HNLMS Halland (CB-1937)
Rated as a Heavy Cruiser the four ships of the class received the designation CB as the main guns were over 8" in size and the ships as a whole were smaller than that expected of a battlecruiser (BC). The Washington Treaty cruisers with up to 8" guns were rated as CA.
The four ships of the class were armed with the twin 9.4" guns removed from the Radetzky class ships which had been canibalised to provide the necessary armament for dozens of Dutch ships.
There was nothing extraordinary about the ships construction as they followed the general layout of the dozens of cruisers laid down and built before them. The 9.4" guns and barbettes had been modernised before being fitted to the Halland class with the elevation being raised to 40 degrees and a quite considerable increase in range to 30,000 yards firing a 150kg (330lb) shell at 3-4 rpm. The dual purpose secondary armament was the twin 4.7" as first fitted to the Zeeland class battlecruisers. The six twin 40mm were the next evolution of the guns fitted to the Zeelands, while the 20mm were the same guns as fitted to just about every class of surface WW2 combattant.
The propulsion units were projected to give the ships a speed of 32 knots to match the Zeeland class. The armour was heavier than fitted to the Treaty cruisers as the Dutch were not a signatory of the Washington Treaty they did not have to abide by it when designing and building its ships. The Dutch designers had based their new cruisers on a displacement of 12,500 tons (25% bigger than their rivals). This allowed for a much more comprehensive armour plan. Aircraft handling facilities for two aircraft were also fitted.
| Displacement | 13,000 tons std 16,400 tons full load |
| Length | 609.5 ft |
| Breadth | 64 ft |
| Draught | 21.5 ft |
| Machinery | 2 shaft steam turbines, 80,000shp |
| Speed | 32 knots |
| Range | 7000 miles at 15 knots (2,000 nm at 30 knots) |
| Armour | 5.9" side, 2" deck, 7.9"/4.1" turrets |
| Armament | 8 x 9.4" (4x2) 8 x 4.7" (4x2) 12 x 40mm (6x2) 18 x 20mm (18x1) |
| Aircraft | 2 |
| Torpedoes | 6 x 21" (2x3) |
| Complement | 880 |
| Notes | HNLMS Halland HNLMS Friesland HNLMS Gelderland HNLMS De Zeven Provincien |
As can be seen from Jim Baumann's model the Radetzky class supplied one cruisers worth of 9.4" guns per ship.
The Halland class were the first ships to have the new Hazemeyer mountings for the 40mm twins.