Matjan Tutul

[shipstamps]

The 40 r. depicts the Matjan Tutul (Spotted Panther) of the West German built "Jaguar" class of motor torpedo boats, with a displacement of 150 tons and a crew of 39. Overall length is 138 ft., (131 b.p.) breadth 25 ft., draft 5 ft., and armament is two 40 m.m. A.A. guns and four 21-inch torpedo tubes. Four Daimler-Benz motors, on 4 shafts, developing 12,000 b.h.p., give the craft a speed of 40-42 knots.
As one of three of these M.T.B.s started from Moe Island for a landing on the New Guinea coast, carrying 35 troops, some years ago, she was spotted by Dutch aircraft which passed the information to the Dutch destroyers Evertsen and Kortenaer. They dashed to a point near Etna Bay and when in range opened fire when the M.T.B.s appeared on their radar screens. The M.T.B. carrying 35 troops was sunk, a number of men being saved. Capt. Wiratmo and the Deputy Chief of Staff, Commodore Sudarso, of the Indonesian Navy, lost their lives when the M.T.B. went down.
SG1021 Sea Breezes 6/65

[aukepalmhof]

Built as a torpedo boat (fast attack craft) by Lürssen, Bremen, West Germany for the Indonesian Navy.
Displacement 183.4 ton standard, 210 full load, dim. 42.6 x 7.1 x 2.3m. (draught).
Powered by four Mercedes-Benz MB 518D diesel engines each 3.000 hp, four shafts, speed 42 knots maximum speed.
Range 700 mile by a speed of 35 knots.
Armament: 2 – Bofors 40mm AA guns , 4 – 533 mm torpedo tubes, it was possible to change the aft torpedo tubes with two ramps for 23 naval mines. 4 depth charges.
Crew 39.
1962 Commissioned under the name RI MATJAN TUTUL (650), seven sisters in the Indonesian Navy.

In the early 1960s the Netherlands decided to accelerate the process of decolonization of the Dutch New Guinea through elections.
Indonesia which claims sovereignty over the region, opposed the independence process and decided to conduct a military invasion.

15 January 1962 during the evening three Indonesian torpedo boats under which the MATJAN TUTUL under command of Captain Wirato left the Aroe Islands and headed for the Dutch New Guinea coast, the three ships did have on board around 150 troops and infiltrators.
The Dutch were informed by there intelligence service that a landing would take place on 13 or 14 January most probably in Kaimana in the south of New Guinea and were not taken off guard

21.37 Of that day the three torpedo boats were spotted by the Dutch reconnaissance plane, Neptune Biak -5, in a position about 30 miles from the coast of New Guinea near Cape Vlakke Hoek (Flat Corner).
During an attack on the three torpedo boats by the Biak -5, the machine guns did not work and when attacked by the torpedo boats she withdrew.

HMS EVERTSEN (F-803) a Dutch frigate near by opened fire and by the first shots the MATJAN TUTUL was hit and got on fire, but she did not stop, the other two torpedo boats turned around and fled with the EVERTSEN in pursuit.
When passing the MATJAN TUTUL it did look that she was not hit to badly and the EVERTSEN fired again, till she was sunk killing all her officers and Commodore Yos Sudarso.
The other two torpedo boats, one was hit by a long shot of the EVERTSEN but escaped while the other did run on a reef.

After the EVERTSEN returned she rescued around 50 men from the MATJAN TUTUL and one dead body. On board the EVERTSEN an other two severe wounded died.

The MATJAN TUTUL is also the last ship sank by one of the Dutch warships

Source: Wikipedia and various web-sites.