The ''Tromp'' class was a class of ships of the

Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy ( nl, Koninklijke Marine, links=no) is the naval force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. During the 17th century, the navy of the Dutch Republic (1581–1795) was one of the most powerful naval forces in the world an ...

. The hull shape was also known as the ''Argonaut 600''. They were designed as " flotilla leaders" and their intended role was to be the backbone of a squadron of modern destroyers that was planned at the same time (One of which was finished in the UK and the other in Germany. Two others scrapped). The ships were ordered in 1935; was launched in 1937, and her sister ship in 1939. Often referred to as 'light

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

s', they were significantly smaller and less capable than most light cruisers of the era. At the outbreak of World War II, ''Tromp'' was sent to the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

. ''Jacob van Heemskerck'' was still being completed in the naval shipyard in

Den Helder Den Helder () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Den Helder occupies the northernmost point of the North Holland peninsula. It is home to the country's main naval base. From here the Royal TESO fe ...

when the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

attack started on 10 May 1940, but she succeeded in escaping to the United Kingdom, where she was completed with a completely different armament set, as an anti-aircraft ship. Both ships served in the Far East and survived the war, ''Tromp'' to be decommissioned in 1955 and sold for scrap in 1969 and ''Jacob van Heemskerck'' to become an artillery instruction ship in 1947, decommissioned in 1969 and sold for scrap in 1970.

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