Doorman's Flagship

Dutch cruiser De Ruyter
Laid down: 1933. Launched: 1935. Commissioned: 1936
Seven 150-mm guns on a 6442-ton displacement
Crew: 435

In the Battle of the Java Sea on 27 February 1942, De Ruyter was the flagship of the Dutch rear-admiral Karel Doorman, with his flag captain Eugène Lacomblé (who had previously served on board the ship as a lieutenant). Off the north coast off Java the ABDA fleet was surprised at night by a Japanese squadron consisting of the heavy cruisers Nachi and Haguro supported by 14 destroyers. De Ruyter was supposedly hit by a single Japanese Long Lance torpedo at about 23:30 and sank at 02:30 the next day with the loss of 345 men, including Admiral Doorman and Captain Lacomblé. Her wreck was found after the war and declared a war grave, with only the ship's bell (now in the Kloosterkerk in the Hague) being recovered.