Facts and Stories from WWII That We Won’t Find in History Books

In a daring display of ingenuity during WWII, the crew of the HNLMS Abraham Crijnssen, a Dutch warship, found themselves in a precarious situation. Faced with the impossibility of escape through conventional means and the grim prospect of surrendering to the Japanese, the crew transformed the warship into a floating island.

They covered it with local foliage, trees, and vines to blend seamlessly with Indonesia’s abundant natural landscape, which boasts around 17,000 islands. By day, they anchored close to other islands, camouflaging their presence, and by night, they navigated cautiously toward safety. This allowed the them to slip through the enemy’s grasp undetected, eventually reaching Australia.