HNLMS Java (1885)

This article is about the Dutch steam-powered sloop Java (1885). For the pre- World War 2 light cruiser HNLMS Java, see Java class cruiser.

History
Netherlands
Name	Java
Builder	Rotterdam
Launched	1885
General characteristics
Type	sloop or unprotected cruiser
Displacement	1280 t
Length	205 ft 3 in (62.56 m)
Propulsion	1,017 ihp (758 kW)
Speed	12.6 kn (14.5 mph; 23.3 km/h)
Armament	1 × 5.9in./25 cal. gun 3 × 4.7in./18 cal. guns 2 × 1-pounder guns

The Dutch ship HNLMS Java launched in 1885 at Rotterdam was a sloop or small unprotected cruiser.

The ship was named after the island of Java in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). This ship was a small colonial warship, larger than most gunboats but weaker than a protected cruiser. The term sloop in the steamship era was used by some navies including the British Navy for what were essentially large gunboats. The Java resembled the Spanish unprotected cruisers of the Velasco class, which were used for colonial duties (and the unsuccessful defense of Manila Bay in 1898).

Bibliography

• Gardiner, Robert, ed. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860—1905. New York: Mayflower Books. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4.