Karel Willem Frederik Marie Doorman (
April 23,
1889,
Utrecht –
February 28,
1942,
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 could not abandon ship, thereby honoring the naval tradition to go down with the ship he commanded.
Several ships of the
Royal Dutch Navy have been named
Karel Doorman.