ANOTHER Dutch Idea!

We've talked about various proposals for Holland to acquire one or more cruiser-killers for the Dutch East Indies but has anyone considered the idea of Holland purchasing and modernizing, to some degree, some of the obsolete British or American armored cruisers after WWI?

Being antiques rendered obsolete by the first battlecruisers a decade before WWI it isn't likely London or DC will mind getting a little cash for them, quite the contrary, and it gives Holland a basis for two or three ships which can go head to head with anything short of pocket battleships.
 
I seem to remember hearing that the Dutch were seriously considering obtaining one of Britain's WW1-era surplus battlecruisers in the 1920s, but dropped it due to financial issues.

Getting a pre-dreadnought-era cruiser and making it viable in the 30s is a pretty tough ask - the amount of money they'd need to spend to make it a viable warship against anything short of pocket battleships is such that, when you take into consideration operating costs and expected lifetime, it's better value to build new ships.
 
Washington treaty

I think that one of the provisions of the Washington naval treaty was to prevent the signatory powers from transferring/selling capitol ships. Am I remembering this right?

If so, then the Dutch would want to look to non-signatory nations, such as Brazil and Argentina, etc. The Minos Gerais and Sao Paulo being prime examples to consider (if you really wanted them). Even Turkey might want to sell the Goeben if offered enough $$$. The Russians had Marat et al, and then there was always the possibility of a home built version.
 
The Dutch are spreading through history like a virus.

Yeah, in my An Alternate History of the Netherlands, the Dutch Commonwealth Navy had a carrier and a pair of battleships at the Battle of Java Sea. Result; Japanese still won. They had two carriers and sunk the Delft first, before finishing off the battleship and battlecruiser. Moral of the story is that if you can't have sufficient air cover, having bigger guns won't make much difference. After all, even the Yamato turned out to be target practice in the end.
 
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