The Tromp-class was a class of light cruisers of the Royal Netherlands Navy. The hull shape was also known as the Argonaut 600. Originally the ships could not be called "cruiser" for political reasons. 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 (only one of those was completed before the war broke out). The ships were ordered in 1935; was launched in 1937, and her sister ship in 1939.