Dutch destroyers lose their planned formation

Dutch destroyers were intended to operate with planned battlecruisers, giving the Netherlands a fast surface formation for the East Indies. The destruction of Prince of Wales and Repulse removed the available fast capital ships around which such a group might have formed. Concentrating Allied ships at Ceylon or Trincomalee is proposed as an alternative to Force Z's attempt to respond to reported landings. The Netherlands also faced the cost of building capital ships after treaty-era interruptions to heavy-warship production. Dutch officers nevertheless adapted quickly to British night-fighting practice, helped by rigorous standards and an interwar esprit de corps. Isaac Sweers provides an example of that adaptability, although good ships and crews could not compensate for missing capital units and insufficient destroyer numbers.