Mystery surrounds disappearance of three Dutch battleships sunk by Japanese in WWII which VANISHED from the seabed
HNLMS De Ruyter, HNLMS Java and HNLMS Kortenaer went down with 900 souls during the Bttle of the Java Sea in 1942
THE Netherlands has revealed it is to probe the mysterious disappearance of the wrecks of three battleships that were sunk during a major World War II battle.
The HNLMS De Ruyter, HNLMS Java and HNLMS Kortenaer went down off the coast of Indonesia at the hands of the Japanese in 1942.
The wrecks remained lost for 60 years, along with many of the 897 men who died on them – until their final resting place was discovered by amateur divers in 2002.
But yesterday, the Dutch defence ministry revealed the ships had mysteriously vanished from the seabed.
The ministry said in a statement: “The wrecks of HNLMS De Ruyter and HNLMS Java have seemingly gone completely missing.
“A large piece is also missing of HNLMS Kortenaer.”
The shocking discovery was made by an international expedition which sailed to the site in preparation for next year's 75th anniversary of the battle, known as the Battle of the Java Sea.
Divers were only able to find small traces that the colossal vessels were ever there – while sonar showed the imprints of the wrecks on the seabed, where they once lay.
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The ministry added: “An investigation has been launched to see what has happened to the wrecks, while the cabinet has been informed.”
The wrecks had been seen as sacred war graves by the Dutch, who lost 900 sailors and 250 Indo-Dutch sailors during the battle.
“The desecration of a war grave is a serious offence,” the ministry said, while top Dutch navy and war memorial officials reacted with anger when informed about the disappearance.
Dutch War Graves Foundation director Theo Vleugels said: “The people who died there should be left in peace.”
Mystery surrounds how the colossal vessels – weighing between 1,300 tons and 6,700 tons – were able to vanish from where they lay at depths of more than 200ft.
There has been some suggestion that the disappearance could be the work of illegal salvage crews, who have been known to pose as fishermen while stripping wrecks in the region.
The wrecks of British vessels HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse are thought to be among those plundered for scrap.
But it is unclear how salvage teams could have caused them to vanish completely – particularly without being noticed.
The Battle of the Java Sea was a crushing defeat for the mixed Allied forces, comprising the Dutch, British, Australian and US navies.
The Allied fleet commander, Dutch rear-admiral Karel Doorman was killed in the attack along with 2,300 sailors – compared to just 36 on the Japanese side.
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