HNLMS Sumatra (1920)

HNLMS Sumatra (Hr.Ms. Sumatra) was a of the Royal Netherlands Navy. In the end Sumatra was scuttled off the coast of Normandy on 9 June 1944 at Ouistreham as part of a gooseberry pier to protect an artificial Mulberry Harbour built by the Allies as part of Operation Overlord.

Service history
The ship was built by the Nederlandsche Scheepsbouw Maatschappij in Amsterdam and laid down on 15 July 1916. The ship was launched on 29 December 1920 and Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands christened the ship.

The intended turbines of the ship where destroyed in a fire on 31 May 1922 at Werkspoor in Amsterdam.

On 26 May 1926 the ship was finally commissioned in the Dutch navy. Later that year on 21 September Sumatra left the Netherlands for a journey to the Dutch East Indies. The route she took let by New York City, the Panama Canal, San Francisco, Shanghai and Nagasaki.

19 February 1927 the ship was send to Shanghai to protect Dutch citizens and interests because of risen tension between Nationalist and Communists. On 23 March Sumatra and foreign warship prepared the evacuation of citizens after conflicts had broken out between Nationalist and Communists. A landings party comprising 140 man from the ship took position in the business quarter of the city. Afterwards the ship returned to the Dutch East Indies and arrived in Surabaya on 12 May 1927.

On 18 June 1930 the ship was recommissioned after extensive maintenance at Surabaya after a turbine of the ship got damaged. On 28 July the ship returned to Surabaya for more repairs after a fire broke out in the boiler room during speed trials. The ship was towed to Surabaya by HNLMS Krakatau.

While practicing with the destroyers De Ruyter and HNLMS Evertsen (1926) and five submarines the ship stranded on a reef near the island Kebatoe that was not on the map on 14 May 1931. 17 may that year she was pulled lose by HNLMS Soemba and a tugboat. Afterwards the ship was towed to Surabaya. The repairs took until 21 September that year.

From December 1933 until halve way 1935 Sumatra was modernized at Surabaya. Among the things done was the replacement of the original four 75 mm anti-aircraft gun by six 40 mm guns.

16 November 1935 Sumatra and the destroyers HNLMS Van Galen (1928) and HNLMS Witte de With (1928) made a visit to Saigon.

On 23 August 1936 Sumatra, her sister HNLMS Java (1921) and the destroyers Van Galen, Witte de With and HNLMS Piet Hein (1927) where present at the fleet days held at Surabaya. Later that year on 13 November she and her sister and the destroyers Evertsen, Witte de With and Piet Hein made a fleet visit to Singapore. Before the visit they had practiced in the Chinese Sea.

On 8 June 1938 the ship departs from Tanjung Priok to the Netherlands. From 8 to 17 July she performed convoy duties during the Spanish Civil War in the Strait of Gibraltar. Afterwards the ship returned to the Netherlands where she arrived on 22 July 1938 in Den Helder. Later that year on 3 September she participated in a feet review off the coast of Scheveningen held in honor of Queen Wilhelmina who was than 40 years head of state.

World War II
During the World War II she performed convoy duties and escorted Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and her children to Canada. Problems with her propulsion made her unfit for frontline duties. In the end Sumatra was scuttled off the coast of Normandy on 9 June 1944 at Ouistreham as part of a gooseberry pier to protect an artificial Mulberry Harbour built by the Allies as part of Operation Overlord. On 14 February 1951 her wreck was auctioned with other wrecks to be scraped.