HNLMS 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	2 × single 7.5 cm (3 in) AA guns 4 × single 12.7 mm (0.50 in) machine guns 150 mines

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

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

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

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

1. In Dutch it is described as steiger. ^[16]

Citations

1. Roberts 1980, p. 393
2. Mark (1997), p. 98.
3. "Terwaterlating van een Mijnenlegger". De Indische Courant (in Dutch). 4 February 1924.
4. "De "Krakatau"". Het nieuws van den dag voor Nederlandsch-Indië (in Dutch). 13 October 1942.
5. "De mijnenlegger "Krakatau"". De Telegraaf (in Dutch). 22 October 1924.
6. "De Nieuwe mijnenlegger". Algemeen handelsblad voor Nederlandsch-Indië (in Dutch). 20 October 1924.
7. Roetering (1997), p. 22.
8. "De "Krakatau": De vermoedelijke oorzaak". Bataviaasch Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). 14 October 1932.
9. von Münching (1978), p. 68.
10. "De mijnenlegger "Krakatau" omgeslagen". Nieuwsblad van Friesland (in Dutch). 12 October 1932.
11. "De mijnenlegger "Krakatau" omgeslagen: Een bijzonder gelukkige afloop zonder slachtoffers". Algemeen handelsblad voor Nederlandsch-Indië (in Dutch). 13 October 1932.
12. "De "Krakatau": Naar Soerabaja gesleept". Nieuwe Haarlemsche Courant (in Dutch). 6 December 1932.
13. "De "Krakatau": Wordt volledig hersteld". Algemeen Handelsblad (in Dutch). 27 December 1932.
14. Mark (1997), p. 99.
15. Bosscher (1986), p. 268.
16. Bosscher (1986), p. 335.

References

• 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.