HNLMS Krakatau

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Krakatau capsized in 1932
History
Netherlands
NameKrakatau
NamesakeKrakatau
Operator Royal Netherlands Navy
BuilderMarine Etablissement te Soerabaja
Laid down3 February 1923
Launched2 February 1924
Commissioned11 December 1924
FateScuttled on 8 March 1942
General characteristics [1]
TypeMinelayer
Displacement982 t (966 long tons)
Length65 m (213 ft 3 in)
Beam10.5 m (34 ft 5 in)
Draught3.2 m (10 ft 6 in)
Propulsion
  • 1 Propeller
  • 2,500 hp (1,900 kW)
  • 1 x Triple expansion engine
Speed15.5 knots (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph)
Crew91
Armament

HNLMS Krakatau was a minelayer of the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNN).[2] She was built in the Dutch East Indies and served between 1924 and 1942 in the RNN.[3]

Design and construction[edit]

Krakatau was laid down on 3 February 1923 and launched on 2 February 1924 at the Marine Etablissement te Soerabaja (MES).[1][4] The ship was designed by the Dutch engineer R. O. Leegstra.[5] After passing its sea trials in October 1924 Krakatau was commissioned on 11 December 1924.[1][6][7] 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.[8] 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.[9]

Service history[edit]

On 11 October 1932 Krakatau capsized in the Oostervaarwater near Soerabaja.[2][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.[8][9] 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.[9][11] Eventually the water inside the ship gathered at one side of the ship and it slowly capsized.[8] 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.[2] 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.[2][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.[8]

Notes[edit]

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

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Mark (1997), p. 98.
  2. ^ a b c d von Münching (1978), p. 68.
  3. ^ Raven (1988), p. 181.
  4. ^ "Terwaterlating van een Mijnenlegger". De Indische Courant (in Dutch). 4 February 1924.
  5. ^ "De "Krakatau"". Het nieuws van den dag voor Nederlandsch-Indië (in Dutch). 13 October 1942.
  6. ^ "De mijnenlegger "Krakatau"". De Telegraaf (in Dutch). 22 October 1924.
  7. ^ "De Nieuwe mijnenlegger". Algemeen handelsblad voor Nederlandsch-Indië (in Dutch). 20 October 1924.
  8. ^ a b c d Roetering (1997), p. 22.
  9. ^ a b c "De "Krakatau": De vermoedelijke oorzaak". Bataviaasch Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). 14 October 1932.
  10. ^ "De mijnenlegger "Krakatau" omgeslagen". Nieuwsblad van Friesland (in Dutch). 12 October 1932.
  11. ^ a b "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. ^ a b Mark (1997), p. 99.
  15. ^ a b Bosscher (1986), p. 268.
  16. ^ a b Bosscher (1986), p. 335.

References[edit]

  • Mark, Chris (1997). Schepen van de Koninklijke Marine in W.O. II (in Dutch). Alkmaar: De Alk. ISBN 90-6013-522-9.
  • von Münching, L.L. (1978). Schepen van de Koninklijke Marine in de Tweede Wereldoorlog (in Dutch). Alkmaar: Alk. ISBN 90-6013-903-8.
  • Bosscher, Ph.M. (1986). De Koninklijke Marine in de Tweede Wereldoorlog (in Dutch). Vol. 2: Indië tot en met 8 maart 1942. Franeker: Wever. ISBN 90-6135-372-6.
  • 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). Amsterdam: De Bataafsche Leeuw. ISBN 90-6707-200-1.
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