HNLMS Java (1921)

Java in her original configuration c. 1925
History
Netherlands
Name	Java
Builder	Koninklijke Maatschappij de Schelde
Laid down	31 May 1916
Launched	6 August 1921
Completed	1 May 1925
Fate	Torpedoed February 26, 1942, Battle of Java Sea 6°00′01″S 112°05′00″E / 6.00028°S 112.08333°E / -6.00028; 112.08333
General characteristics
Type	Java-class cruiser
Displacement	6670 tons standard[1] 8339 tons full load[1]
Length	155.3 m (509 ft 6 in) overall[1] 153 m (502 ft 0 in) waterline[1]
Beam	16 m (52 ft 6 in)
Draught	6.22 m (20 ft 5 in)
Propulsion	73,000 shp (54 MW), three shafts
Speed	31 knots
Range	3,600 nmi (6,700 km; 4,100 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph)[1]
Complement	525[1]
Armament	10 × 15 cm guns 4 × 7.5 cm (3.0 in) AA (removed 1935) 8 × 40 mm AA (added 1935) 4 × 12.7 mm (0.50 in) machine guns (added 1935) 36 × mines
Armour	7.5 cm (3.0 in) belt 2.5 to 5 cm (2.0 in) deck 12.5 cm (4.9 in) conning tower 10 cm (3.9 in) shields
Aircraft carried	2 × floatplanes

HNLMS Java was the lead ship of the Java-class 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 ships during the Spanish Civil War.

During World War II, Java joined allied forces as part of the American-British-Dutch-Australian Striking Force, participated in several failed attempts to intercept Japanese invasions of the East Indies, and fended off several air attacks. During the Battle of the Java Sea, she was ambushed by the cruiser Nachi. A torpedo struck her magazine; the resulting explosion ripped the ship apart and she promptly sank with most of her crew. Her wreck was later illegally salvaged for metal in the 2010s, which destroyed most of the ship.