The ship is a version of the Project 1047 battlecruiser incorporating engineering solutions from the late 1940s. The initial design was created in 1939 and 1940 with the goal of developing a heavy combat unit for operations in the Dutch East Indies, where conflict with Japan was anticipated. The main battery was to comprise German 11.14-inch (283 mm) guns, but the ship project was never completed due to the German invasion of the Netherlands in May 1940.