HrMs de Zeven Provinciën

This is not directly a story about naval battles or heroism at sea. But one of the heroism of shipyard workers who delayed the construction of a ship so that it could not be deployed by the enemy.

The cruiser under construction at Feynoord in Rotterdam HrMs de Zeven Provinciën became spoils of war in the early days of 1940. The German supreme command ordered the dismantling of the ship and it was to be ready in 1942. The ship was renamed KH-1 (Kreuzer Holland). In 1944 the ship was still not ready, because the shipyard personnel continuously delayed the construction process. The German supreme command then decided to sink the ship as a blockship in the Nieuwe Waterweg. But that plan also failed. In May 1945, for example, the ship was still on the shipyard and when it was liberated it came back into Dutch hands. It was completed and served as the flagship of the Dutch navy for twenty years, alongside the brand new cruiser HrMs De Ruyter and the aircraft carrier HrMs Karel Doorman.

Source:
https://marineschepen.nl/schepen/kruisers-de-ruyter-de-zeven-provincien.html