HNLMS Kortenaer
The HNLMS Kortenaer was an Admiralen class destroyer. She served mostly in the Netherlands East Indies, and when war broke out in 1941 she was at Surabaya. She took part in Battle of the Badoeng Strait on 18 - 20 February 1942, where she ran aground on one of the channel shores after temporarily losing rudder control. It was impossible for the Dutch ship to return to the formation, and they had to wait for the next morning tide to free the ship. The Kortenaer was sent to Soerabaja for repairs. She was back in action in time for the Battle of the Java Sea on 27 February 1942, where she was torpedoed at 1714 by the Haguro. The Commanding Officer of the nearby U.S. destroyer, USS John D. Edwards, recorded that "the Kortenaer about 700 yards bearing 80° relative was struck on the starboard quarter by a torpedo, blew up, turned over, and sank at once leaving only a jackknifed bow and stern a few feet above the surface.". The British destroyer HMS Encounter rescued 113 men from the total of 153, including skipper LtCdr. A. Kroese and took them to Surabaya. The wreck of the Kortenaer was finally located in 2004.
|
|
