The preliminary design project was created by German shipbuilders in 1939, and the development of the project, codenamed 1047, started in December 1939, while the first trials were carried out in February 1940. In March 1940, a Dutch delegation visited Italy, where they happened to see the nation's newly built battleship, Vittorio Veneto. Following the event, Dutch officials decided to redesign the armor of their own ship. The project was never completed due to the outbreak of World War II and the invasion of German troops into Dutch territory in May 1940.