Piet

Thank you Jim. Denis, Ken, John, Jack and Dave for dropping in, you are always very welcome in my cluttered office/studio. I may have mentioned it but I am using my drafting table as the "dockyard." Thank you all for your kind words and recognition of the selfless acts of duty of my father and all those who put their lives on the line during the struggle for freedom. Yeah. my life and that of my wife Gwen have been a trip. She too was a guest of the Emperor of japan and her father too served in the Dutch Navy Reserve as a Lieutenant Commander. Good thing is, he survived a POW camp. He got caught trying to escape with a load of refugees, Ausy, American, Dutch and Brits to Australia on one of his companie's ships. Here is a bit of historical trivia you may not know. Through the Freedom of Information Act I obtained copies of the Japanese High Command's orders to exterminate all POW's, men, women and children, in September of 1945. Now ask yourselves this, when did Japan capitulate? August of 1945, right? Just one month separated us from a most brutal way of dying, thanks to that necessary order by President Truman to drop the two atomic bombs. But here I am - among the best bunch of friends anyone can wish for. Let's move on and build ships, models that is It's a little late to start my "Day One" post but to answer Denis' question, the model is 18 inches long overall, 1 7/8 inch wide and 7/8 inch from water line to the deck. Scale is 1:350. Cheers to all,

She/he is a great companion to you Nenad, pets can fill your days with joy and love. Cheers,

I'll throw in my two cents - love the fine scroll-work balustrade Nils and so much "busy" stuff on the deck. Fantastic work. Cheers,

Wow, what a jewel Patrick. Cheers,

Wow Mark, that looks mighty fine. Cheers,

Very nice work on the pilot house and decking Denis. Cheers,

Hello everyone, Let's start with the specs of this ship, followed by her overall history and the final few days in the campaign. I'll also attach a photo of the captain. There is semi comical story attached to my father's association with Captain van Straelen. I hope to share it with at the right moment. Ah yes, memories. Class overview Name: Java class Builders: Koninklijke Maatschappij de Schelde, Flushing - Java Nederlandse Scheepsbouw Maatschappij, Amsterdam - Sumatra Wilton-Fijenoord, Schiedam (cancelled) - Celebus Operators: Royal Netherlands Navy Preceded by: Holland class Succeeded by: De Ruyter Planned: 3 Completed: 2 Lost: 2 General characteristics Type: Light cruiser Displacement: 6670 tons standard 8087 tons full load Length: 155.3 m (509 ft 6 in) Beam: 16 m (52 ft 6 in) Draught: 6.22 m (20 ft 5 in) Propulsion: 3 Parsons geared steam turbines 8 Schultz-Thornycroft boilers 3 shafts 73,000 shp (54,000 kW) Speed: 31 knots Range: 4,340 nmi (8,040 km; 4,990 mi) at 11 or 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) Complement: 526 Armament: 10 × Bofors 150 mm guns 8 (Java) or 6 (Sumatra) x Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft guns 8 × Browning .50 machine guns 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 Fokker C.XI-W floatplanes All float planes were left ashore because admiral Doorman was afraid of the volatile aviation fuel during battle conditions. In 1937, Java was modernized at the Naval Dockyard in Den Helder, Holland. The modifications include adding an AA-battery of 4 double Bofors 40 mm-guns, replacing the fire control system with a new Hazemeyer set and shortening the masts. Java could also carry 10-12 ASW depth charges, 36 mines, split – with one third below deck in the ammo compartment and the rest on the aft deck on narrow tracks. She had one smoke machine and no torpedoes. May 31 1916 Hr Ms. Java is laid down at Koninklijke Mij "De Schelde", Vlissingen [Piet's note: this was also the date of the Battle at Jutland] August 9 1921 Java is launched [Piet's note: already obsolete] May 1 1925 Java is completed after countless delays, such as strikes by the dockyardworkers, shortages of materials and modifications to the original design. December 4 1928 Fleet revue at Yokohama to celebrate the coronation of Japan's emperor. May 20 1937 Fleetrevue at Spithead 1937 The Java is modernized at the Naval Dockyard in Den Helder, Holland. The modifications include adding an AA-battery of 4 double Bofors 40 mm-guns, replacing the fire control system with a new Hazemeyer set and shortening the masts. January 3 1938 Java is commissioned with her new "look". She was sent to Gibraltar Strait to escort Dutch ships shortly after. May 4 1938 Java leaves for the Dutch Indies via Suez. April 1940 The cruisers Java and De Ruyter, the supplyship Zuiderkruis and two divisions of submarines are on stand-by in the Java sea after rumours about a Japanese fleetconcentration near Formosa. April 27 1940 Commander, later Captain, Ph.B.M. van Straelen assumes command. May 10 1940 Germany attacks Holland in the early morning. This means for the the NEI, that all German merchant ships were to be captured as soon as possible. A boarding party of the Java succesfully captures the Hapag-freighters Bitterfeld (7659 gt), Wuppertal (6737 gt) and Rheinland (6622 gt) in Padang. January 18 1941 The Java makes here first convoy trip from the Ajoe archipelago with the merchants Brastagi ( 9247 tons gross weight), Kota Nopan (7332 gross tons ) , Kota Baroe (7281 gt) and Kota Tjandi (7295 gt). The convoy was dissolved on January 23 in position 03.00 South, 161.25 East.[Piet's note: Adjudant Petrus W. van Warmerdam became part of the crew on the first of this month] March 1941 A refit is hastily broken off after the news the panzerschiff Admiral Scheer was operating in the Indian Ocean. Despite search efforts by both ships and aircraft, nothing was found. April 23 1941 Java leaves Suva with two merchants, bound for Brisbane, Australia July 1941 Java makes rendez-vous in Torres Strait with the passengership Jagersfontein (10083 gt), which has a contingent of American aviators on board, which later become known as the famous "Flying Tigers". She escorts the ship to Java. November 1941 The Java is on escort duty between Suva and Soerabaja. December 8 1941 The Netherlands declares war on Japan after the attack on the American base Pearl Harbor. The Java was at this time enroute to Singapore where she was to operate under command of the British Admiral Layton. The Java is part of most convoys bound for Singapore until early February, but also makes a trip to the Cocos Islands to find out if it was still free of Japanese troops. December 12 1941 Java departs Singapore to rendez-vous with convoy SM 1 (3 British, 1 Greek and 2 American ships). She escorts it from December 13 to December 15, together with the Dutch destroyer Evertsen, the Australian armed merchant cruiser Kanimbla, and the British destroyers HMS Encounter, Stronghold and Tenedos December 31 1941 The Java is part of the escort for convoy BM 9B, but has to break off because of propellor damage. January 18 1942 The cruiser Java and the destroyers Evertsen and Van Nes make rendez-vous with convoy MS-2, which consisted of the large liner Aquitania with HMAS Canberra as ocean escort. This ship has about 3500 men aboard bound for Singapore. The convoy arrives in Ratai Bay on Sumatra where the troops transfer to six smaller Dutch KPM-steamers and one small British ship. This convoy then leaves for Singapore (now designated MS 2A) where it arrives safely on January 24. The Java is also part of this convoy. January 26 1942 A report came in about a Japanese concentration of ships off western Borneo, near the Api passage. Admiral Helfrich orders the cruisers Java and Tromp with destroyers Banckert and Piet Hein to intercept and destroy this convoy. Later reports show the "convoy" consists of one freighter and numerous very small vessels, after which the Dutch ships retreat. January 31 1942 Java joins the the escort for convoy DM 2, which arrives in Singapore on February 5. Java had already detached itself on February 4 due to fuel shortage. She becomes part of the Combined Striking Force on February 3, probably. February 13 1942 Java joins the Eastern Striking Force (cruisers De Ruyter and Tromp under Rear-Admiral Doorman) in the afternoon while it passed through Sunda Strait. This force is enroute to intercept a Japanese convoy bound for the important port Palembang on North-Sumatra. Doorman decides to wait for destroyers to assist him and he plots a course for Oosthaven on Sumatra. On arrival, the heavy cruiser HMS Exeter and the light cruiser HMAS Hobart join him. The destroyers arrive the next day. February 14 1942 The fleet leaves Oosthaven in the afternoon for the Gaspar Straits with the following strength: cruisers De Ruyter, Tromp, Java, HMS Exeter and HMAS Hobart along with the Dutch destroyers Van Ghent, Kortenaer, Piet Hein and Banckert and the American Barker, Stewart, Bulmer, John D. Edwards, Pillsbury and Parrott. The ships head for an area notorious for navigational hazards. February 15 1942 At about 0430 hours in the morning, the destroyer Van Ghent hits the Bamidjo reef in Stolze Strait. Doorman had ordered a relatively dangerous formation with the four Dutch destroyers steaming alongside eachother. Banckert and the American destroyers could barely miss the reef. After leaving Stolze Strait at about 0800 hours, the fleet sets a western course about 45 minutes later. Unfortunately, they are spotted by a Japanese plane at 0920 hours (a catapultplane from the Japanese heavy cruiser Chokai) and a few hours later, the first aircraft attack. It were seven "Kate"-torpedobombers from the carrier Ryujo, this time not armed with torpedoes but with bombs. None of the ships was hit. They were later reinforced by numerous other aircraft, but no ships sustain "real" damage, although the Barker and Bulmer are pretty beaten up. [Piet's note: My father told us about this attack where the captain looked up with his binoculars and when he saw the bombs released he ordered a change of course. I will post a picture of the Java under attack, taken by the Hobart] February 16 1942 The Striking force enters Tandjong Priok ( Batavia ) at 0830 except for the Java and destroyers, which have a smaller oil capacity. These ships refuel in Ratai Bay on Sumatra from the Dutch tanker Tan 1. Doorman leaves in the night for Tjilatjap. February 17 1942 Arrival in Tjilatjap February 18 1942 Departure from Tjiltjap in the evening for an attack on the Bali landingforces. She's accompanied by the cruiser Java and the destroyers Kortenaer, Piet Hein, Ford en Pope. The first ships leave the harbor safely, but Kortenaer is not so fortunate. She stranded on a sandbar and has to wait for the tide. A second force leaves Soerabaja later this day. February 19 1942 Nightaction off Bali. Read more about the Battle of Badungstrait here. The Java was hit by one 4.7-inch shell during this engagement, which wounded two men and did some minor damage. February 20 1942 Arrival in Soerabaja February 25 1942 The Striking force (De Ruyter, Java, Houston and 7 destroyers) goes to sea in the evening to make a sweep off the Madoera coast. No ships are sighted, the ships arrive in Soerabaja on the 26th. February 26 1942 Nightsweep in the Java sea with the Striking Force. The ships are attacked by aircraft at 0900 in the morning of the 27th and Jupiter is missed by light bombs, but didn't sustain any damage. Arrival in Soerabaja on the 27th. [Piet's note: In the morning of the 27th my father came home to say goodby. That was the last time I saw him.] February 27 1942 Doorman leaves port in the evening of the 27th to intercept several convoys heading for Java. Unfortunately, he was spotted and engaged by the Japanese covering force, consisting of 2 heavy cruisers (Nachi and Haguro), 2 light cruisers and 14 destroyers. The effectiveness of the CSF was hampered by difficulties in communication. In addition, the Japanese had a 2 to 1 advantage in 8"-guns. The Java was hit by a Japanese "Long Lance" torpedo from the Nachi at about 23.32 hours near the aft ammunitionstack, which exploded. The AA-deck with the 40 mm-guns caught fire and the stern broke off near the longroom, causing flooding in the aft engineroom and a heavy list to port. All electrical equipment shut down and the only thing the crew could do, was to abandon ship as soon as possible. No boats could be lowered without electricity, so all possible livesavers were thrown overboard, such as rafts, bamboosticks etc. The Java sank in about fifteen minutes, taking 512 crewmembers (including Captain Ph.B.M. van Straelen) with her. She sank in position 06.00 S, 112.05 E. December 1, 2002 A diver expedition on board the motor vessel Empress which initially set out to find HMS Exeter, find the wrecks of the light cruisers Java and De Ruyter. The wreck of Java lies at a depth of 69 metres on her starboard side. APPENDIX II CONTACT REPORTS BEFORE AND DURING THE BATTLE OF JAVA SEA (Times are -7½) FEBRUARY 26th: 1. 1150: 30 transports, 2 cruisers, 4 destroyers. Position: lat. 04°50' S., long. 114°20' E. (near Arends Islands), course 245°, speed 10 knots. (This was sent to Admiral Doorman at 1250.) 2. 1440: 2 Isuzu class cruisers, 2 destroyers. Position: lat. 06°25' S., long. 117°13' E., course 315°, speed 10-20 knots. (Admiral Helfrich sent this report to Admiral Doorman at 1445.) 3. 1700: Dutch reconnaissance plane attacked by 2 cruiser catapult planes at lat. 06°05' S., long. 113°15' E., and lat. 05°40' S., long. 113°05' E. (Plane reports upon return at 1900; report forwarded to Admiral Doorman at once.) 4. 1830: U. S. Army bombers bomb Japanese convoy, course unknown. Position: lat. 05°30' S., long. 113°00' E. (northeast of Bawean). (This report was received at Soerabaja at 2220, after which it was forwarded to Admiral Doorman, who complained of the delay of 6-8 hours in forwarding of reports.) FEBRUARY 27th: 5. 0255: Admiral Doorman received the following amplification of No.4: Convoy lat. 05°30' S., 113°00' E., 18 or more ships, 1 possible aircraft carrier or battleship. Six fighter planes protecting convoy reported by Dutch Navy plane at 1440/26. 6. 0510: Report of Dutch reconnaissance plane after landing broadcast to all Allied warships. (a) 2030/26 1 heavy transport, lat. 05°20' S., long. 113°38' E. (b) 2230/26 2 destroyers, lat. 05°12' S., long. 112°20' E. (c) 0005/27 2 transports, lat. 05°28' S., long. 112°24' E. (d) 0020/27 1 transport, lat. 05°42' S., long. 113°00' E. --87-- 7.(a) 1340: 20 ships, unknown number of destroyers. position: lat. 04°45' S., long. 112°15' E., course 180°. (b) 1345: One cruiser. Position: lat. 04°04' 5., long. 111°07' E., course 220°. (c) 1350: Great fleet with 2 cruisers, 6 destroyers, 25 transports. Position: 20 miles west of Bawean, course south (Cf. report No. 10). (These reports sent to Admiral Doorman at 1445 and (c) causes him to go out for Battle of Java Sea.) 8. 1555: 3 cruisers, 5 transports. Position: lat. 06°50' S.,77 long. 112°10' E., course 190°. (This report was sent to Admiral Doorman at once.) 9.(a) 1630: 5 large ships, several small. Position: lat. 06°20' 5., long. 115° 30' E., course 315° (bombed by Allied planes). (b) 1757: 35 ships, including 1 cruiser, 4 destroyers. Position: lat. 05°I0' S., long. 111°35' E., course 170°. (These reports forwarded to Admiral Doorman at 1805.) 1830: Admiral Doorman reports that the enemy is retreating and asks position of the convoy. 10. 1700: 45 transports, 3 cruisers, 12 destroyers. Position: 20 miles west of Bawean (Cf. report No. 7c). Bombed by U. S. Army bombers. (This news received unofficially at Soerabaja at 1930 and relayed to Admiral Doorman. Official report not received at Soerabaja till 2125.) 1850: U. S. PBY-5 (PatWing 10) leaves Soerabaja to shadow enemy convoy. 11. 1955: 3 cruisers and 8 destroyers. Position: 30 miles southwest of Bawean, course north. (Seen by American PBY. Pilot believes this is our striking force and sends no report.) 12. 2235: 28 ships in two groups of 16 and 12, 1 cruiser, 1 destroyer, courses 300° and 330°. Position: lat. 06°07' S., long. 112°05' E. (This report was received at Soerabaja at 2352 and forwarded to Admiral Doorman. The De Ruyter almost certainly sank before he received it.) 2300: Dutch Catalina Y-67 takes off. Its pilot received with his instructions a list of the above contacts and two not listed above: 13. 1800-0227: 4 cruisers and 4 destroyers. Position: lat. 05°40' S., long. 111°35' E. 14. 2100-0227: 9 destroyers: Position: lat. 06°20' 5., long. 111°50' E. (These were at the time thought to be our own, but this seems unlikely.) --88-- FEBRUARY 28th: 15. 0130: 2 cruisers, 4 destroyers about 25 miles distant from the convoy on course toward it. (U. S. PBY pilot at first believed this was our striking force and did not report the contact till 0150.) 0212: U.S. PBY-5 turns back to Soerabaja. 16. 0200: Convoy position: lat. 05°40' S., long. 111°40' E.78 17. 0335: Report forwarded from Soerabaja (a composite of the reports of PBY-5 and Y-67): Convoy of 39 transports in two columns 1,500 yards apart, course north, speed 10. Three destroyers in column right flank, 1 cruiser and 2 destroyers in column left flank. Two cruisers and 6 destroyers moving toward convoy at high speed. Position as of 0212, lat. 05°56' S., long. 112°46' E. 18. 1430: Convoy position: lat. 05°55' S., long. 112°05' E. (Report of Dutch Y-60.) 19. 1552: Convoy 60 ships. Position: lat. 06°15' 5., long. 112°15' E., course 90°, speed 10. (Report of Dutch Y-60.) --89-- Table of Contents * Previous Chapter (Appendix 1) Footnotes 78 This longitude may be an error for 112°40' E. Cf. report No.17. (Report of Dutch Y-60.) Last updated: June 14, 2002 Transcribed and formatted by Jerry Holden for the HyperWar Foundation Ktz. P.B.M. van Straelen, commander of HR. Ms. Java before and during the Java Sea campaign. When the fleet arrived in Soerabaja the evening of February 26 my father got permission to go home in the morning of the 27th for a goodby. That was the last time I saw him. That image is still engraved in my mind - he was dressed in his his dress uniform, with his saber strapped to his side as well as a side arm. As he walked out of the house to catch the steam tram back to the harbor he took me aside and we had a man to man talk. He knew that he was not coming back, the odds were just too great. He ordered me to never divulge anything of our conversation to my mother and sister. Please folks, don't feel sorry, this is part of life. The good thing is that it formed my own character to what I have become and for that I am very grateful. Cheers,

A very warm welcome to Chris, Jan, Ken, Mark and John and thank you for joining me on this journey. Jan, Mark and everyone, the like button is just a symbol to indicate the participation of all of you and doesn't mean you "like" what happened in the past. You like what I am doing and not what is associated with it. Indeed Ken, it is an obscure part of the war, I call it "the forgotten war." Good seeing you here as well John. Okay, let me now add the history of the ship, her specifications and I thought to also include the detailed history of her war years, but that'll be in my next post. Cheers,

WOW!! A double WOW WOW! Looks very good Hennie, impressive.

PE still possible eh Jan Superstructure look good, even with the printed details. That'll require some delicate painting, looks like. Cheers,

Super nice looking launcher Kevin. Cheers,

Sad indeed JesseLee. Loosing a faithful and trusting friend is always hard to cope with. We wish you and your family strength. With kind regards,

That's a stout looking hull Denis - and colorful - I bet she can take the northern seas quite well. Cheers,

Hello everybody, I can finally start the build log for Hr. Ms. Java. I received the package with the kit for "Java" on November 10, 2017 from Pacific Cross Roads" in St. Petersburg, Russia. (www.pacificcrossroads.net and Facebook.com/PacificCrossRoads Several delays prevented me to start. It all started with a massive hard drive failure on my computer. My external back-up hard drive had also failed just prior to it due to the hurricane. The computer techie I brought the computer to had a very difficult time retrieving my data but after 3 weeks he thought to have it all. The problem was that all my files, folders and photos were scattered all over the place. This took a lot of my time to sort out and am not yet finished with it. There are still some other problems like it wont install any applications, some I really need for other projects I am involved with. In addition to all that there important things for me to do on Gwen's "bucket list." For those who don't know me, Gwen is my dear wife who does not want to be called "the Admiral." Then there are the usual chores around the house and a few other projects. In the meantime though I did start work on the model and consequently all my posts will reflect past history till we are caught-up to the present condition of the work. My first two posts will consist of this introduction, followed with the ship's history and specifications. After that I'll start the actual build and indicate it as Day one, November 10, 2017. All subsequent posts will follow in similar fashion - - Day two with the date, etc., till we come to the actual date. Some may ask "why this particular ship"? Everyone chooses a model to build has a reason, either historical, the looks of the ship, a challenge perhaps or personal. My reason is VERY personal, more so then the "O19." You see, this is the ship my father served on from February 1941 till her sinking on February 27, 1942, during the battle of the Java Sea, against the Japanese Imperial Navy. Due to a set of unfortunate circumstances the ship was hit by one of the Japanese long range torpedoes. She was hit at her aft ammunition storage area that also happened to be my father's battle station, at the #9, 15 cm gun. During a personal interview by a surviving officer of the "Java" in 1954 when I served in the Royal Air Force and a recent discussion with Kevin Denlay I could safely assume that my father was instantly killed, together with a large part of the crew. Kevin Denlay is the Australian diver and member of the research team that found the wrecks of the "Java" and the "Ruyter." He photographed the wreck and send me a few of the photos. The surviving officer of the "Java" was one of the 41 of the 528 men crew. A few of the survivors died in Japanese captivity. No need for me to describe the events of this and subsequent battles and final destruction of the Combined Striking Force, called ABDA FLOAT. ABDA stands for American, British, Dutch and Australia. Much can be gleaned via Internet but the best narrative I have read is from a book by Jeffrey R. Cox called "Rising Sun, Falling Skies - The Disastrous Java Sea Campaign of World War II." Needles to say, our world turned upside down. After the capitulation of the Dutch Armed forces in the Dutch Colonies to Japan, my mother, sister and I were put into a concentration camp in Soerabaja (Dutch spelling) and eventually to several others in central Java. One more dreadful then the previous one. The three of us almost succumbed due to malnutrition and disease but miraculously survived. So, here I am building a model of a ship my father hated and became his grave with the rest of the crew. He probably would give me a friendly bob on the head As much as he loved the "O19" he despised and hated the "Java." He called her "die ouwe roestbak," "that old rust bucket." Building the "O19" model was a pleasure for me, it reminded me of the happy times, this model is different. Not that I don't like it or have no pleasure in it. No, to the contrary, it depicts the bravery, heroism and dedication of duty despite the probable outcome. I therefore dedicate this model to all the men of the ABDA fleet, dead or alive. That their memory and their heroism does not die with them. I invite you to read the synopsis of our history on the introduction page of my build log of Hr. Ms. O19 in my signature below, so I'll omit that part here. During the build though I will add some personal experiences and memories, triggered by the photos and areas of the ship. The plan is to display this model in a diorama as I visualize her to be on that last day of her life, February 27, 1942 - - fighting. All photos and article excerpts I will add to my posts are in Public Domain and under fair law use. I have a complete list of these resources. Let me introduce you to my father, Opperschipper / Adjudant Petrus W. van Warmerdam, November 22, 1998 - February 27, 1942. He is here shown when he was Bootsman or bosun in English, sometime in the mid 1930's. I hope you will enjoy sharing this build with me and gain some insight to a part of history that's mostly forgotten or not known. Cheers,

Your ship's boats came out real nice Dave. Yeah, I love all the added details, makes the models look real. Cheers,

Rest assured Kevin, I am following faithfully but may not always add a comment. I am learning from your model in how you are able to use different materials to achieve what you are after. Your object to completion is getting your model as close to how she was when you served on her, an admirable goal. Cheers,

The addition of the hammocks was a great idea Jesselee. This way your ship has that "authentic" look as well as a conversation piece. Great going my friend. Cheers,

Nice work on the deck Marcus, looks like you figured it out okay for yourself. Yeah, trunnels should look really good on this deck. Cheers,

What? No build log for that beautiful pinnace? You are a magician, building that gorgeous boat overnight, so it seems Kidding my friend, she looks real fine, and even with a crew at the oars, rowing Nils to his ship Cheers,

A gold plated boat or rather a shiny gold plated boat! Fantastic job Patric. Cheers,

That's a deal Cheers,

Great progress Jan. Every little bit is progress. Cheers,

Great progress Kevin. Cheers,

Nice work Hennie. Yeah, sometimes it pays looking ahead in the instructions for possible omissions on earlier steps. I guess that's kits for you. But, I'm glad you caught it and fixed it, looks great. Cheers,

Palm Coast, Florida, is a long ride but I could manage quarterly okay. Cheers,