A Dutch minesweeper managed to escape to Australia undetected during WWII
The HNLMS Abraham Crijnssen was a minesweeper of the Royal Netherlands Navy stationed in the Netherlands’ East Indies in 1942. It became known for having avoided being detected by the Japanese during WWII, all thanks to the crew’s outstanding camouflage job.
It was meant to retreat to Australia with three other Allied warships but ended up making the journey alone. Since the minesweeper did not have the armament to defend itself from a Japanese attack, the crew did everything they could to disguise her into a small island. It remained in Australian waters until the war ended.