The Flight of the Koning der Nederlanden.

sharlin

Banned
Discussion Thread - https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=294906

The Great Escape.

Chugging along at 5 knots, the HNLMS Koning der Nederlanden rolled slowly in the gentle swells of the Indian Ocean. The ancient turreted ironclad and now training and depot ship and her smattering of companion vessels were at the end of their tether. Coal was running low; the Bliksem was already reduced to burning the wood that had been hacked from the trees of Pulau as an emergency reserve. Captain Lindermann could only hope that the flotilla, if you could call an ancient former coast defence ship and three tramp steamers that were spotted before any of them ran out of coal. The water situation was not good either the Koning der Nederlanden’s condensers were giving out under the strain of the 2700 mile journey, especially considering the last time she’d had her boilers properly checked was in 1919.
Sitting down on a chair in the old ships bridge the Captain took a moment to reflect on what had turned into a 21 day long odyssey that few thought would succeed.

25 Days ago – Surabaya. 18th February 1942

“Ahh thank you for coming Captain, I know you’ve been a busy man? Can I offer you a drink?”

“No thank you Sir, how may I be of service?”

The governor of Surabaya looked exhausted, too little sleep and too much to be done in too little time had made him look older than the 65 years he’d already seen. The grey haired old man rubbed his balding forehead with a handkerchief before sitting and Lindermann sat a moment later.

“I take it you’ve heard the news and gossip?”

“About the Japanese attacks Sir?”

“Yes…I’m afraid that even with our gallant navy and our allies they may soon be here. We’ve already suffered many air attacks and have little to stop them with. Tell me Captain, what’s the condition of your ship?”

“The Koning der Nederlanden? She’s old sir, we’ve prepared to scuttle her if it should come to it. I won’t let the nips take her.”

“I see. Captain Lindermann I hereby order you to halt all destructive works on the ship.”

“Sir?”

“You are to take on as many civilians as you can and set sail for Batavia, from there you are to sail to a friendly port with your charges on board.”

“Sir…this..I must protest.”

“Are you refusing an order Captain?”

“No sir, but you must understand the Koning der Nederlanden is an ancient ship, we last ran her engines in 1933 when she was moved to her current position. The chief keeps them in running condition but her hull is fouled, she might be good for a sprint at 8 knots but that would kill her engines and she has no defensive armament.”

“I know Captain..I’ve read the reports of every ship in the area we’ve been able to get our hands on. I will be honest with you Captain, I doubt we’ll last more than a few more weeks and there are still many women and children here and in nearby towns and villages we simply don’t have the capacity to evacuate. I’ve spoken with Admiraal Doorman and he has agreed to my request to use the Koning der Nederlanden and any other ship in the evacuation effort. We know what the Japanese did in Nanking and if rumours are true they show little mercy to those captured, I won’t have that happen to the people under my charge.”

“I understand Sir, I will need a few days to prepare and take on supplies.”

“That is fine, I know there is not enough coal here for a long journey but they have enough at Batavia so you will sail there. How many do you think you can take?”

Lindermann thought for a moment, running numbers through his head. “If we strip her to the essentials we should be able to get maybe four hundred people on board, excluding. I will need to enforce rationing and it will be a hard voyage and with the ships speed..”

“Yes..I know you cannot guarantee their safety, but we have to try Captain, if we can keep five hundred people out of the hands of the Japanese, we have to at least try.”

What had followed had been three days of frantic preparations. The Koning der Nederlanden had been a training and depot ship since 1923 and sported an impressive series of wooden classrooms and quarters built up over her original structure, the three funnels and two turrets were still there of course, just hidden under the woodwork. A test of the engines had been surprisingly trouble free. The Chief Engineer, Marcus Steiner who had officially retired in 1938 but had remained on board as the ship was the only home he’d known for over a decade of service looked after ‘his girls’ as he affectionately referred to the ancient compound steam engines with a fathers love and care. The engine room was always inspection ready and the boilers had been cleaned with the aid of the sail training school’s boys who had clambered inside the bronze and iron contraptions to scrub their main tanks out before being taken apart by hand, cleaned and put back together again.

“She’ll give you a steady six knots Captain, but I won’t vouch for fuel consumption, if you go above that.”

“She can do more?”

“If the bottom is not too fouled we might be good for ten knots but the pistons are old so only for a short time, she’ll still pick up her skirt and run if needs be but she is a grand old lady.”

“Very well Chief.”

Getting supplies had been fairly simple, in the rush to evacuate there were many warehouses that had not been emptied and were scheduled for demolition, with the permission of the Governor and the help of the Police the Koning der Nederlanden was soon carrying as much food and consumable water as was possible. The only stickler of a problem had been the four great 11-inch guns stored fore and aft. Unshipped and stored below when the ship was converted into a depot ship they had remained in place ever since. Still cared for by the crew, their black paint gleaming in the light from the overhead lamps.

“Leave them be, with all the people on board we’ll probably be thankful for the extra ballast to counter the top weight. “

The night before departure the first civilians had come on board. A mix of mainly women and children, several doctors, every one of the local cadets, boys mostly no older than 14, many of who had wanted to grab a rifle and fight to defend their homes as well as their teachers. To the surprise of some there was also a fair few Javanese, mainly those associated with working with the Dutch and helping run the colony, all told four hundred and fifty seven people were now bunking aboard the ship in addition to her hundred and fifteen crew.

The day of departure had been a harrowing thing. The Japanese had launched a major air attack of Surabaya with long range bombers. The port town was largely defenceless, its fighter squadrons worn down in near constant fighting whilst the anti-aircraft guns were caught by surprise. Several bombs had landed near the Koning der Nederlanden but there was no damage to the ship. She sailed into the darkness away from Surabaya that had been set ablaze and billowing smoke from its docks and ‘Chinese district’ whilst AA guns still hammered away into the night.

Hugging the coast on the trip to Batavia the journey had been mercifully uneventful , only local boats were spotted, often crammed with people sailing the opposite direction as fast as the wind would carry them. The old ship had performed well, her engines had not missed a beat and at 6 knots she wasn’t consuming coal at too great a rate although it was obvious that she was going to have to carry as much coal as possible and even some wood as a reserve.

The harbour of Batavia had been a place of barely organised chaos, the old battleship Surabaya was acting as guard ship and would head up a small convoy of ships heading towards the port that bore her name whilst small sailing ships and tramp steamers clogged the harbour and panic was thick in the air. Although lacking a radio the Koning der Nederlanden was expected and coaling proceeded at a breakneck pace, the crew helped by the boys of the Surabaya sailing club and school. Whilst the final evacuees were loaded on board the Koning der Nederlanden picked up her first ‘consort’ for what the journey. The 1400 tonne Governor General Louden a steam packet that was already taking on several hundred civilians and evacuees. Condenser problems meant that she could not sail with the Surabaya and would be left behind so her Master had met with Captain Lindermann whilst he was ashore procuring coal for his ship.

COLLECTIE_TROPENMUSEUM_Het_gepantserde_marineschip_Zr._Ms._Koning_der_Nederlanden_TMnr_10001802.jpg

* The Koning der Nederlanden as converted into a depot and barracks ship, she was in this layout for her journey.


“Hans, we stand a better chance sailing together, if we sail alone what happens if there is an engine problem? We’d be adrift without any support, together..”

“Yes Mr Hone I understand.”

“Please, call me Michael.”

“Micahel, I fear this to be a fools errand but like the Governor said we have to try..what speed can the Louden make?”

“Eight knots for about twelve hours, five to six is her cruising speed.”

“That’s good enough for me, when are you ready to sail?”

“I’m taking on some water for the trip and once that’s done we’re good to go.”

“What are you carrying?”

“People, had to dump all the cargo at the dockside, I’ve got a mix of people from the town as well as about fifty locals, mainly women and their children.”

“Is the Louden armed?”

“I’ve got a pistol in my cabin, what about you?”

“Four eleven inch guns.”
Michaels eyes brightened.

“In storage in her fore and aft holds.”

“Ahh…had me going there. Where do we sail?”

“With the reports of Japanese air attacks against North Australia we can’t go there…so I propose we go West.”

“West, where to?”

“Colombo, it’s in range as long as we don’t have engine troubles and there should not be any Japanese out that way.”

“Damn long way…that’s what…2700 miles?”

“If not more.”
Captain Hone ran the numbers. “Twenty plus days…we might need to stop somewhere on the way.”

“Any ideas?”
“Ever sailed to Pulau Nias?”

“No, it’s a small fishing port isn’t it?”
“Exactly, its small it’s no military target, we make it there, load whatever we can and then run for Colombo.”

“Hmm….agreed, we can chart a course as if heading for the Maldives until we can turn north and head directly for Colombo. It’s well off the shipping routes so that should cut down the sub threat.”
“Then we’re agreed?”

“What bloody choice do we have?”
Michale chuckled. I’ll moor her up alongside you and we’ll go when you give the word.”

To say that things were tight on the Koning would be an understatement, there had been a small allocation for baggage, clothing only for the evacuees and they were all having to sleep in hammocks in the classrooms and bunks whilst every space that wasn’t filled with coal was filled with food or drinking water, fortunately an American freighter had offloaded its supplies before the evacuation and these included several hundred ‘jerry cans’ which had promptly been ‘acquired’ for the old battleship and with rationing already in effect by the ships quartermaster a portly bearded chap who was already being called ‘Santa’ for the gift of food he gave out there was enough to last, barring any emergencies. The design of the Koning der Nederlanden’s classroom’s at least allowed fresh air into the ship but the shallow draught of her design meant that overburdened as she was the ship was now quick to roll and slow to recover, her seasoned crew were already praying there was no rough weather, with her plimsoll line nearly obscured there was a real risk of capsizing if the Koning ran into rough weather and a storm would certainly sink her.

With the Imperial Japanese Army closing in on Batavia itself there was little time to waste, the city had been subject to air attacks and the stream of evacuees became a flood, there were ugly scenes in the docks as locals and those Dutch unable to escape fought for places on what boats remained, the Police close to losing control had to fire into the air to force the crowds back. With resistance crumbling the port didn’t have long to ‘live’ as part of the Dutch Empire and the Louden and Koning left at the last moment thanks to on-going problems with the Louden’s condensers.

Flight

The only escape route was the Sunda Straight and both ships entered it with lights off and at full speed. If they remained in the straight when daylight came then it was likely they would be found, either by Japanese aircraft or even worse a warship, a plane could miss with a bomb, but they could not run nor fight a destroyer or cruiser.

“Full speed ahead Mr Steiner…let’s see if the old girl remembers how to run!”

“Aye aye sir!” On the chief engineer’s nod the steam valves were thrown open, the racket of the engines increasing as the great pistons connected to the two prop-shafts started hammering up and down. The heat in the engine room was infernal, all boilers were lit and open, topless stokers shovelling coal as fast as they could, coal soot blackening their sweat slicked chests and arms. The ships stern knuckled down slightly as her twin props thrashed, the old engines labouring to push the ship forwards at her best speed. Perhaps if her bottom had been cleaned of the weeds and growths that encrusted it she would have gone faster but still for a ship built in 1871, hitting 9.5 knots after all these years was quite the accomplishment. Up on the bridge the drone of aircraft and flashes of distant artillery fire were both seen and heard as the two ships, both relics for the time charged at their best speed through what could be a killing ground in daylight for vessels such as them. Unarmed, overburdened and slow they would be easy targets come daylight so they ran as hard and fast as they could.

At 0615 with the straight disappearing into the morning haze behind them the two ships finally slowed, exhausted stokers near collapsing at their posts as replacements came down to help them out. Navigating at high speed in the pitch dark In a seaway that had been stripped of navigation markers and buoys had been just as stressful and exhausting for Captains Lindermann and Hone whilst their passengers slept, unknowing the danger they had been in and for the moment, saved from.

Sailing to Panaitan Island the two refugees turned north crossing the open waters of the bay at a steady six knots although the Condensers of the Louden were once again giving her troubles chopping the ‘formations’ speed to barely four knots whilst her engineers laboured to repair the temperamental machinery. The strains of the high speed run were telling on both ships engines, the port engine of the Koning had developed a worrying rattle indicating something was not right whilst the starboard engine’s bearing’s had to be played over with a hose every three hours thanks to the risk of overheating and insufficient lubricants.

“Sir..it’s no good, I thought we was fine with the run but the Port engine is vibrating a lot, I strongly advise we do not run it unless needed.”
“Can it be fixed Mr Steiner?”

“We’ve got some tools and a small workshop to fix equipment down here, if I had…eight hours’ time enough to remove the plating to see what’s causing the vibration and if it’s not too bad then fix it.”
“Permanently?”

The engineer cheek shook his head, with his jowls he reminded Lindermann of an English bulldog.
“It will be a quick fix, a bodge but we’ll have two engines again rather than risk it failing and if needs be we can stop work on it en route.”

“Helm. Set course heading 248 speed five knots, signal the Louden.”
“Aye sir, heading 248 speed five knots!”

“We’ll head for here…” Lindermann said a finger jabbing on the map table. “Enggano Island, we’ll shelter on the seaward side to the west and halt there, if anything happens we’ll at least be close to the shore. “
“Louden acknowledges our signal sir.”
“Very well, helmsman execute.”

tender_koning_der_nederlanden_tender_koning_der_nederlanden_xyearx_xplacex_ramtoren_2.jpg

The Koning der Nederlanden as built.

It took another twelve nerve wracking hours to crawl to Enggano Island, every man that wasn’t busy was up on deck scanning the skies and sea, both ships were coal fired and would have been leaving an obvious plume of smoke behind them, especially the old engines of the Koning that would have been easily spotted from the air or sea, even on an overcast day like it was. All it would take is one scout, one flying boat or a group of planes on their way to a target to spot them and it would have been over. But lady luck was smiling on the small convoy as they pulled into a cove near the tree covered isle of Enggano.

“Mr Irskine, have the men rig up a pool for our passengers, use the sail from the foremast and the life boat davits, it will do them good to get cleaned off and cooled down. And tell Mr Steiner he has his eight hours, after that we’re on the move again. Also find out if anyone can fish, we’ll see if we can rig up something to help with the food situation.”

Whilst the passengers bathed the crew went to work, the galley was already preparing the meal for the day salted beef and rice, which was to become a staple for the journey whilst on the Louden the overworked engine room teams got to work on her condensers, patching and repairing where they could.
Once the pool was rigged up there was a minor disagreement amongst the female passengers, they were bickering about who should be allowed to go first but Captain Lindermann solved this by saying that the oldest should go first. With none of the ladies willing to admit they were old, the youngest skipped to the front and were the first in the pool.

By six that evening everyone had managed to have a swim and there were people fishing off the stern of the ship whilst the overworked engineers went over their charges with a fine tooth comb. Several parts had been badly worn by the high speed run and the mechanic was working as fast as he could to repair them but all knew that the engines would probably not cope with another high speed run without serious faults developing. The run through the straight had also consumed more coal than hoped but reserves were adequate barring no more engine destroying high speed runs.
Aboard the Governor General Louden her troublesome condensers were being inspected along with some of her boilers whilst her crew and passengers ate and bathed in a similar set up aboard the Koning der Nederlanden. With more modern triple expansion propulsion the steamer didn’t quite have the coal concerns of the Koning despite her engines being troublesome, something that had been noted back in 1938.

At 2133 the Koning der Nederlanden’s engines were back together and the boilers were building up steam and my 2145 both ships were moving again through the dark waters. Ashore and in the distance the unmistakable sound of artillery fire rumbled, the odd flash and crump of an explosion the only light inland on the rugged hills of Sumatra. At roughly 0400 there was a drone of engine noise as planes flew over in the dark but at low speeds both ships gave little wake and there was no sign they had been spotted as they trudged North towards Pulau Nias.

One day out from Pulau Nias

“Smoke on the horizon Sir!”
“Damn…where-away?”
“Dead ahead Sir!”

“XO, I want you to get some of the men to get the passengers up and get them on near the exits onto the deck. If it’s a Jap we’ll run ashore if needs be, try and save as many lives as we can. Quickly now, don’t cause a panic.”
“Tell the lookout to keep his eyes glued on that smoke!”

With their coal fired engines the Louden and Koning put out enough smoke of their own to be easily spotted and any warship captain worth his salt would inspect such a smoke plume in wartime. Minutes ticked by with agonising slowness but the distant ship didn’t seem to be coming closer at any great rate of knots.

“Damn it…what is she?”
“Could be another refugee like us Sir.”
“Could be a troopship heading towards Nias too.”

“Aye Sir. Well we could always ram her we’ve still got the ram bow..”
“I don’t want to die today thank you very much Mr Jansen.”
The second in command grinned. “True Sir, you’re rather poorly dressed.”

The small port of Pulau Nias was of little strategic value, a few bombs had been dropped on it and troops were slated to occupy it but stubborn Dutch and Javanese defence near Surabaya had put that plan behind schedule. Many civilians had fled either into the interior of the island or on small boats towards the presumed safety of the mainland. But sitting in the harbour was the 849 tonne tramp steamer Princess and the 1400 tonne Bliksem both loading what they could before fleeing. It was the Princess whose smoke had been spotted, the ship had been running for the harbour, fearing the smoke from the Louden and Koning was actually from a Japanese Warship.

Both ships were loaded with locals, the civilian government of the Dutch Empire had apparently abandoned their post several days ago and fled on a ship south leaving behind a few local administrators and some Police. The Masters of both ships, Lucek and Sefastsson were relived to be joined by a naval Captain who had a plan outside of sitting around waiting to be bombed. The Bliksem had a radio and that had picked up news reports of air attacks on Darwin in Australia so heading south was out of the question. Sticking with the Louden and Koning and their ‘hair brained’ plan of heading for Colombo was the only, if not best option.

Disgreements

“No, no and again no! Mr Lucek the Princess simply does not have the facilities on board or the room to carry what you’ve got, if she hits a squall she could go under she’s so overloaded. Now what I propose gentlemen in the following; half of the civilian evacuees from the Princess will be shipped over to the Bliksem, we then use her as a mobile coal depot, her fore and aft holds are built for bulk materials so coal sacks and whatever wood we can get will go in there. We have to recognise that we can’t get everyone out..and it is a terrible burden to bare but we have between our four ships over fifteen hundred people. Fifteen hundred saved from the Japanese, I know that I’d take everyone I could but the risk to our ships from overloading and weight distribution in rough weather will kill us all and if we’re found by a Japanese warship, submarine or aircraft then we’re just as dead. No gentlemen, we have taken all we can and we shall depart once the transfer of passengers is complete. We’ll leave behind a few of our boats, they have small masts on them and people trying to get to the mainland can do so using those, it’s better than being trapped here.”

“How much coal was there on the island?”

“Enough Mr Hone but it’s going to be tight, I’ve had my chief and some of the crew getting wood to burn from the outskirts of the town for the whole day, and they got some locals to help too and should be returning to the Princess..” Lindermann shot Captain Lucek a glance. “..by six this evening. With hopefully enough for any shortfall we need as we can all burn wood.”

“And Colombo is still our destination?”

“Indeed Mr Sefastsson, we’ve no choice, Java is all but overrun, the Maldives too far, at Colombo the British can defend us and we can offload the civilians, from there it’s only a hop to India and safety.”

Three days later – somewhere in the Indian Ocean - The Storm

The sky was full of dark clouds heavily pregnant with rain and there was the odd rumble of thunder and flash of lightning on the horizon. Modern ships can sail round storms but with their slow speed the Koning and her consorts had little choice but to keep sailing ahead as the wind and waves picked up.

“Jansen, signal the flotilla; All passengers into cargo holds and below deck immediately!”

SS Governor General Louden

“I will not be human ballast it’s disgraceful and undignified!”

The gentleman was one of the civil administrators from Batavia, he and his family were aboard and they were use to far more luxuries than the spare facilities and discomfort of a packet steamer.
“And what about being packed in there with the coolies, they smell, its unhygienic I tell you.”

“Mr Plainchinger please get below Sir, it is for your own good.”
“And if I refuse?”

“Sir, we are all in the most terrible danger, if this storm breaks then we risk capsizing due to being overloaded. I can must ensure the safety of my ship and all those aboard, and to do so I must distribute the weight.”

“So you DO intend to use us as human ballast!”
Captain Hone was a good man, he didn’t swear (often) and had a very long fuse, but even that had its limits.

“Damn you Sir, I have two ways of distributing the weight, either down below or over the side and as God is my witness I am tempted to throw you overboard and see if the sharks will take a chunk of your miserable hide!”

SS_Bokhara.jpg


The SS Governor General Louden pre war

An hour later the storm did indeed break, thunder boomed whilst rain poured from the sky. The small formation had all its lights on, the little Princess sometimes vanishing from view as she dipped into the trough of waves only to re-appear moments later, water streaming down her flanks. Aboard the Koining der Nederlanden there was two men at the wheel trying to hold her straight, her high sides were acting like a sail and it was a struggle to keep bow on to the waves whilst her heavy ram made her pitch heavily, her bow slamming into the wave troughs with a jarring impact that rocked her from stem to stern.

This battering went on for five hours until the storm blew itself out and the ships sailed on, bearing North on a heading for still distant Colombo, waiting for dawn to see what damage there was.
Dawn found all four ships in a sorry state with hatches and doors battered by the waves, several lifeboats were missing, carried away by the waves but the worst of all was the condition of the Princess. A wave had slammed down onto her upper deck whilst she was in the trough of the wave beforehand, it had smashed the hatch and allowed water in. Frantic bailing by the crew and passengers who had formed bucket chains had prevented her from foundering but most of the coal bags were soaked, their contents useless. They would have to make it to Colombo on what remained in her aft hold as well as their own supplies of coal. Fortunately the wood was drying off quickly in the sun but the coal was thrown overboard.

The next day the port engine of the Koning gave out, a crack had developed in her prop-shaft from the hammering of the waves and undetected and unseen it had gotten worse overnight with the engine being run non-stop. At 0200 the port engine failed, the prop-shaft wrenching itself nearly in half, mangling metal with a gut wrenching screech of tortured metal inside the old ships engine. Only quick thinking and even quicker action on behalf of the crew on watch had saved them from completely wrecking the engine and severing steam pipes, stopping the engine room from becoming little more than a metal filled broiler for those men on duty.

HNLMS Koning der Nederlanden – Now.

“Sir, Mr Steiner reports we’ve got about 75 tonnes of coal aboard and then we’re on wood, we could demolish the upperworks and classrooms and get a few more tonnes of wood out of that but..”
“Yes I know Mr Jansen. What about the others?”

“The Bliksem is already using wood and they say its good quality stuff. The Louden has an estimated 93 tonnes of coal left whilst the Princess is down to 50 and is already using wood to supplement it.”
“What about the Bliksem’s radio, any good news with that?”

“No Sir, the radio’s wrecked from that storm, water damage and her riggings still a mess.”

“Damn…well we keep on this heading. We’re what…” Lindermann strolled over to the now somewhat tattered map on the chart table, looking at their estimated position and running the numbers in his head. “We’re no more than two hundred miles from Ceylon. If we keep this heading hopefully the British will have aircraft up and they will spot us.”
“Or attack us.”

“You’re a ray of sunshine in my life Mr Jansen.”
“All part of the service Sir.”

The Captain snorted, the nightmare scenario of his ships running out of fuel, drifting with boilers cold at the mercy of wind and wave just miles from safety running over and over in his mind.
“Carry on Mr Jansen.”

Colombo harbour

B for Betty’s crew was carrying out the final checks before the big Sunderland flying boat entered the water before another long patrol. Like most Sunderland crews B for Betty had fitted a few more ports for machine guns and had ‘acquired’ the weapons as part of the usual trading between units for supplies and equipment that went on in war time. Of course this was nothing compared to the light fingered brigands of Unit 4174 over in India led by the so called ‘Pirate King’, Rear Admiral Sir Alexander Grant Redvers Rufus Walthrop-Channing DSO, RN but then no one could be as bad as them.

For todays run the big plane had its usual load of eight depth charges, a dozen 25lb bombs and a full load of ammunition for its 14 hour patrol, a regular run for the 11 man crew. Down in the simple galley the boiling vessel was already on preparing that most vital of British things, tea, whilst the gunners checked their weapons and stowed kit.

Usually the Japanese didn’t come out far from the land unless something was up and the few times that Sunderland’s had tangled with Japanese fighters the big flying boats had usually come away shot up but still airborne. Slow and ungainly as it was the Sunderland was as tough as old boots and was a prickly opponent for the lightly built but long ranged Japanese fighters that were occasionally seen.

At the allotted time the harbour was filled with the deep, throaty drone of four Bristol Pegasus engines at full power as the brilliant white coloured aircraft powered along to its take off speed, kicking up an impressive wake and plume of spray behind it before lifting off, engines clawing the big brute into the sky. Once at a good altitude the gunners went to their positions, starting up the three hour shifts they would spend in the planes turrets fore, aft and amidships whilst others carried out checks or rested in the small ‘lounge’ amidships. This was just one of four of the big sea planes that would launch today as well as the shorter ranged Beauforts.

The Japanese it seemed showed little interest in sending submarines after the plentiful convoys plying the Indian Ocean but it never paid to let your guard down. All it would take was an armed merchant raider or heaven forbid an attack by Japanese carriers and there would be a massacre. True things were still being organised and the oddballs of 4174 were apparently organising sailing ships to act as escorts for costal convoys if squadron scuttlebutt was to be believed but no one wanted to put a sailing ship against a modern armed merchantman and the RAF was patrolling heavily to ensure that scenario didn’t happen.

“Attention crew, no need to remind you but still, keep your eyes open we don’t want any nips poking around where they are not welcome, call out any sighting report you make.”

Hours later – many hundreds of feet below.

“Captain, message from the Louden. Condensers have failed. Will need a tow.”

Captain Lindermann thumped his fist against one of the railings. The Louden’s condensers, finicky and unreliable beasts had finally given out and without them the engines would not get the water needed to generate steam. Already the freighter was slowing, her engineers frantically shutting the boilers down to prevent any blowback or damage to the engines from their heat now with no water to cool them. ‘So near but yet so far’ Lindermann thought as he looked back at the now wallowing Louden. The Princess and Bliksemwere in no condition to tow her, they both had weak engines and lacked the mass to get some momentum, only the Koning could do it but she was running low on coal and a tow would eat into that rapidly from the strain of pulling an extra thousand plus tonnes. The only other alternative was to leave her, but with hundreds of people on-board, that was no option at all.

“Acknowledge her signal, tell the Princess and Bliksem to keep heading towards Colombo, we’ll assist the Louden with a tow.”

“Sir our fuel situation..”

“I’m well aware of how much we have not got Mr Jensen! Have the crew rip up the deck planking if needs be, I will not leave those people behind. Not now!”

Felix Jensen gave the smartest salute he’d given in 20 years. “Aye Sir. Perfectly clear, I’ll sort the crew to get a tow arranged.”

It took an hour of struggling and effort to get a towing cable up from the lower decks, although due to the lack of coal it wasn’t as difficult as it could have been as there was now room to move in the holds. Manoeuvring as close to the Louden as possible it still took another thirty minutes to get the tow rope across to the crippled steamer before the Koning slowly picked up what little slack there was the steel cable ‘rope’ taking the strain with an audible groan of stretching metal. Whilst all this was going on the lifeboats of the Louden were ferrying what little coal was left from her bunks over to the Koning and her near starving boilers.
With the Bliksem and Princess now blurs on the horizon the Koning and her crippled charge followed as best they could at a mere four knots.

“Mr Steiner, how’s the engine holding out?”

“She’s not happy Sir, I’ve got two hoses on the bearings to keep them cool they were not meant to take this strain.”

“No chance of the port engine being brought online?”

“No Sir, if it was a person I’ve already read last rights over it.”

“I worry about you sometimes Mr Steiner..”

“Thank you Captain, I’ll take that as a compliment. We’ll do our best though sir, we won’t let you down even if we have to man the boats to tow her.”

The sound powered phone clicked off before Captain Lindermann could reply “It may just come to that.”

B for Betty – 4000 feet up, 20 miles away.

“Contact! Surface contact bearing 098!”

The alert from the radar man working on his mysterious ‘black box’ snapped the crew out of their routines as the gunners ran to their stations.

“Captain I am detecting small group of surface contacts, what appears to be two small ones and one large vessel. Range…18 miles.”

“Targets speed? Navigator are we near any shipping routes or planned convoys?”

“No Sir, we’re well off the shipping lanes and there isn’t a convoy due through until tonight.”

“Target speed is estimated 5 knots.”

“Five knots?”

“Yes sir, they are barely moving.”

Pilot and co-pilot exchanged glances, at the start of the war Radar was very much a hush-hush thing, but now it was trusted. Most of the time.

“Roger. Keep us reported on targets speed and heading. All crew to action stations, this could be a Jap sub on the surface.”

The big seaplane begun a lazy turn towards the contact whilst the depth charges and bombs were armed and .303 and .50cal machineguns loaded. A Sunderland may be a portly lady but they all packed one hell of a slap if needs be. The sky was clear, broken clouds offering little in the way of cover as the Sunderland dropped down towards the distant contacts.

“Let Colombo know about our contact.”

“Aye Sir!”

Aboard the Koning one of the Javanese crew was the first to spot the plane as it popped out of some clouds, its nose pointed right at the ship. His panicked cries were enough of an alert and Captain Lindermann sprinted to the railings from his cabin, binoculars in hand. He’d read the reports that the Japanese used big four engine flying boats and this could well be one and to his mind it was in an attack posture.

“Get below! Get below damn you and get into cover!” He yelled as Felix sounded the ships horn, the signal for alert of danger. Instant pandemonium, people who had escaped the Japanese now huddled in fear behind thin wooden bulwarks and old iron stanchions waiting for the bombs to fall, some cried, most prayed.

B-For Betty.

“Sir! It’s a ship, towing another!” The bow gunner reported frantically.

“What flag?”

There was no reply.

“What flag!”

“Bloody hell, its Dutch, they are both flying the Dutch flag sir!”

“Signal them, demand identification and I want to know what the hell they are doing here.”

The engines droned as the Sunderland pulled out of its shallow dive, one wing rising as it started to turn in a slow circle well outside of any AA range whilst the crew studied the two ships from bow to stern for any sign of weapons or duplicity.

“I’m getting no response on the radio.”

“Very well, use the signal light.”

Gerhard Lindermann wasn’t a fan of the British, far too loud with a beer in them, with a terrible sense of humour and worse feel for cooking but when he saw the distinctive roundel as the plane turned, baring its flank he wanted to kiss whoever it was flying that aircraft. There were unbidden tears in his eyes as he realised that they were safe. After a journey of over 2700 miles and 21 one days at sea they were safe.

“Sir they are signalling us.”

“Signal our distress…I think we could use a bit of aid.”

HQ Eastern Fleet - Colombo

“Sir telephone for you.”
“Watch Officer here….yes…what? No, I wasn’t aware of any Dutch ships in the area….what’s the name again? HNLMS Koning der Nederlanden?” The officer glanced up and a clerk was already reaching for the latest copy of Jane’s.

“Four ships…yes…understood. How far out? One hundred and eighty three miles. Location? Okay, we’ll sort something. Thank you Colombo.”

“Mr Phelps! I want a list of all small ships in harbour capable of sailing immediately and I need it now.”

“Um..how small sir?”

“Destroyer sized if you please. And please alert the Admiral, he’ll want to know about this.”

HNLMS Koning der Nederlanden – speed 0 knots – somewhere in the Indian Ocean.

“Flying Officer Braithwaite requesting permission to come aboard.”

The Sunderland sat near the two ships, both of their sides were lined with civilians and crew, many of who were cheering and waving as the small dinghy from the plane came over to a rope ladder hanging off the side of the Koning der Nederlanden with the pilot and one of the gunners aboard.

“Permission granted. You’re a sight for sore eyes Captain.” Captain Lindermann and FO Braithwaite exchanged salutes before Lindermann wrapped his arms round the RAF pilot in a grateful, back slapping hug, his emotions getting the better of him.

The Dutchman’s grasp of English was surprising but then again he was a navy man.

“I have already let Colombo know you need help Captain and they have got two destroyers and two frigates en route to escort and tow as needed.”

The British flying boat had also managed to stop the Princess and Bliksem and get them to turn around, all four ships were clustered together, relief evident on every single person aboard the ships.

Between them they had crossed 2749 miles and carried 1689 people to safety including crew from Java. Thanks to intelligence reports the British had learned that the day after the Koning der Nederlanden and Governor General Louden had sailed down the Sunda straight three Japanese destroyers and a cruiser had sailed up it. They carried the bad news that Surabaya had long fallen although Singapore still held out. When the promised escorts arrived all four ships gracefully accepted a tow into Colombo, although when ten miles from harbour the Koning der Nederlanden had slipped her tow and started her tired engine up, Captain Lindermann wanting his ship to make the final part of the journey under her own power.

The small convoy was welcomed into harbour by the echoing call of horns from the assembled Royal Navy warships including the flagship Queen Elizabeth saluting the refugees whilst plans were made to unload the quartet and get the civilians and crew ashore.

The Naval hospital’s staff had a devil of a time making sure that all passengers and crew were healthy and not carrying any diseases but still a 24 hour quarantine was deemed adequate before they were put in hotels or barracks to sleep in proper beds for the first time in nearly a month. The Dutch embassy was contacted and the press informed a day later and the story was splashed over the Allied newspapers along with cine-reel of the Koning der Nederlanden being shown in Colombo harbour a few months later in cinemas in England and America.

Most of the refugees opted to stay in Colombo whilst the more elderly or youngest with their mothers were taken to India. Captains Lindermann, Hone Lucek and Sefastsson were all awarded the Cross of Merit by the Dutch Government in exile and after the war Captain Lindermann would also receive the Dutch Cross of Resistance in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

Of the ships themselves, the Louden would remain at Colombo, her engines never repaired to serve as a depot hulk. The Princess and Bliksem went to India and after a modest refit they helped carry supplies with the costal convoys. The Koning der Nederlanden had a different future. Unsuitable for carrying cargo and a media celebrity so she simply could not be left to finally rust in peace.

RN Dockyard Colombo.

“What do you make of her Mr Bear?”

The gentleman speaking was cut in a very traditional mould of how a Royal Navy officer should look, his experience with old ships and..unconventional methods and equipment had lead to, with the right amount of poking, name dropping with the Dutch and of course Admiral Sommervile, a celebrity being assigned to the already eclectic mix of ships under his command. This included a pair Victorian Era Ironclad as his flagship and a depot ship respectively, one ex 90 gun ship of the line and a former French prize nearly as old as the Victory that served as training ships for the growing number of Indian sailors that his command employed.

“Well Sir, we’ll need to do some work on her, but I’ve already been over her.”

“As I thought you have, did Mr Gowling accompany you?”

“Of course Sir, and Mr Drummond too.”

“Very good, your assessment please.”

“She’s in remarkable condition all things considering, I’ve spoken with her chief Engineer and he showed me around.”

“I know that tone…what are you planning?”

The ‘Marine’ smiled his most innocent smile. This wasn’t very innocent, whilst his thief in arms Major Gowling just chuckled.

“If we can get the dock time we’ve got a damn near perfect repair ship for costal escorts here Sir. We remove her engines and replace them with triple expansions and some commercial boilers that should have her good for 12 knots. Oil fired of course, that way we can free up the coal bunkers and use them as fuel and water tanks, divide them with a steel bulwark, inner hold for petrol for small craft, outer is for water as per standard Admiralty safety regulations. We can keep most of the superstructure but if we remove it after the funnels and remove the housing for the turret we then free up a lot of deck space. We keep the barbette for the turret and use that as a dry slip. We refurbish the old magazines for small craft ammunition, we could fit more than enough into her with a bit of work and then fit a gantry crane.”

“A gantry crane?”

“Yes sir, she’s not that big and a gantry will minimise the space needed. We can then haul small craft up to her beam width long, then do underwater work on them as well as the usual alongside repairs.”

“Mr Gowling I assume you are already working on this?”

“Yes Sir, I’ve done a check of our inventory and what we’ve got at the docks and we have the engines and equipment to do the wielding, and I’ve spoken to a few friends and colleagues and we can get the crane with ease.”

“There is one small matter though Sir.”

“And that is?”

“Her Captain and Engine crew want to come with her. I reckon most of the crew would too.”

“That will make things easier, when can I meet her Captain?”

“Ahh..about that Sir…”

“Thank you for arranging it Mr Gowling, aboard the Agincourt I assume?”

“Indeed Sir, found he’s partial to a sherry.”

“Excellent, see if you can get some of that for us.”

“Already taken care of Admiral.”

“You’re both terrible sneak thieves you know that.”

“We merely follow your good example Admiral.”

“Gowling my man, flattery will get you everywhere. Very well, lets go meet the latest members of Unit 4174.”


Flight of the Koning der Nederlanden – Poscript.

After her assignment to the strength of Force 4174 and rapid refit the Koning had three busy years sailing up and down the Indian coastline to the widely dispersed costal escort groups and fast attack boat squadrons acting as a mobile repair yard, supply ship and dock all in one.

Sailing with a mixed Dutch, English and Indian crew the ‘White Lady of the Coast’ carried thousands of tonnes of fuel, ammunition and supplies for the duration of the war.

Although she never saw action she did help save lives, saving the crew of a torpedoed tanker that had been in their lifeboat for two days. There was also a close call in May 1943 when a Japanese submarine was attacked by motor gun boats roughly an hour ahead of her current position.

The only casualty suffered by the Koning der Nederlanden was the unfortunate death of her Chief Engineer Marcus Steiner from a heart attack during a voyage to Colombo. He was buried with military honours at the Armed forces graveyard in Colombo.

When the War came to an end so did the Koning der Nederlanden’s duty. Still considered part of the Dutch Navy, just on loan to the Royal Navy there were discussions what to do with the old ship. Due to her fame there was a call to preserve her but lack of funds saw this come to naught and the ship remained in Indian waters, moored up where once battleships and cruisers had filled the harbour, standing as lonely and slowly rusting sentinel.

In 1959 a petition was started to save the Koning from both sinking and rusting by both from her crew and her surviving Officers. Felix Jansen the ships Second in Command from her flight from Batavia to the end of the war had retired to Rotterdam after the War was the driving force behind this petition.

Using what contacts he had in the armed forces as well as the British Navy and Indian Navy he pushed for her preservation. It took the publication of the book by the son of Captain Lindermann about the battle for Java and the ships escape being unexpectedly popular to the point that there was talk of a movie starring John Wayne as Captain Lindermann in the works. But Lindermann’s family politely refused the offer of a movie based on the book when they read the first scrip and said it was a ‘disservice to the ship, her passengers, crew and commander.’

In 1963 a crane ship sailed to Colombo to collect her sole passenger, the Koning der Nederlanden for her last voyage. Not to the breakers but to Amsterdam where she would be preserved. It really was an 11th hour save, the ship was in a terrible condition after being uncared for after the war and local authorities wanted to remove and scrap or scuttle her before she sank in the harbour. It took until 1976 and many thousands of guilders and man hours, mostly by volunteers to restore the ship to her original condition at the time of her commission in 1877

The ship was opened to the public in 1977 just in time for her hundredth anniversary and she was opened by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands who said.

“This ship embodied the spirit of Holland in its darkest times, small, underestimated, but never beaten.”

The HMNLS Koning der Nederlanden has been moored ever since at the Dutch National Maritime Museum along with the replica of the East Indiaman sailing ship Amsterdam.
She is open to visitors every day and is one of few remaining examples of ships from her era in the world and indeed is the only surviving Coles turreted ship in the Western Hemisphere. Her original 11 inch guns were re-mounted in their turrets as were her original engines, both had been put in storage by the Royal Navy during her refit.

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