thomo the lost posted this in 
February 27th, 2009
IJNS Haguro running at speed
I was walking through the city today on the way to a meeting next to Martin Place and there was a commemorative service occurring around the Cenotaph. Ex-servicemen and the Navy band, governor-general (I think) as well as representatives of the Dutch, English and American forces as well. The reason? Today is the anniversary of the Battle of the Java Sea, the battle that occurred on 27 February 1942.
The battle is important to Australian military tradition, especially in regard to the loss of HMAS Perth a couple of days later. Perth’s captain, Hector Waller, was a childhood hero of mine as I read about the way the Perth, all ammunition expent, was firing practice rounds at the Japanese ships that she was fighting. Waller also was the commander of HMAS Stuart in the Mediterranean, one of the member’s of the Scrap Iron Flotilla.
The forces involved in the battle were:
| Ship | Type | Armament and Complement | Fate |
| HMS Exeter | Heavy Cruiser | 630 sailors 6 x 8 inch 8 x 4-inch 8 x 2 pdr (40 mm) quad mounts Mk.VII 2 x 20 mm Oerlikon, single mounts 2 x triple tubes for 21 inch torpedoes One Supermarine Walrus |
Sunk in the Battle of the Java Sea 2 when after emergency repairs at Surabaya, the Exeter departed for Ceylon with the destroyers Encounter and Pope in company. The Japanese Heavy Cruisers Nachi and Haguro sank them on the morning of 1 March 1942. |
| USS Houston | Heavy Cruiser | 1155 officers and enlisted 9 × 8 in guns 4 × 5 in guns 8 × 50 cal machine guns 6 × 21 in torpedo tubes 4 aircraft |
Sunk in the Battle of Sunda Strait, early morning 2 March 1942. Houston and Perth had received orders to sail from Tanjung Priok (where they had gone to after the Battle of the Java Sea) to Tjilatjap. They left in the evening of 28 February 1942 and were intercepted later that night by three Japanese cruisers and several destroyers. Perth was sunk as well. |
| HNLMS De Ruyter | Light Cruiser | 435 crew 7 × 150 mm guns 10 × Bofors 40 mm guns 8 × Browning .50 in machine guns 2 × Fokker C-11W floatplanes |
Sunk by torpedo at the battle of the Java Sea. |
| HNLMS Java | Light Cruiser | 526 crew 10 x 150 mm guns 8 x Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft guns 8 x Browning .50″ machine guns 2 Fokker C-11W floatplanes |
Sunk by torpedo at the battle of the Java Sea. |
| HMAS Perth | Light Cruiser | 646 sailors 8 × 6″ guns 8 × 4″ guns 12 x 0.5″ machine guns 10 x 0.303″ machine guns 8 × 21 in Torpedo tubes Walrus aircraft |
Sunk with Houston in the Battle of the Sunda Straits, 2 March 1942. |
| HMS Electra | Destroyer | 173 sailors 4 × 4.7 inch guns 8 × .50 inch Vickers machine guns 5 × .303 inch machine guns 1 × 3 in (76.2 mm) gun 2 × 20 mm Oerlikon 4 × 21 inch torpedo tubes 2 × depth charge racks 60 depth charges |
Sunk in the Battle of the Java Sea covering the withdrawal of HMS Exeter from the battle. A truly gallant ship and one I will likely post about in the future here. |
| HMS Encounter | Destroyer | 173 sailors 4 × 4.7 inch guns 8 × .50 inch Vickers machine guns 5 × .303 inch machine guns 1 × 3 in (76.2 mm) gun 2 × 20 mm Oerlikon 4 × 21 inch torpedo tubes 2 × depth charge racks 60 depth charges |
Sunk at the Second Battle of the Java Sea. |
| HMS Jupiter | Destroyer | 183 crew 6 x 4.7 in 4 x 2 pounder 8 x 0.5 in Vickers machine guns 10 21 in torpedo tubes |
She was sunk off the north Java coast in the Java Sea on 28 February 1942 by a mine laid earlier in the day by the Dutch minelayer Gouden Leeuw. |
| HNLMS Kortenaer | Destroyer | 153 crew 4 x 4.7″ gun 2 x 3″ AA guns 4 x .50″ MG AA 6 x 21″ torpedo tubes 24 mines 1 Fokker floatplane |
Sunk by torpedo at the battle of the Java Sea. |
| HNLMS Witte de With | Destroyer | 153 crew 4 x 4.7″ gun 2 x 3″ AA guns 4 x .50″ MG AA 6 x 21″ torpedo tubes 24 mines 1 Fokker floatplane |
Damaged at the Battle of the Java Sea she was destroyed by Japanese planes in the harbor of Surabaya on 1 March 1942. |
| USS Alden | Clemson class Destroyer | 106 crew 4 × 4″ guns 1 × 3″ gun 12 × 21″ torpedo tubes |
Decommissioned on 15 July 1945 and name taken off name register on 13 August 1945, she was then sold for scrapping. |
| USS John D. Edwards | Clemson class Destroyer | 124 crew 4 x 4″ guns 1 x 3″ gun 12 x 21″ Torpoedo Tubes |
Decommissioned 28 July 1945 and sold for scrap January 1946. |
| USS John D. Ford | Clemson class Destroyer | 101 crew 4 x 4″ guns 1 x 3″ gun 2 x .30 (7.62 mm) cal MG 12 x 21″ torpedo tubes |
Decommissioned on 2 November 1945 then sold for scrap 5 October 1947 |
| USS Paul Jones | Clemson class Destroyer | 145 crew 4 x 4″ guns 1 x 3″ gun 12 x 21″ Torpedo Tubes. |
Decommissioned on 5 November 1945 and then sold for scrap on 5 October 1947 |
| Nachi | Heavy Cruiser | 773 crew 10 × 8.0″ guns 8 × 5.0″ guns 2 × 0.5″ machine guns 12 × 24″ torpedo tubes 2 aircraft |
She was finally sunk by aircraft from USS Lexington and Ticonderoga in Manila Bay on 5 November 1944. |
| Haguro | Heavy Cruiser | 773 crew 10 × 8″ guns 8 × 5″ guns 2 × 0.5″ machine guns 12 × 24″ torpedo tubes 2 aircraft |
In May 1945, Haguro was the target of the British “Operation Dukedom” and was ambushed and sunk. |
| Naka | Sendai class Light Cruiser | 452 crew 7 × 5.5 ” guns 2 × 80 mm guns, 4 × 24″ torpedo tubes 48 mines 1 x floatplane |
sunk 18 February 1944 by being bombed by USN carrier aircraft near Truk |
| Sendai class Jintsu | Light Cruiser | 452 crew 7 × 5.5 ” guns 2 × 80 mm guns, 4 × 24″ torpedo tubes 48 mines 1 x floatplane |
sunk 13 July 1943 by an Allied cruiser at the Battle of Kolombangara, Solomon Islands |
| Yudachi | Shiratsuyu-class Destroyer | 180 crew 5 × 5″ guns up to 21 × 25 mm AA guns up to 4 × 13 mm AA guns 8 × 24″ torpedo tubes 16 depth charges |
Sunk, 13 November 1942 |
| Samidare | Shiratsuyu-class Destroyer | 180 crew 5 × 5″ guns up to 21 × 25 mm AA guns up to 4 × 13 mm AA guns 8 × 24″ torpedo tubes 16 depth charges |
Destroyed, 26 August 1944 |
| Murasame | Shiratsuyu-class Destroyer | 180 crew 5 × 5″ guns up to 21 × 25 mm AA guns up to 4 × 13 mm AA guns 8 × 24″ torpedo tubes 16 depth charges |
Sunk, 6 March 1943 when she broke in two from an “extremely violent” explosion after being hit by gunfire and torpedoes from USS Waller |
| Harusame | Shiratsuyu-class Destroyer | 180 crew 5 × 5″ guns up to 21 × 25 mm AA guns up to 4 × 13 mm AA guns 8 × 24″ torpedo tubes 16 depth charges |
Sunk 8 June 1944 |
| Minegumo | Asashio-class destroyer | 200 crew 6 × 5″ guns up to 28 × 25 mm AA guns up to 4 × 13 mm AA guns 8 × 24″ torpedo tubes 36 depth charges |
sunk overnight on 6 March 1943 in the Battle of Blackett Strait |
| Asagumo | Asashio-class destroyer | 200 crew 6 × 5″ guns up to 28 × 25 mm AA guns up to 4 × 13 mm AA guns 8 × 24″ torpedo tubes 36 depth charges |
Forced to retire from the battle due to damage. Eventually sunk 25 October 1944 |
| Yukikaze | Kagero-class destroyer | 240 crew 6 × 5″ guns up to 28 × 25 mm AA guns up to 4 × 13 mm AA guns 8 × 24″ torpedo tubes 36 depth charges |
Transferred to the Republic of China, 6 July 1947 where she was known as the Tang Yan (丹陽) |
| Tokitsukaze | Kagero-class destroyer | 240 crew 6 × 5″ guns up to 28 × 25 mm AA guns up to 4 × 13 mm AA guns 8 × 24″ torpedo tubes 36 depth charges |
Sunk in action, 4 March 1943 |
| Amatsukaze | Kagero-class destroyer | 240 crew 6 × 5″ guns up to 28 × 25 mm AA guns up to 4 × 13 mm AA guns 8 × 24″ torpedo tubes 36 depth charges |
Sunk in action, 6 April 1945 |
| Hatsukaze | Kagero-class destroyer | 240 crew 6 × 5″ guns up to 28 × 25 mm AA guns up to 4 × 13 mm AA guns 8 × 24″ torpedo tubes 36 depth charges |
Sunk in action, 2 November 1943 |
| Yamakaze | Shiratsuyu-class destroyer | 180 crew 5 × 5″ guns up to 21 × 25 mm AA guns up to 4 × 13 mm AA guns 8 × 24″ torpedo tubes 16 depth charges |
Sunk 25 June 1942 |
| Kawakaze | Shiratsuyu-class destroyer | 180 crew 5 × 5″ guns up to 21 × 25 mm AA guns up to 4 × 13 mm AA guns 8 × 24″ torpedo tubes 16 depth charges |
Sunk 7 August 1943 |
| Sazanami | Fubuki-class destroyer | 219 crew 6 × 5″ guns up to 22 × 25 mm AA guns up to 10 × 13 mm AA guns, 9 × 24″ torpedo tubes 36 × depth charges |
Sunk, 14 January 1944 |
| Ushio | Fubuki-class destroyer | 219 crew 6 × 5″ guns up to 22 × 25 mm AA guns up to 10 × 13 mm AA guns, 9 × 24″ torpedo tubes 36 × depth charges |
Scrapped on August 4, 1948 |
USS Houston before the war
It seems that aircraft did not play a huge part in the battle itself and on paper, the two sides are reasonably evenly matched. However, it looks as though the Allies suffered a little from poor Command and Control whilst the Japanese forces worked well with each other.
The Japanese were attempting to perform an amphibious strike at Java. On 27 February 1942 the main American-British-Dutch-Australian (ABDA) Command naval force sailed from Surabaya in an attempt to incercept the Japanese forces. The ABDA force was under the command of Admiral Karel Doorman of the Dutch navy. The ABDA force sailed northeast from Surabaya whilst the Japanese were approaching from the Makassar Strait.
It seems that during the battle, the Allies had more airpower available than the Japanese. These were land-based aircraft but they seem not to have had a significant effect on the battle.
The battle really consisted of a series of attacks by the ABDA force, attempting to brak through the Japanese screen and attack the invasion convoy however the Japanese fleet manager to keep the ABDA forces at bay. Interestingly, at one point, the Japanese launched two salvoes of torpedoes, 92 torpedoes in total being fired but only one of them actually hit anything, the Kortenaer.
The ABDA fleet broke off the engagement and turned away around 18:00 covered by a smoke screen laid by the four U.S. destroyers. Around Jupiter ran onto a mine and was sunk. The four remaining cruisers (Exeter having already been detached) encountered the Japanese escort group again at 23:00 with both sides exchanging fire in the dark at long range. De Ruyter and Java were both sunk at this stage – both hit by torpedoes. this effectively ended the battle.
And yes, I will be updating this post later – as I add the technical details of the vessels in. Maybe I’ll post a scenario for General Quarters III with this as well …. but later 
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