De Ruyter was a Dutch light cruiser, the only one of her design. Wilton-Fijenoord built her at Schiedam. Her keel was laid on 16 September 1933 and she was commissioned on 3 October 1936. She was named for Michiel de Ruyter. Captain Eugène Edouard Bernard Lacomblé had the ship. From about 2 February 1942 she was Rear Admiral Karel Doorman's flagship. Doorman was not her captain.
On the afternoon of 27 February 1942 the Allied column met the Japanese cover force in the Java Sea. About 1631 an 8-inch shell passed through her unarmored plating and two decks and started a fire in the auxiliary motor room. One man was killed and six were wounded. One account of the Japanese records says both of her afternoon hits were duds.
She was still leading the column after dark. At about 2330 a torpedo hit Java aft. Very soon after that, a torpedo hit De Ruyter. An American signalman saw the track. There was a heavy explosion and fire aft, and her 40-millimeter ammunition began to explode. She was abandoned. Her foremast stood above the water for a time. Japanese records credit Haguro. The Allied accounts do not name the ship that fired.
She sank in the early hours of 28 February. Doorman and Captain Lacomblé were lost with her. The number of dead is given as 344, as 367, and as 375.