Battle of the Java Sea The Battle of the Java Sea was a decisive naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II , that sealed the fate of the Netherlands East Indies . Allied navies suffered a disastrous defeat at the hand of the Imperial Japanese Navy , on 27 February 1942 , and in secondary actions over successive days . The American - British - Dutch - Australian Command ( ABDA ) Strike Force commander — Rear - Admiral Karel Doorman — was killed . The aftermath of the battle included several smaller actions around Java , including the smaller but also significant Battle of Sunda Strait . Background . The Japanese invasion of the Dutch East Indies progressed at a rapid pace as they advanced from their Palau Islands colony and captured bases in Sarawak and the southern Philippines . They seized bases in eastern Borneo and in northern Celebes while troop convoys , screened by destroyer s and cruiser s with air support provided by swarms of fighters operating from captured bases , steamed southward through the Makassar Strait and into the Molucca Sea . To oppose these invading forces was a small force , consisting of Dutch , American , British & Australian warships — many of them of World War I vintage — initially under the command of Admiral Thomas C . Hart . On 23 January 1942 , a force of four American destroyers attacked a Japanese invasion convoy in Makassar Strait as it approached Balikpapan in Borneo . On 13 February , the Allies fought unsuccessfully — in the Battle of Palembang — to prevent the Japanese from capturing the major oil port in eastern Sumatra . On the night of 19 / 20 February , an Allied force attacked the Eastern Invasion Force off Bali in the Battle of Badung Strait . Also on the 19th , the Japanese made two air raids on Darwin , one from carrier based planes and the other by land based planes . They attacked and wrecked the port at Darwin in northern Australia which rendered it useless as a supply and naval base to support operations in the East Indies . Shortly before the battle commenced , the odds were not good for the Allied forces . They were disunited ( ships came from four separate navies ) and demoralized by constant air attacks , and a general sentiment that the Japanese were unbeatable . In addition , the coordination between Allied navies and air forces was poor . Battle . The Japanese amphibious forces gathered to strike at Java , and on 27 February 1942 , the main American - British - Dutch - Australian Command ( ABDACOM ) naval force , under Doorman , sailed northeast from Surabaya to intercept a convoy of the Eastern Invasion Force approaching from the Makassar Strait . The ABDA force consisted of two heavy cruiser s ( and ) , three light cruiser s ( HNLMS " De Ruyter " ( Doorman ' s flagship ) , HNLMS " Java " , ) , and nine destroyers ( , , , HNLMS " Kortenaer " , HNLMS " Witte de With " , , , , and ) . The Japanese task force protecting the convoy , commanded by Rear - Admiral Takeo Takagi , consisted of two heavy ( and ) and two light cruisers ( and ) and 14 destroyers ( , , , , , , , , , , , , , and ) including the 4th Destroyer Squadron under the command of Rear Admiral Shoji Nishimura . The Japanese heavy cruisers were much more powerful , armed with ten guns each and superb torpedo es . By comparison , " Exeter " was armed only with six guns . While " Houston " carried nine guns , only six remained operable after her aft turret had been knocked out in an earlier air attack . The ABDA force engaged the Japanese in the Java Sea , and the battle raged intermittently from mid - afternoon to midnight as the Allies tried to reach and attack the troop transports of the Java invasion fleet , but they were repulsed by superior firepower . The Allies had local air superiority during the daylight hours , because Japanese air power could not reach the fleet in the bad weather . The weather also hindered communications , making cooperation between the many Allied parties involved — in reconnaissance , air cover and fleet headquarters — even worse than it already was . The Japanese also jammed the radio frequencies . " Exeter " was the only ship in the battle equipped with radar , an emerging technology at the time . The battle consisted of a series of attempts over a seven - hour period by Doorman ' s Combined Striking Force to reach and attack the invasion convoy ; each was rebuffed by the escort force with heavy losses being inflicted on the Allies . The fleets sighted each other at about 16 : 00 on 27 February and closed to firing range , opening fire at 16 : 16 . Both sides exhibited poor gunnery and torpedo skills during this phase of the battle . Despite her recent refit ( with the addition of modern " Type - 284 " gunery control radar ) , " Exeter ' s " gun - fire did not come close to the Japanese ships , while " Houston " only managed to achieve a straddle on one of the opposing cruisers . The only notable result of the gunnery exchange was " Exeter " being critically damaged by a hit in the boiler room from an shell . The ship then limped away to Surabaya , escorted by " Witte de With " . The Japanese launched two huge torpedo salvoes , 92 in all , but scored only one hit , on " Kortenaer " . She was struck by a Long Lance , broke in two and sank rapidly after the hit . " Electra " — covering " Exeter " — engaged in a duel with " Jintsu " and " Asagumo " , scoring several hits but suffering severe damage to her superstructure . After a serious fire started on " Electra " and her remaining turret ran out of ammunition , abandon ship was ordered . On the Japanese side , only " Asagumo " was forced to retire because of damage . The Allied fleet broke off and turned away around 18 : 00 , covered by a smoke screen laid by the four destroyers of U . S Destroyer Division 58 ( DesDiv 58 ) . They also launched a torpedo attack but at too long a range to be effective . Doorman ' s force turned south toward the Java coast , then west and north as night fell in an attempt to evade the Japanese escort group and fall on the convoy . It was at this point the ships of DesDiv 58 — their torpedoes expended — left on their own initiative to return to Surabaya . Shortly after , at 21 : 25 , " Jupiter " ran onto a mine and was sunk , while about 20 minutes later , the fleet passed where " Kortenaer " had sunk earlier , and " Encounter " was detached to pick up survivors . Doorman ' s command , now reduced to four cruisers , again encountered the Japanese escort group at 23 : 00 ; both columns exchanged fire in the darkness at long range , until " De Ruyter " and " Java " were sunk , by one devastating torpedo salvo . Doorman and most of his crew went down with " De Ruyter " ; only 111 were saved from both ships . Only the cruisers " Perth " and " Houston " remained ; low on fuel and ammunition , and following Doorman ' s last instructions , the two ships retired , arriving at Tanjung Priok on 28 February . Although the Allied fleet did not reach the invasion fleet , the battle did give the defenders of Java a one - day respite . Aftermath . Battle of Sunda Strait . " Perth " and " Houston " were at Tanjung Priok on 28 February when they received orders to sail through Sunda Strait to Tjilatjap . Material was running short in Java , and neither was able to rearm or fully refuel . Departing at 21 : 00 on 28 February for the Sunda Strait , by chance they encountered the main Japanese invasion fleet for West Java in Bantam Bay . The Allied ships were engaged by at least three cruisers and several destroyers . In a ferocious night action that ended after midnight on 1 March , " Perth " and " Houston " were sunk . A Japanese minesweeper and a troop transport were sunk by friendly fire , while three other transports were damaged and had to be beached . Second Java Sea . After emergency repairs the badly - damaged " Exeter " left Surabaya for Ceylon ; she departed at dusk on 28 February and limped toward Sunda Strait , escorted by the destroyers HMS " Encounter " and USS " Pope " . However , all three ships were intercepted by the Japanese heavy cruisers " Nachi " , " Haguro " , " Myoko " and " Ashigara " - and their attendant destroyers - on the morning of 1 March . " Exeter " and " Encounter " were sunk together around noon , while " Pope " escaped only to be sunk several hours later by aerial attack . Bali Strait . The four U . S destroyers of DesRon 58 — " John D . Edwards " , " John D . Ford " , " Alden " and " Paul Jones " — were also at Surabaya ; they left for Australia at nightfall on 28 February . After a brief encounter with a Japanese destroyer in the Bali Strait , which they were able to evade , they reached Fremantle safely on 4 March . Consequences . A further two American , and one Dutch destroyer were sunk as they attempted to escape to Australia . The main ABDA naval force had been almost totally destroyed : 10 ships and approximately 2 , 173 sailors had been lost . The Battle of the Java Sea ended significant Allied naval operations in South - East Asia in 1942 , and Japanese land forces invaded Java on 28 February . The Dutch royal navy surface fleet was factually eradicated from the Asian waters and Holland would never reclaim full control of its colony . The Japanese had laid open the control of one of the most important food - producing regions , Java , and by conquering the Dutch East - Indies Japan also gained ultimate control over the sources of the fourth oil producer in the world in 1940 . The U . S . and Royal Air Force then started to retreat to Australia . Dutch troops aided by British remnants fought fiercely for a week . In the campaign the Japanese executed many Allied POW s and sympathizing Indonesians . Despite their logistical problems , the decisive factor in Japan ' s favor seems to have been air power . Eventually , the Japanese won this decisive battle of attrition and ABDA forces surrendered on 9 March .