De Zeven Provinciën class cruiser
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders: | |
| Operators: | |
| Preceded by: | Tromp class |
| Succeeded by: | None |
| In service: | 1953 |
| Completed: | 2 |
| Active: |
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| Laid up: |
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| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Cruiser |
| Displacement: | 12,040 tonnes |
| Length: | 187.32 m (614.6 ft) |
| Beam: | 17.25 m (56.6 ft) |
| Draught: | 6.72 m (22.0 ft) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 32 kn (59 km/h; 37 mph) |
| Range: | 7,000 nmi (13,000 km; 8,100 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Complement: | 973 |
| Armament: |
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| Armour: |
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The De Zeven Provinciën class (also called Eendracht-class) is a class of light cruisers. They were built by Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij (RDM) and Wilton-Fijenoord for the Royal Netherlands Navy. The name De Zeven Provinciën refers to the seven provinces which formed the Dutch Republic in 1581.
In the 1930s there was an increased awareness in the Netherlands about the threat which the Imperial Japanese Navy posed to the Dutch East Indies. To face this, the Koninklijke Marine embarked on a major naval expansion program in 1932, which included building two new light cruisers as replacements for the aging Java-class cruisers. The design was an improvement of the earlier HNLMS De Ruyter and both ships were laid down in 1939. The first was named Kijkduin, later changed to Eendracht, and the second one received the name De Zeven Provinciën, hence the name of the class. The main armament was designed as two triple and two twin Bofors 152 mm/53 caliber guns.
However, construction was interrupted by the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands on 10 May 1940. "De Zeven Provinciën" was 25% completed and "Kijkduin" 12%. The Germans redesigned the ships main armament to four triple turrets 15 cm SK C/28 guns and continued work on De Zeven Provinciën which was more advanced than its twin; it was renamed KH2 ("KH" means "Kreuzer Holland") and modified by fitting an Atlantik Bow. Eendracht was renamed KH1. Work progressed very slowly as the dockyards' capacity was used for other purposes and sabotage by the Dutch resistance affected progress. On 24 December 1944, KH2 was launched for use as a blockship in the Nieuwe Waterweg of Rotterdam but this action was never carried out.
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