A Date that will Truly Live in Infamy

[treeshakertucker]

1:15am, February 27th, 1942, the Java Sea, Dutch East Indies

The two fleets began their manoeuvrings in in the midday sun of the seas around the Dutch East Indies. The ships of ABDA command were covering the evacuation of the remaining 15000 of the Dutch forces still on Java. The Japanese forces knew that if those soldiers escaped, they would be a thorn in the Japanese side for years to come. Therefore, it was imperative to the Japanese that this final evacuation fail. They turned towards each other as battle of the Java Sea began.

 

[treeshakertucker]

2:25am, February 27th, 1942, the Java Sea, Dutch East Indies

The allied forces entered battle already with one hand tied behind their back. The USS Houston had her rear 8-inch turret disabled by a Japanese air attack leaving her with 2 triple 203mm turrets. The HMS Exeter meanwhile only had 3 twin 203mm gun turrets to begin with. The Japanese Myoko-class heavy cruisers Nachi and Haguro both had 5 twin 200mm guns each. This alongside their formidable Long Lance torpedoes made them formidable opponents. On the other hand, the allies at least had a slight advantage in light cruisers. With the HNLMS De Ruyter, the HNLMS Java and the HMAS Perth they had 2 modern and 1 older light cruiser with which to fight the Japanese. The Japanese for light cruisers only had 2 Sendai-class cruisers Naka and Jintsu which were of mid 1920s vintage. The biggest problem was that the Japanese had 14 modern destroyers (Yūdachi, Samidare, Murasame, Harusame, Minegumo, Yukikaze, Tokitsukaze, Amatsukaze, Hatsukaze, Yamakaze, Kawakaze, Sazanami and Ushio) against the allies 9. Of those 9 only the 3 British E and J-class and the 2 Dutch Admiralen-class destroyers were modern. Whilst the remainder were American Clemson-class destroyers built to fight in World War One. The issues the Allies faced however did not mean they would not put up one hell of a fight.

 

[treeshakertucker]

4:14am, February 27th, 1942, the Java Sea, Dutch East Indies

The HNLMS De Ruyter shuddered as a shell struck her in the bow area. The shell hadn’t done any severe damage, but it would be the first of many as the Japanese closed with allied ships in an attempt to get amongst evacuation transports trying to evacuate Surabaya. The round had been fired by the heavy cruiser Nachi after firing 5 salvos from its forward guns. The allies soon got their first hit when the USS Houston landed a hit with her forward turret on Jintsu destroying her stern most 140mm mount.

 

[treeshakertucker]

4:48am, February 27th, 1942, the Java Sea, Dutch East Indies

The Jintsu took another blow as a 150mm shell from the Java struck the funnel. The cruiser had been hit hard as she had been the focus of fire from the cruisers Java and Houston. She had been hit 7 times since her first hit knocking out another 140mm gun and suffering a hit on bridge killing half the crew there. On the allied side the De Ruyter had been hit hard by the Nachi and the Naka knocking out 2 of her 150mm guns and 5 of her antiaircraft guns. The De Ruyter gave as good as she got as she made use of her fire control to return fire on the Naka and scoring a hit on an antiaircraft mount. HMS Exeter was engaged with in a gunnery duel with Haguro and had her starboard torpedo battery destroyed in exchange for jamming Haguro’s superfiring 200mm gun turret. The HMAS Perth being unengaged by any of the cruisers decided to engage the leading Japanese destroyers which were beginning to turn to bring their torpedoes to bear. The long lance torpedoes were finally coming into play as the order to launch was given.

 

[treeshakertucker]

4:52am, February 27th, 1942, the Java Sea, Dutch East Indies

The torpedoes were launched out of their tubes and streaked towards the allied ships at 96 kilometres per hour. They had been launched near their maximum effective range at 18000 metres from the allied ships. The officers aboard the allied ships looked on in confusion as to their eyes they were watching the enemy waste their torpedoes. They watched the torpedoes progress towards them as the battle continued and realising that they were coming in fast gave orders to evade. For 2 of the Allied vessels, they did not turn soon enough.

 

[treeshakertucker]

5:06am, February 27th, 1942, the Java Sea, Dutch East Indies

The HNLMS De Ruyter jumped several metres as a type 93 Long Lance torpedo detonated its 490kg charge blowing off her bow. The Clemson class destroyer USS Alden had even worse luck as a torpedo hit her amidships. She broke in 2 and was lost with all hands. The crews of the allied ships looked on in stun horror for a few seconds before the next Japanese salvos came in and they returned to their tasks. They looked back at the Japanese ships and swore to make them pay.

 

[treeshakertucker]

5:12am, February 27th, 1942, the Java Sea, Dutch East Indies

The De Ruyter slowly turned away from the battle and made her way south to seek aid from the evacuation convoy. Realising that the enemy cruiser was out of the fight Nachi and Naka both found new targets. The Nachi shifted its fire to the Houston while the Naka turned her guns towards the Perth. The Australian cruiser switched fire from the destroyers having damaged the Yudachi to return the Naka’s fire. The Houston was too busy trying to sink the Jintsu having already managed to strike a severe blow by knocking out one of Jintsu’s boilers slowing her significantly.

 

[treeshakertucker]

5:32am, February 27th, 1942, the Java Sea, Dutch East Indies

The battle had begun in the afternoon now it was beginning stretch into the evening as the opposing fleets tore into each other. The Houston turning to engage the Nachi after leaving the Jintsu immobile and burning. The Java also switched its fire to join the Perth in its battle with the Naka. The destroyers engaged in a gunfight with each other after the Japanese destroyers launched their torpedoes. The Exeter traded blows with the Haguro knocking out secondary gun mounts in exchange for the jamming of her rear turret. While all this was going on the transports were making their way out of the harbour through the eastern approach with the De Ruyter gingerly following them.

 

[mattep74]

5:32am, February 27th, 1942, the Java Sea, Dutch East Indies

The battle had begun in the afternoon now it was beginning stretch into the evening as the opposing fleets tore into each other. The Houston turning to engage the Nachi after leaving the Jintsu immobile and burning. The Java also switched its fire to join the Perth in its battle with the Naka. The destroyers engaged in a gunfight with each other after the Japanese destroyers launched their torpedoes. The Exeter traded blows with the Haguro knocking out secondary gun mounts in exchange for the jamming of her rear turret. While all this was going on the transports were making their way out of the harbour through the eastern approach with the De Ruyter gingerly following them.

And soon the japanese carrier planes will arkivet.

Is this battle going better or worse for the allies than otl?

 

[treeshakertucker]

5:52am, February 27th, 1942, the Java Sea, Dutch East Indies

The Jintsu was slowly settling by the bow as the battle raged around her. The Allied cruisers continued pound into each other as the destroyers came into range of each other. The American destroyer USS John D. Edwards scored the first blow on the Japanese destroyer Yukikaze with a 102mm round hitting the Japanese destroyer’s forward turret. The exchange of shells continued as the destroyers still made their progress towards each other. The Japanese were hoping to break through the Allies to the transports while the Allies were hoping to release some torpedoes of their own.

 

[treeshakertucker]

5:54am, February 27th, 1942, the Java Sea, Dutch East Indies

As the destroyers duked it out the cruisers continued to pummel each other. The crew of the Houston felt the ship shudder as a portside 127mm gun mount was obliterated by a 200mm shell from the Nachi. The Exeter had her stern turret jammed by the Haguro while managing to strike a blow of her own. A 203mm shell struck the starboard aircraft catapult with its scout plane still mounted on top. The plane burst into flames killing numerous crewmen. The fire had spread and continued to burn even after the gunpowder launch charge cooked off and fired the remains of the plane into the sea. The Java and the Perth both were targeting the Naka which had to choose between the 2. She was already engaging the Perth and managed to destroy 2 Vickers quadruple 12.7mm aa mounts. This small victory came at the cost of the Perth holing her just below the waterline causing some flooding. The Java managed to destroy 1 of Nakas 2 80mm aa mounts with one of her salvos. But that would soon be eclipsed as the allied destroyers reached torpedo range.

 

[treeshakertucker]

6:19am, February 27th, 1942, the Java Sea, Dutch East Indies

The Japanese split their destroyers into two groups. The first was left 10 destroyers to outnumber the Allied vessel hopefully destroying them while also protecting the others. The 4 destroyers including the damaged ships Yudachi and Yukikaze as well as the Sazanami and Ushio were to make their way around the American ships. Their job was not to fight the Allied ships but to go after the merchant ships trying to evacuate the Dutch East Indies army. Warnings went up as the lookouts saw the telltale splashes as the three of the Clemsons launched their torpedoes.

 

[treeshakertucker]

6:25am, February 27th, 1942, the Java Sea, Dutch East Indies

The Clemsons after launching their torpedoes opened fire with their main guns as the Japanese started to turn to avoid the torpedoes. The American destroyers were attempting to distract the Japanese destroyers from the first group from the British and Dutch which were hunting the Japanese destroyers from the second group. The crews of the first group of destroyers braced as the torpedoes streaked towards them. There was an almighty boom, but it was not due to the American torpedoes which all missed. No, it had come from the Haguro.

 

[treeshakertucker]

6:31am, February 27th, 1942, the Java Sea, Dutch East Indies

The crew fought the flames as long as they could as they tried to prevent them reaching the torpedoes with their liquid oxygen fuel tanks. It became rapidly clear that this was not possible, and the crew did their best to minimise the damage. The torpedo crews readied the loaded torpedoes for launch. The port battery lined up on the Houston and launched as both batteries dumped their reloads over the side into the water. The port battery launched their torpedoes more to prevent them from cooking off than in hopes of hitting. The captain then made a fatal error of ordering the starboard battery to hold fire until they had some hope hitting the enemy. He swung the ship around until it was aimed at the Perth. The torpedo battery received the order to fire just as the flames broke through. The explosion vaporised the battery and throwing the catapult above it 100s of metres into the air along with a massive fireball. The fireball was not the main problem for the surviving crewmen, however. The explosion thew massive amounts of shrapnel into the engine room destroying one of the ship boilers and damaging two more leaving the ship dead in the water. The explosion also left cracks on the starboard hull allowing thousands of tons of water into the ship.

 

[treeshakertucker]

6:34am, February 27th, 1942, the Java Sea, Dutch East Indies

The torpedoes streaked haphazardly towards the Houston. The lookouts were now on alert for torpedoes so that the fate of the De Ruyter did not befall them. The warning was called out that there were torpedoes coming towards them. The captain gave the orders and the ship turned away to avoid the torpedoes. All but one of the torpedoes failed to hit the ship. That one torpedo was the one that would spell the doom of the Houston as it hit under the forward 203mm gun turret. The torpedoes warhead detonated sending hot metal and fire into the compartments under the turret. One of these compartments was the magazine for the turret and it detonated. The explosion tore the ship apart as the exploding magazine tore through the bulkheads and setting off a chain reaction of detonating munitions. None of the 885 crew aboard the cruiser survived the destruction of the ship. There were cheers from the crippled Haguro as the crew took a pause from their desperate attempts to save the heavily damaged cruiser. On the allied ships there was a moment of hushed silence at the destruction. This would not last long as their own battles for survival continued.

 

[Anarch King of Dipsodes]

2:25am, February 27th, 1942, the Java Sea, Dutch East Indies

I'm confused by this. The OTL battle took place NE of Java, when ABDACOM tried to intercept the Japanese invasion fleet. ITTL, the Allies are evacuating Java from Surabaya, which lies at the southern end of a narrow 30 km channel separating Java from the western end of Madura.

The transports would presumably sail ESE from Surabaya, south of Madura, for about 180 km, then S around the east end of Java, through the Bali Sea to the very narrow strait between Java and Bali.

To intercept the transports, the Japanese would have to push S through the islands lying east of Madura, 150 km E of Surabaya, into the Bali Sea. Is that where this action occurs?

 

[treeshakertucker]

I'm confused by this. The OTL battle took place NE of Java, when ABDACOM tried to intercept the Japanese invasion fleet. ITTL, the Allies are evacuating Java from Surabaya, which lies at the southern end of a narrow 30 km channel separating Java from the western end of Madura.

The transports would presumably sail ESE from Surabaya, south of Madura, for about 180 km, then S around the east end of Java, through the Bali Sea to the very narrow strait between Java and Bali.

To intercept the transports, the Japanese would have to push S through the islands lying east of Madura, 150 km E of Surabaya, into the Bali Sea. Is that where this action occurs?

Basically the ABDA ships have put themselves between the merchant ships and the Japanese and the Japanese have to push through the allied ships to reach the merchants. But that scenario is roughly what I imagined would happen.

 

[treeshakertucker]

6:42am, February 27th, 1942, the Java Sea, Dutch East Indies

The Naka had taken a severe amount of damage as it tried to hold off the two allied cruisers. Two of her port 140mm guns were knocked out as was the port stern torpedo launcher. Two shells from the Java had also struck the bow at the water line leading to further flooding. The allies did have it all their way however as the Naka focused her fire on the HMAS Perth. One of those shells hit the Perth in her steering gear jamming it in the middle of a turn.

 

[treeshakertucker]

6:45am, February 27th, 1942, the Java Sea, Dutch East Indies

HMS Exeter was in serious trouble as the Japanese heavy cruisers could now focus their fire on her. It was becoming rapidly clear the Haguro was but that did not mean she was going down without a fight as her two forward most guns continued to fire. The Nachi now that the USS Houston was sunk could now bring her guns to bear on the Exeter. The Exeter for her part new that firing on the Haguro was pointless given her condition and swung her remaining guns to engage the Nachi. The captain also ordered the ship to be turned around to bring her remaining torpedoes to bear.

 

[treeshakertucker]

6:50am, February 27th, 1942, the Java Sea, Dutch East Indies

The crews aboard the British E-class and the Dutch Admiralen class destroyers had watched the battle unfold with a sense of frustration as they sailed further away. They needed to intercept the four Japanese destroyers trying to make for the convoy. The Japanese tried to keep ahead the four allied destroyers so that they could at least destroy some of the merchant ships. But the allied destroyers kept with them and as they closed with convoy the crippled HNLMS De Ruyter under tow fired with her rearmost gun. The Japanese realised they had no choice but to fight and closed with the Allied destroyers. They saw the British and Dutch destroyers launch their torpedoes and tried to evade even though the American torpedoes failed. They were wise to make the attempt because these torpedoes worked.