MBT HrMs cruiser "De Ruyter" (1936) – Construction drawing, scale 1:100 (10.11.019)

The HNLMS De Ruyter (1936) was a light cruiser of the Royal Netherlands Navy, built in the 1930s and designed for the defence of the Dutch East Indies. Its design was influenced by the economic constraints of the Great Depression, resulting in a ship that was underpowered in terms of armament and armour compared to other ships of the time.

Specifications

Length: 170.92 metres

Beam: 15.70 metres

Draught: 4.90 metres

Displacement: 7,822 tonnes (fully loaded)

Speed: 32 knots (59 km/h)

Crew: 436

Propulsion: 3 × Parsons steam turbines with 6 × Yarrow boilers, producing 66,000 hp

Armament:

7 × 150 mm guns (3 × 2 Mk 9 turrets, 1 × 1 Mk 10 turret)

10 × 40 mm Bofors L/60 anti-aircraft guns

8 × 12.7 mm Vickers anti-aircraft machine guns

Armour:

Armor belt: 50 mm

Deck and turrets: 30 mm

Conning tower: 30 mm

Aircraft: 2 × Fokker C.XI-W seaplanes, launched via a Heinkel K8 catapult

History

Ordered: 16 September 1933

Launched: 11 March 1935

Commissioned: 3 October 1936

Decommissioned: 28 February 1942 (sunk during the Battle of the Java Sea)

HMS De Ruyter was deployed in the defence of the Dutch East Indies against the Japanese invasion. During the Battle of the Java Sea on 27 February 1942, the ship was struck by a torpedo from the Japanese heavy cruiser Haguro. The ship was severely damaged and sank in the early morning of 28 February 1942. Of the 436 crew members, 367 lost their lives; 69 survived and were taken prisoner by the Japanese.

In 2002, the wreck of HNLMS De Ruyter was discovered on the seabed of the Java Sea. However, during an expedition in 2016, it emerged that the wreck had been looted; it is believed that the ship was salvaged from the seabed in pieces using grab buckets and subsequently sold.

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