After returning to port the ship was taken out of service for maintenance. After World War I she served as an artillery training ship in the Dutch navy. World War II The ship was seized by the Germans during their invasion of the Netherlands in 1940, and remained laid up at Den Helder from 14 May 1940 until August 1941, when she was taken in hand at the Van der Giessen de Noord shipyard at Krimpen aan den IJssel to be rebuilt as an anti-aircraft cruiser ("Flakschiff"). Work was completed in December 1943, and Gelderland commissioned in the German Kriegsmarine under the new name of Niobe on 1 March 1944. During the Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive of 1944 the Soviets tried to finish the Continuation War with the Finns. The Germans came to the aid of the Finns, and, among the materiel brought with them was the anti-aircraft cruiser Niobe, which was ordered to strengthen the air defences of Kotka, then one of the most bombed cities in Finland. At the same time, the Soviet Union had put much emphasis on finding and sinking the Finnish coastal defence ship . Soviet aerial reconnaissance identified a large ship in Kotka harbour and the decision was taken to attack, with 132 bombers and fighters (sent by, amongst others, the 51st Mine-Torpedo Aviation Regiment of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet), on 16 July 1944. The ship was, however, Niobe, and the aircraft were met with fierce resistance. An A-20 Havoc bomber was shot down, but the ship was hit and sank. The guns of the Niobe were still firing as she settled in the shallow water, after which much of her superstructure remained visible above sea level. Seventy of the crew of the Niobe died. Niobe was raised in June 1953 and scrapped. References Bibliography External links Niobe sinking (in Russian) Gelderland page Niobe Pictures and facts 02. Feb 2018, Maarjamäe väljakaevamistel selgus maetud meremeeste saladus, err.ee Holland-class cruisers 1898 ships Maritime incidents in July 1944 Cruisers sunk by aircraft Naval ships of the Netherlands captured by Germany during World War II World War II shipwrecks in the Baltic Sea Shipwrecks of Finland Ships sunk by Soviet aircraft