HNLMS Kortenaer (1925)
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- For other ships named Kortenaer, see HNLMS Kortenaer.
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| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Ordered: | |
| Laid down: | 24 August 1925 |
| Launched: | 28 April 1927 |
| Commissioned: | 3 September 1928 |
| Fate: | Sunk |
| Struck: | 27 February 1942 in the Battle of the Java Sea |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 1680 BRT |
| Length: | 98.1 m |
| Beam: | |
| Draught: | |
| Propulsion: | Geared turbines, 2 shafts, 31,000 HP (23 MW) |
| Speed: | 34 knots (63 km/h) |
| Complement: | |
| Armament: | 4 4.7" gun (4x1), 2 3" AA guns (2x1), 4 .50" MG AA, 6 21" torpedo tubes (2x3) and 24 mines |
| Aircraft: | 1 Fokker floatplane, but no catapult |
HNLMS Kortenaer was an Admiral-class destroyer, named after 17th century Dutch Admiral Egbert Bartholomeusz Kortenaer. 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 Badung Strait on 18 February – 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. Kortenaer was sent to Surabaya 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 17:14 by the Japanese cruiser Haguro. The commanding officer Alexander Sharp of the nearby United States Navy destroyer, John D. Edwards, recorded that "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 Royal Navy destroyer Encounter rescued 113 men from the total of 153, including Lieutenant Commander A. Kroese and took them to Surabaya.
The wreck of Kortenaer was finally located in 2004.
