De Ruyter was launched in 1935 and was intended for duty on the East Indies station, supplementing two older and smaller cruisers. Her distinctive design included a single 150mm gun just below the bridge (superfiring over a dual 150mm mount), a tall "tower" superstructure, and a vertical bow, giving her a superficial resemblance to the German "pocket battleships".

De Ruyter was the flagship of the multi-national ABDA squadron at the Battle of the Java Sea, where she was hit by torpedoes and gunfire from the Japanese cruiser Haguro, resulting in her loss.

Correct answers were received from: Dave Becker, Tim Lanzendoerfer, Rob Wolvers, Sergey Myagkov, J Pinkerton, Peter VanMaasdam, Andreas von Mach, Carsten Hackenbroch, Stefan Devriendt, Miha Steinbuecher, Craig Robbins, Javier Hueso, Mark Thomas, Ed Truitt, Keith Alexander, Barry Gerrard, Ja mes T. Flynn, Jr., Mike Potter, Sal Mercogliano, Chris Cavas, Mike Penny, John Hendershot, Wouter Trioen, Michael Yocom, Visje, Kevin McCarthy, Brian Corijn, Nick L. Snyder, Andy Breen, Rick Lundin, Siemon Wezeman, Jørn Kiel Nielsen, Bob Harmer, Dwayne Nu tting, Ryan McGehee, Reinhart Fenn, David DeVoss, Steve Hissem, Friedrich Kappes, Stephen Taylor, Kenji Nozaki, Bill Vickrey, TJ, Brian Viglietti, Jason A. Britton, Rick Heinbaugh, Bob Henneman, Manas Iksanov, Eugenio Orsini, Yves Grangeon, William F. Fes senden, Ralph Dazert, Michael Dreiucker, Edgar Dutkowski, Serge Maliar, T.J. Simons V, Rick Espanol, Bert Wagemans, Edward s. Renouard, Rich Austin, Russ Frevele, William Novobilsky, Tim Butler, Espen Arnestad, Werner L. Stunkel, Florent Sornat, Maxim N. Foufaev, Dave Moran, Mac McArthur, Ronald Ehlert, Johan Bertilsson, Mick Malcrow, Carsten Larsen, James Coffin, Scott Olson, Monty Mills, Aleksander Jaworski, Sigurd Gjerde, Czéh György, Dale Shantz, Bertus Kerssies, Henk van Willigenburg, Dorian Jung, An tonio Veiga, Thomas Ruta, Ian Evans, Scott E. Brauer, D. Wadsworth, Anthony Edgar, Bill Rhodes, Jim Mason, Paolo Marsan, Jim Davis, Jan de Vos, Ronald Zietz, Pat Brown, Steve Levine, Felix Brenner, Peter Johnson, Vittorio Pedemonte, Clayton L. Post, John L Whalley, Alexander Förster, Robert Edwin da Silva Smith, John E. Buck, Thorsten Kindermann, Mark Rasmussen, Miguel Larrea-Torres, Christoph Peeters, Masaki Ogasawara, Daniel Wong, Donald Williams, Rommel Chan, Bill Ullmann, Richard Mathsen, Maurizio Bre scia, Guido Bal, Wolfgang Hopf, Art Niemoller, Ricardo Graça Matias, David Briedis, Hans van der Maarel, Bruce Paterson, Harry W. Weese, Rick Quijada, Bob Wankel, Adam Smigielski, Lee Heydolph, Joost van Vroonhoven, Grzegorz Nowak, Wellington Pereira, Rys zard Czyszkiewicz, Christopher Poulos, Mike Cooper, Milton Kelly, Vance Justice, Garth Kidman, Peter Sims, Chris Galm, Akos Gergely, Sebastian Wolszczak, Erik Porter, Greg Glen, Martin Wetzels, Hamish Robertson, Adrian Wintle, Jack Ray, Brian J Greenall, Don Eaton, Steve Hunt, Chris Vallery, Barry Lake.