In the 1930s there was an increased awareness in the Netherlands about the threat which the Imperial Japanese Navy posed to the Dutch East Indies.

The Germans continued work on De Zeven Provinciën which was more advanced than its twin; it was renamed KH1 ("KH" means "Kreuzer Holland") and modified by fitting an Atlantik Bow.

Both ships enjoyed long service lives, first in the Koninklijke Marine (until the early 1970s) and then in the Marina de Guerra del Perú.

Between 1962 and 1964, De Zeven Provinciën underwent a refit by RDM which included the removal of the two aft turrets and the installation of a RIM-2 Terrier SAM system.

De Ruyter was acquired by the Peruvian Navy and recommissioned in 1973 as fleet flagship BAP Almirante Grau.

De Zeven Provinciën was also purchased in 1976, its RIM-2 Terrier SAM removed and replaced by a hangar and a flight deck for ASH-3D Sea King helicopters, and recommissioned in 1978 as BAP Aguirre.