizing this flaw, Takagi ordered all ships to close the range and charge the enemy as he watched his heavy cruisers blast away at long range. Jintsū leading a line of destroyers—Yukikaze, Tokitsukaze, Amatsukaze, Hatsukaze, Ushio, Sazanami, Yamakaze, and Kawakaze—closed the range by Takagi's order, in the hope of enabling more accurate torpedoing. Electra switched fire to the cluster as 5.9-inch (15 cm) shells from De Ruyter continued to rain on the column. One of ''Electra's 4.7-inch (12 cm) shells hit Tokitsukaze, causing thick white smoke to burst out of the ship, blinding Amatsukaze behind her. A near miss from De Ruyter then lightly damaged Amatsukaze's hull and dashed water on her bridge. However, neither destroyer was critically damaged. In turn, the destroyers engaged in a gunfight with De Ruyter, although no shells hit their mark. Yukikaze and Tokitsukaze first let out 16 torpedoes at 6,000 yards, followed closely by Amatsukaze'', then the five other destroyers behind her. A total of 70 torpedoes were aimed at the enemy, yet not a single hit was made. Torpedo attack by Haguro '' steering room during the battle Though the torpedoes did not hit, they prompted the allied fleet to maneuver, enabling Haguro to switch fire from De Ruyter to the Exeter, with Exeter responding back. Engaging each other at 22,000 yards, ''Exeter's gunnery was poor, managing only a straddle by the 8th salvo. Haguro proved more effective, first scoring an 8-inch (203 mm) hit to her stern below the waterline which lifted the ship and caused considerable flooding. Another salvo from Haguro registered a devastating hit on Exeter when an 8-inch (203 mm) shell gouged into Exeter's engine. It exploded and destroyed six of Exeter's eight boilers, killing 40 men as Exeter's'' speed dropped to 5 knots. Doorman's fleet then maneuvered chaotically, as, when Exeter began to fall out of formation, Houston, Perth, and Java all followed her, assuming they had missed a command from Doorman, leaving De Ruyter charging alone at the enemy fleet before joining the other cruisers. Simultaneously, Haguro fired a spread of 8 torpedoes and continued to engage. The British destroyers Jupiter, Encounter, and Electra came to assist the crippled Exeter as Doorman's cruisers began to turn away, laying a smokescreen in an attempt to hide the disorganized formation. Up to this point, the battle of the Java Sea had been something of a stalemate, with both sides missing their shots due to extreme range and inflicting minor damage with the few hits scored. ''Haguro's hit on Exeter'' was only the beginning of Doorman's misfortune. In an ironic twist, the only Japanese torpedo to make its mark during the course of the afternoon battle was one of ''Haguro's launched at extreme range and hitting home 15 minutes after firing, striking the Dutch destroyer Kortenaer. Within moments of the hit, the destroyer broke apart and sank with the loss of 66 men. Launched at a distance of 22,000 yards, this hit by Haguro'' was probably the longest-range torpedo hit in naval history. '' underway in September 1939 Destroyer on destroyer action on parade The American destroyers Alden, John C Edwards, John C Ford, and Paul Jones fired their torpedoes at Haguro and Nachi, but none made their mark. Simultaneously, the British destroyers attempting to cover the crippled Exeter were engaged by the Japanese destroyers Asagumo and Minegumo. Minegumo stayed at a longer range and attacked Jupiter and Encounter, lightly damaging them with near misses, but failed to score any direct hits. Asagumo and Electra, by contrast, engaged each other at point-blank range. Asagumo took several 4.7-inch (12 cm) shells, temporarily leaving her dead in the water, killing five sailors and injuring 16 others. Asagumo, however, inflicted more damage than she received, a hail of 5-inch (127 mm) gunfire destroying ''Electra's A and X turrets, engine room, communications, and electrical power, and setting Electra on fire. Electra desperately let out a spread of eight torpedoes at her opponent, but none hit, and in response Minegumo switched fire from the other destroyers and joined Asagumo in pounding the already crippled Electra. Western sources sometimes credit Jintsū with assisting Asagumo, but Japanese records do not support this. Electras remaining guns were destroyed, flooding overwhelmed damage control, and fires burned out of control under Asagumo's and Minegumo's bombardment. Electras crew finally abandoned ship and left her to sink. Encounter and Jupiter had been repelled by Minegumo's gunfire and retreated to assist Exeter''. ABDA retreat After almost two hours of fighting, Doorman's ships had not even come close to attacking the Japanese troop convoy. One of his cruisers was crippled, two more were damaged, and he suffered two destroyers sunk, while his ships, with their poor gunnery, had managed only to moderately damage one destroyer and lightly damage two others. He still wanted to attack the convoy, but recognized that he simply could not under the current conditions. Doorman thus decided to cut his losses and regroup whilst retiring in the general direction of Surabaya which led Takagi to mistakenly believe the Allied ships were retreating to port. The limping Exeter, no longer in condition to contribute further to the battle, was ordered to break off from the force, taking Witte de With with her as escort into Surabaya. However, after nightfall, the remainder of Doorman's ships changed direction and steamed back toward the convoy. hit a mine and sank with the loss of 84 men. The mine that sank Jupiter is generally thought to have been not Japanese, but Dutch, lain by the Dutch minelayer Gouden Leeuw. Shortly thereafter, around 22:00 while now headed north, the Striking Force passed through the former battlegrounds and sighted men in the water. HMS Encounter, the lone remaining destroyer, was ordered to pick up the survivors, who turned out to be 113 men from the earlier sinking of Kortenaer, and after doing so retired to Surabaya. Doorman now had not a single destroyer in his force, leaving him only his remaining heavy cruiser Houston and light cruisers De Ruyter, Java, and Perth. But Doorman charged on, still hoping for victory. Only 19 crewmembers survived. Four minutes later, one of ''Haguro's'' torpedoes hit Admiral Doorman's flagship. All power was destroyed as the De Ruyter stopped dead in the water with significant flooding, and a massive fire broke out and enveloped the cruiser. ''Haguro's torpedo hit killed much of De Ruyter's damage-control crew, and the loss of all power disabled much of De Ruyter's damage-control equipment, meaning the massive fire could spread throughout the ship. Simultaneously, flooding slowly overwhelmed damage control and De Ruyters list steadily increased. Over a period of three hours, fires and flooding overwhelmed De Ruyter'' as she capsized and sank with the loss of 367 men. Admiral Doorman and Captain Eugène Lacomblé were among the dead. Shouts of "Banzai" could be heard from Haguros and Nachis decks as crew members leaped for joy and hugged each other in excitement. Admiral Takagi chose not to attack with gunfire afterwards, knowing Java and De Ruyter were already fatally damaged. The pair steamed out of the area to reinforce the invasion convoy. Depending on the source, they were either undetected, or were spotted but untouched by ineffective gunfire. With Doorman dead, Houston and Perth abandoned the mission and retreated. Meanwhile, as the US destroyers evacuated the battlefield they ran into Amatsukaze and Hatsukaze. Both sides exchanged fire, but no hits were scored and the US destroyers continued on their path while Amatsukaze and Hatsukaze regrouped with the fleet. ==Aftermath==

After their victory, the Japanese fleet while returning to the invasion convoy stumbled upon the Dutch hospital ship SS Op Ten Noort as she was sailed to the battle scene to rescue survivors. Op Ten Noort was halted by Murasame and Amatsukaze. Captain Hara aboard Amatsukaze peeked through his binoculars and watched Captain G. Tuizinga walk on deck after the Japanese yelled a message to the ship in English. Upon inspection, there were no patients on the ship, only crew and staff, and in response Amatsukaze was ordered to escort Op Ten Noort to Singapore, where she would be converted into a prison ship. While underway, Amatsukaze and Hatsukaze crippled the submarine USS Perch, enabling her to be finished off by the destroyers Ushio and Sazanami, then Amatsukaze fatally wounded the Dutch submarine K-10, forcing her scuttling in Surabaya the next day. While traversing the Java Sea, Witte de With was damaged by land based Japanese aircraft and forced to retire for Surabaya. She was replaced by the destroyer USS Pope in escorting the crippled Exeter to safety. Battle of Sunda Strait Perth and Houston were at Tanjung Priok on 28 February when they received orders to sail through Sunda Strait to Tjilatjap. Materiel was running short in Java, and neither was able to rearm or fully refuel. Departing at 19:00 on 28 February for the Sunda Strait, by chance they encountered the main Japanese invasion fleet for West Java in Bantam Bay and were engaged by the groups escorting destroyers. The initial torpedo spreads fired from the Fubuki, Shirayuki, Hatsuyuki, and Asakaze all missed, and in turn Perth hit Shirayuki with a 6-inch (152 mm) shell to her bridge. However, the arrival of the convoy's other escorts, the heavy cruisers Mogami and Mikuma, the light cruiser Natori, and the destroyers Murakumo, Shirakumo, and Shikinami quickly changed the tide of battle. Mogami and Mikuma blasted Houston, crippling her with 30 shell hits and two torpedo hits, though in turn Mikuma was hit by 8-inch (203 mm) shells that temporally disabled electrical power. Simultaneously, Perth became the focus of the escorting destroyers and dueled the Harukaze which she damaged with three dud 6-inch (152 mm) shell hits, but not before Harukaze hit Perth with a torpedo that destroyed her forward engine room, followed two minutes later by another torpedo from the Shirakumo that flooded her bow, then two more torpedoes from Murakumo which finished her off; the crew quickly abandoned ship and left Perth to sink over 20 minutes. Meanwhile, the crippled Houston was attacked by the Shikinami, which hit the cruiser with a final torpedo that resulted in the abandon-ship order being issued, leaving Houston to disappear beneath the waves. During the action, a spread of torpedoes from Mogami that missed the allied cruisers accidentally hit and sank the minesweeper W-2, the transport ships Sakura Maru and Tatsuno Maru, the depot ship Shinshu Maru, and the hospital ship Horai Maru; more damage to Japanese forces that any of the allied ships managed to inflict. Tatsuno Maru and Shinshu Maru were later raised and repaired. The Dutch destroyer HNLMS Evertsen had been scheduled to depart Tanjung Priok with the cruisers, but was delayed, and she followed them about two hours later. Her crew sighted the gunfire of the main action, and her captain managed to evade the Japanese main force. However, Evertsen was then engaged by the Murakumo and Shirakumo in the Strait. On fire and in a sinking condition after at least seven 5-inch (127 mm) shell hits, Evertsen grounded herself on a reef near Sebuku Island. The surviving crew abandoned ship just as the aft magazine exploded and the destroyer fully sank. File:MyokoandAshigara.jpg|Myōkō and Ashigara engaging the limping Exeter, 1 March 1942 File:Myoko-19420301.png|Myōkō firing her aft 8-inch (203 mm) guns File:Exeter sinking.jpg|Exeter sinking, taken from ''Myōkō's'' floatplane File:Clemson-class destroyer sinking c1942.jpg|USS Pope capsizing to starboard Destruction of the ABDA fleet upon reaching Australia, March 1942 With the complete destruction of Admiral Doorman's fleet across the battles of the Java Sea and Sunda Strait, plus the death of Doorman himself by the hand of ''Haguro's torpedo battery, ABDA fleet as a whole was completely disbanded, and there was one thing left for the remaining allied warships stuck in the Dutch East Indies-run. All of the former ABDA fleet warships fled the crumbling Dutch East Indies in hopes of reaching the safety of Australia. Many reached the ports of Sydney and Darwin successfully; among these lucky ships were the only allied survivors of the Java Sea battle, the four American destroyers John D. Edwards, John D. Ford, Alden, and Paul Jones, which while underway in the Bali Strait encountered the Japanese destroyers Hatsuharu, Nenohi, Wakaba, and Hatsushimo and after a brief gunfight which inflicted no damage to either side successfully escaped to Fremantle. sinking, taken from Tone'' However, many were not as lucky, Japanese forces raced to hunt down and destroy any allied vessels attempting to escape. The first instances occurred concurrently with the battles of the Java Sea, first the destroyers Fubuki, Hatsuyuki, and Harukaze sank the Dutch patrol ships Sirius and Reiger, while the Wakaba and Hatsushimo probably sank the Dutch cargo ship Siaoe. The main slaughter began afterwards, starting immediately after the battle of Sunda Strait when Fubuki and Hatsuyuki located the British minesweepers Rahman and Sin Aik Lee, sinking both vessels without a fight. Simultaneously, land-based aircraft sank the seaplane tender USS Langley, while dive bombers from the aircraft carrier Sōryū sank the fleet oilier USS Pecos. and helped to sink the destroyer USS Edsall alongside gunfire from the battleships Hiei and Kirishima and the heavy cruisers Tone and Chikuma. Later, the destroyers Kagerō, Shiranui, Kasumi, Isokaze, Ariake, and Yūgure dogpiled and sank the Dutch freighter Modjokerto, the destroyer Hayashio captured the Dutch cargo ship Speelman, and finally on 4 March the heavy cruiser Chikuma and the destroyer Urakaze sank the Dutch freighter Enggano. Perhaps most notably was a mass raid conducted from 1–4 March by the heavy cruisers Takao, Atago, and Maya and the destroyers Nowaki and Arashi, which claimed 16 ships sunk or captured, known by Japanese sources as the battle of Tjilatjap. The hunt started on 1 March when Nowaki and Arashi sank the Dutch cargo ships Tomohon and Pageri, then later sank the British minesweeper Scott Harley and the Dutch freighter Toradjo and captured the Dutch freighter Bintoehan. The next day, Nowaki and Arashi sank the Norwegian cargo ship Prominent, then Takao and Atago sank the destroyer USS Pillsbury with all hands, while Maya, Nowaki, and Arashi sank the destroyer HMS Stronghold, before on 3 March Nowaki and Arashi sank the gunboat USS Asheville. Finally on 4 March, all five ships raided a convoy destined for Australia, together sinking the sloop HMAS Yarra, the oil tanker Fancol, the depot ship Anking, and the minesweepers M-3 and M-51 and captured the freighters Duymaer van Twist and Tjisaroea. Scuttling of the Dutch Navy As the increasingly successful invasion of the Dutch East Indies began to reach the port of Surabaya, many Dutch ships still at anchor were not in a condition to escape the port. In order to prevent capture, some 50 Dutch ships were scuttled in Surabaya. Among these was the destroyer Witte de With, still damaged by air attacks. While many of these ships were salvageable enough for the Japanese to raise and repair them, the operation was very successful as most of their warships were either completely destroyed or unable to serve combat roles. However, it completely decimated the Dutch navy for the rest of the war, effectively ending its role in the war outside of a few surviving submarines which continued to operate with the US Navy and Royal Navy, and a few surviving destroyers, flotilla leaders and gunboats serving with the Royal Navy. Consequences The Battle of the Java Sea ended significant Allied naval operations in Southeast Asia in 1942, and Japanese land forces invaded Java on 28 February. The Dutch surface fleet was practically eradicated from Asian waters and the Netherlands would never reclaim full control of its colony. The Japanese now controlled one of the most important food-producing regions (Java), and by conquering the Dutch East Indies, Japan also controlled the fourth-largest oil producing area in the world in 1940. The U.S. and Royal Air Force retreated to Australia. Dutch troops, aided by British remnants, fought fiercely for a week. In the campaign the Japanese executed many Allied POWs and sympathizing Indonesians. Eventually, the Japanese won this decisive battle of attrition and ABDA forces surrendered on 9 March. == Wrecks ==

As of 2002 the location of the wreck of only one of the eight ships sunk during the two so-called Java Sea Battles, HMS Jupiter, was known and plotted on an Admiralty chart. However, given her location in very shallow water so close to shore she had already been heavily salvaged. In December 2002 the wrecks of HNLMS Java and HNLMS De Ruyter were discovered by a specialist wreck diving group aboard the dive vessel MV Empress. Empress then went on to discover the wrecks of HMS Electra in August 2003; HNLMS Kortenaer in August 2004; and HMS Exeter and HMS Encounter in February 2007. When discovered these wrecks were all in a very well-preserved state, save for battle damage. In late 2008, Empress discovered remnants of the last wreck, USS Pope, which had already been largely removed by illegal salvage diving operations. Although the MV Empress team kept the locations of their discoveries secret, by 2017 all eight ships had been reduced to remnants or even entirely removed by illegal commercial salvage operations. ==See also==