Royal Netherlands Navy / Koninklijke Marine – Frigate
F 827 - HNLMS Karel Doorman
		HNLMS Karel Doorman (F 827)
Type, Class:		Guided Missile Frigate – FFG / M-Fregat (Multipurpose Frigate); Karel Doorman - class
Builder:		Koninklijke Maatschappij De Schelde (KMS), Vlissingen – (Royal Schelde Shipbuilding, Vlissingen, The Netherlands)
STATUS:		Laid down: February 26, 1985 Launched: April 20, 1988 Commissioned: May 31, 1991 Decommissioned: 2006 Fate: sold to Belgium / renamed BNS Leopold I (F 930)
Homeport:		-
Ship’s Motto:		„Ik val aan, volg mij!” ('I'm attacking, follow me')
Technical Data: (Measures, Propulsion, Armament, Aviation, etc.)		see: INFO >> Frigate – Karel Doorman class
LINK:		Official Royal Netherlands Navy site
ship images
Karel Willem Frederick Marie Doorman
Information & History
Rear Admiral Karel Willem Frederik Marie Doorman (April 23, 1889 – February 28, 1942):
Karel Willem Frederik Marie Doorman (born: April 23, 1889 in Utrecht / died:February 28, 1942 in the Java Sea) was a Schout-bij-nacht (the Dutch equivalent of a Rear Admiral) during World War II. He was originally a naval aviator in the Royal Netherlands Navy but quickly rose through the ranks to become Schout-bij-nacht in 1940. In early 1942 he was made commander of the combined American, British, Dutch and Australian (ABDA) fleet in the Dutch East Indies, a force consisting of cruisers and destroyers. Doorman became a Dutch naval hero because of his supposed last words to the fleet: „Ik val aan, volg mij!” ('I'm attacking, follow me'). In reality, he only issued the command "all ships follow me" to prevent confusion when the damaged HMS Exeter sailed back to harbour. Doorman just wanted to indicate that his ships should follow him and not the Exeter. Karel Doorman died when his flagship De Ruyter was struck by a Japanese torpedo and sank during the Battle of the Java Sea. He voluntarily remained with the crippled and wounded who couldn't abandon ship, thereby honoring the naval tradition to go down with the ship he commanded.
HNLMS Karel Doorman (F 827):
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