Karel Doorman

Vocation

Notable

Dutch Rear Admiral, leader of the allied forces during the 1st Battle of Java Sea. In 1942 he was made commander of the combined American, British, Dutch and Australian fleet in the Dutch East Indies. On 27 February 1942, Doorman led the fleet of five cruisers and nine destroyers against a much stronger Japanese fleet in the Java Sea. The battle became a disaster for the Allies as the Japanese guns had a wider range and could fire on the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDACOM) Strike Force, before they could strike back. For this reason, Doorman decided to approach the larger Japanese fleet with the word "Ik val aan, volg mij!" (I am attacking, follow me). But during the tropical night the Japanese were able to light the ships of the Allied forces, whilst Japanese ships kept in the dark. The Allied fleet was lit by flares of burning ships and by calcium parachute torches dropped by Japanese air-planes. First the Dutch cruiser De Ruyter and the American cruiser Houston received hits form the Japanese cruiser guns. Then the Java was hit by two long lance torpedoes and she quickly sank. Minutes later the fleets flag-ship - the cruiser De Ruyter - was hit by a long lance torpedo. It would still remain at the surface for quite some time, but eventually she went into the deep. Taking with here many on board, amongst them Rear-Admiral Doorman, who decided that his fate was intwined with the ship. There was enough time to escape, but Doorman rather went under with his ship, according to old tradition. Half November 2016 it became clear that the ship wrecks in the Java sea, that were also acknowledged as war graves, were plundered and sold as old iron. Link to Wikipedia