When the First World War broke out the Royal Netherlands Navy still did not possessed new capital ships. The cabinet allowed the building of three cruisers using the design of the German Krupp Germaniawerf. Two cruisers were realized namely the Sumatra at Amsterdam and the Java at De Schelde. The third one somewhat larger as her two sister ships and to be named Celebes was never built. These same light were designed as an answer to the Japanese Chikuma-class of light cruisers. The completion of the
JAVA and Sumatra was seriously delayed by lacking
FINANCES, technical developments and the lacking of parts as a result of the war going on. When both ships finally were completed they were already aged. Their displacement was 6.670 (standard)-8.078 (full loaded) tons with the Celebes somewhat larger as she was to served as a flagship for the squadron. Her building at the shipyard Wilton Fijenoord at Rotterdam started in 1917 was in 1919 annulated despite that already 30 tons of material for her hull was manufactured.
