One of the targets for the Germans after they invaded Holland on May 10, 1940 was securing the ships of the
Royal Dutch Navy for German use, but when the Germans got close the Dutch scuttled their ships including the entire Gerard Callenburgh class. This was a four ship class all of which were in various stages of construction, two at Koninklijke Maatschappij De Schelde and two at Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij in Rotterdam. Out of the four only two would ever be commissioned warships, one in the Dutch Navy and one in the German Navy.

On May 14, 1940 the Dutch took the Gerard Callenburgh into the mouth of the Rhine and scuttled her, they also scuttled the Tjerk Hiddes and destroyed the Philips van Almonde on the stocks, the fourth ship Isaac Sweers was towed to Thornycroft in Southampton on May 10 and completed there, this ship was commissioned into the Royal Dutch Navy on May 29, 1941.

Tjerk Hiddes was so badly damaged the Germans scrapped her, the same with Philips van Almonde. Isaac
Sweers was commissioned on May 29, 1941, but did not survive long, she was torpedoed and sunk by the
U-431 on Nov. 13, 1942 in the Mediterranean.

Gerard Callenburgh was raised, towed to Hamburg and repaired by Blohm & Voss. She was commissioned into the Kriegsmarine on Oct. 11, 1942 as the ZH-1. During Operation Overlord, the Invasion of Europe, the ZH-1 was damaged by gunfire and a torpedo from the HMS Ashanti G-51 on June 9, 1944, dead in the water she was scuttled for the second time in her career.