French
DeutschHNLMS Krakatau
 Krakatau capsized in 1932 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Netherlands | |
| Name | Krakatau |
| Namesake | Krakatau |
| Operator |  Royal Netherlands Navy |
| Builder | Marine Etablissement te Soerabaja |
| Laid down | 3 February 1923 |
| Launched | 2 February 1924 |
| Commissioned | 11 December 1924 |
| Fate | Scuttled on 8 March 1942 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Minelayer |
| Displacement | 982 t (966 long tons) |
| Length | 65 m (213 ft 3 in) |
| Beam | 10.5 m (34 ft 5 in) |
| Draught | 3.2 m (10 ft 6 in) |
| Installed power | 2,500 ihp (1,900 kW) |
| Propulsion | 1 Propeller; triple-expansion steam engine |
| Speed | 15.5 knots (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph) |
| Crew | 91 |
| Armament |
|
HNLMS Krakatau was a minelayer built for the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNN) in the Dutch East Indies during the 1920s. Completed in 1924, she played a minor role in the first year of the Pacific War. The ship was scuttled by her crew in early 1942 to prevent her capture by the Japanese.
Description
[edit]Krakatau had a standard displacement of 982 long tons (998 t). She measured 65 metres (213 ft 3 in) long between perpendiculars with a beam of 10 m (32 ft 10 in) and a draught of 3.2 m (10 ft 6 in). The minelayer was powered by af triple-expansion steam engine that turned a single propeller shaft using steam from its coal-fired boilers to make 1,864 kilowatts (2,500 ihp) and give it a speed of 15.5 knots (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph). The Krakatau had a complement of 91 officers and ratings. The ship was armed with two 75-millimetre (3 in) anti-aircraft guns and four 12.7-millimetre (0.50 in) machine guns. She carried 150 naval mines.[1]
Construction and career
[edit]Krakatau was laid down on 3 February 1923 and launched on 2 February 1924 at the Marine Etablissement te Soerabaja (MES).[2][3] The ship was designed by the Dutch engineer R. O. Leegstra.[4] After passing its sea trials in October 1924 Krakatau was commissioned on 11 December 1924.[2][5][6] While the ship passed its sea trials, it did share a common flaw with other ships built at the MES at the time, namely stability problems.[7] To counter this problem permanent ballast was added to the Krakatau, however, it did not manage to completely fix the stability problem of the ship.[8]
On 11 October 1932 Krakatau capsized in the Oostervaarwater near Soerabaja.[9][10] At the time the ship was doing a speed related exercise when it began taking water.[11] It was theorized that this was the result of leaving the mine doors at the rear of the ship open.[7][8] The increasing speed during the exercise would have led to high waves that would land on the rear of the ship, which could pour inside through the open doors.[8][11] Eventually the water inside the ship gathered at one side of the ship and it slowly capsized.[7] On 4 December 1932 Krakatau was re-floated and towed to the MES.[12] There it was determined that the ship had taken minimal damage and would be fully repaired.[13] The next year, on 4 September 1933, Krakatau was taken back into service.[14]
Second World War
[edit]Between 19 and 20 February 1942 Krakatau acted as a motor torpedo boat tender for a division of motor torpedo boats and took part in the Battle of Badung Strait.[9] Shortly after the battle the ship provided gasoline to motor torpedo boats in the Pangpang Baai.[15] During this time it managed to stay hidden and unharmed, even when Japanese scouts and bombers flew over, as a result of its carefully applied camouflage.[15]
On 8 March 1942 Krakatau was scuttled by its crew 500 meters from the dock[a] of the Pyrotechnische Werkplaatsen in the Westervaarwater near Batoe Porron in Madoera.[9][14] The ship was scuttled because there was not enough oil to make the journey to an Allied port and it was determined that it had not much fighting value as a warship.[16] Afterwards the crew of the ship left for Kamal to continue the battle on land against the Japanese.[7]
Notes
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^ Roberts 1980, p. 393
- ^ a b Mark (1997), p. 98.
- ^ "Terwaterlating van een Mijnenlegger". De Indische Courant (in Dutch). 4 February 1924.
- ^ "De "Krakatau"". Het nieuws van den dag voor Nederlandsch-Indië (in Dutch). 13 October 1942.
- ^ "De mijnenlegger "Krakatau"". De Telegraaf (in Dutch). 22 October 1924.
- ^ "De Nieuwe mijnenlegger". Algemeen handelsblad voor Nederlandsch-Indië (in Dutch). 20 October 1924.
- ^ a b c d Roetering (1997), p. 22.
- ^ a b c "De "Krakatau": De vermoedelijke oorzaak". Bataviaasch Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). 14 October 1932.
- ^ a b c von Münching (1978), p. 68.
- ^ "De mijnenlegger "Krakatau" omgeslagen". Nieuwsblad van Friesland (in Dutch). 12 October 1932.
- ^ a b "De mijnenlegger "Krakatau" omgeslagen: Een bijzonder gelukkige afloop zonder slachtoffers". Algemeen handelsblad voor Nederlandsch-Indië (in Dutch). 13 October 1932.
- ^ "De "Krakatau": Naar Soerabaja gesleept". Nieuwe Haarlemsche Courant (in Dutch). 6 December 1932.
- ^ "De "Krakatau": Wordt volledig hersteld". Algemeen Handelsblad (in Dutch). 27 December 1932.
- ^ a b Mark (1997), p. 99.
- ^ a b Bosscher (1986), p. 268.
- ^ a b Bosscher (1986), p. 335.
References
[edit]- Bosscher, Ph.M. (1986). De Koninklijke Marine in de Tweede Wereldoorlog (in Dutch). Vol. 2: Indië tot en met 8 maart 1942. Wever. ISBN 90-6135-372-6.
- Mark, Chris (1997). Schepen van de Koninklijke Marine in W.O. II (in Dutch). De Alk. ISBN 90-6013-522-9.
- von Münching, L.L. (1978). Schepen van de Koninklijke Marine in de Tweede Wereldoorlog (in Dutch). Alk. ISBN 90-6013-903-8.
- Roetering, B., ed. (1997). Mijnendienst 1907-1997 90 jaar: feiten, verhalen en anekdotes uit het negentigjarig bestaan van de Mijnendienst van de Koninklijke Marine (in Dutch). ISBN 90-90-10528-X.
- Raven, G.J.A., ed. (1988). De kroon op het anker: 175 jaar Koninklijke Marine (in Dutch). De Bataafsche Leeuw. ISBN 90-6707-200-1.
- Roberts, John (1980). "The Netherlands". In Chesneau, Roger (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Conway Maritime Press. pp. 385–396. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.