This section provides a detailed description of the histories of the larger warships.
Additions are ofcourse welcome.
The start of the world war in May 1940 caught the Dutch navy in the middle of reconstruction, as many modern ships were at the dockyard and others were still on the drawingboard. Only a few ships could be saved when the Germans finally forced the Netherlands to surrender a few days later. However, with the antiquated ships in service, augmented by ships completed in the UK and ships taken over from the Royal Navy, the Dutch navy played an important role in the early war years, when every man and ship available was most important to help turn the tide. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, resulting in a war between Japan and the Allied forces presented the naval forces in the NEI with a similar situation. Cut off from Holland, the NEI tried to expand her defenses, but was by far not ready to take the Japanese navy head on.