Karel Doorman - Continued Career in The Royal Navy, Commands

Continued Career in The Royal Navy, Commands

In 1926, for the first time in eleven years, Doorman landed a longer appointment on board a naval vessel, armoured ship HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën. Until late 1927 he was gunnery officer, later he combined this with the function of first officer. Early in 1928 he returned to the Netherlands and was employed in the Navy Department at The Hague and primarily responsible for the purchase of equipment for Naval Aviation. In 1932 followed his first command of a ship, the minelayer HNLMS Prins van Oranje. In this ship he sailed for the third time in the same year to the Dutch East Indies. In 1932 his command was changed to destroyers, first HNLMS Witte de With and from the end of 1932 HNLMS Evertsen. The latter ship saw action against the rebels on HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën in February 1933.

In January 1934 Doorman went back to the Netherlands with HNLMS Evertsen. A period of three years as Chief of Staff of the naval commander in Den Helder followed. In 1936 Doorman wrote a request to the Secretary of Defense for a command of a cruiser in the Dutch East Indies. As a result he left in 1937, now a Captain, to the Dutch East Indies as a commander of the cruisers HNLMS Sumatra and HNLMS Java. In August 1938 he was appointed Commander of Naval Aviation in the Dutch East Indies. From his headquarter at Surabaya Morokrembangan Naval Air Station, he made many an inspection tour of the archipelago.