37. A Crazy Plan That Was Not So Crazy
The Abraham Crijnssen’s plan to camouflage itself as a tropical island was not as crazy as it seems at first glance. The Java Sea, through which the ship had to wend its way to safety, has over 18,000 islands of varying sizes, many of them mere specks with just a few trees growing on them.
Measuring only 185 feet in length, the Crijnssen was not a huge ship, but it was still big enough to pass itself off as a tiny island if properly camouflaged. So the minesweeper stopped off at the nearest island, and its 45-man crew began cutting down vegetation with a will.