HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck (1939)

The HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck was a light cruiser of the Royal Netherlands Navy. Laid down in 1938 and launched in 1939, she was one of two cruisers of the Tromp-class. However, her construction was significantly delayed due to the German invasion of the Netherlands in May 1940. To prevent her capture, she was scuttled in the shipyard.

Later salvaged by the Germans, she was towed to Germany and initially considered for conversion into a flak ship. This conversion was deemed impractical, and instead, she was used as a floating anti-aircraft battery in the port of Rotterdam. She was eventually further modified, albeit incompletely, to resemble a German light cruiser.

After the war, the Jacob van Heemskerck was returned to the Netherlands. The Dutch Navy completed her conversion into a radar training ship in 1951. She served in this role until 1969, providing valuable experience in radar operations to many naval officers. She was decommissioned in 1969 and subsequently scrapped.