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USSBeukelsdijk

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Coordinates:67°00′N13°24′E/ 67.00°N 13.40°E/67.00; 13.40
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The ship asGrängesberg,with her smokestack inWm. H. Müller & Cocolors, between 1903 and 1916
History
Netherlands
Name
  • 1903:Grängesberg
  • 1916:Beukelsdijk
Namesake
Owner
OperatorUnited StatesUS Navy(1918–19)
Port of registryNetherlandsRotterdam
Route1903:Oxelösund– Rotterdam
BuilderWm Doxford & Sons,Sunderland
Yard number305
Launched14 March 1903
CompletedApril 1903
Acquiredby US Government, 20 March 1918
Commissionedinto US Navy, 21 March 1918
Decommissionedfrom US Navy, 19 May 1919
Identification
FateWrecked 29 January 1923
General characteristics
Typeturret deck ship
Tonnage6,749GRT,4,370NRT,10,530DWT
Displacement13,740long tons(13,960t)
Length440.2 ft (134.2 m)
Beam62.0 ft (18.9 m)
Draft23 ft (7.0 m) (mean)
Depth26.0 ft (7.9 m)
Depth of hold29 ft (8.8 m)
Decks1
Installed power370NHP,2,200ihp
Propulsion
Speed10 to10+1⁄2knots (18.5 to 19.4 km/h)
Capacity488,000 cu ft (13,800 m3) grain, 452,000 cu ft (12,800 m3) bale
Complementin US Navy, 62
Armament

USSBeukelsdijkwas aDutch-ownedturret deck shipthat was built inEnglandin 1903 asGrängesberg.She was renamedBeukelsdijkin 1916 when she changed owners. In 1918 she was requisitioned as USSBeukelsdijk,with theNaval Registry Identification NumberID–3135.She returned to civilian service in 1919, and was wrecked in theNorwegian Seain 1923.

Building

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William Doxford & Sonsbuilt the ship inPallion,Sunderland,as yard number 305. She was launched on 14 March 1903 asGrängesbergand completed that April.[1]Her registered length was 440.2 ft (134.2 m), her beam was 62.0 ft (18.9 m) and her depth was 26.0 ft (7.9 m).[2]Hertonnageswere 6,749GRT,4,370NRT,10,530DWT.Her holds had capacity for 488,000 cu ft (13,800 m3) of grain, or 452,000 cu ft (12,800 m3) of baled cargo.[3]She had seven pairs of masts, withderricksto work her cargo holds.

The ship had a singlescrew,driven by a three-cylindertriple-expansion enginebuilt by Doxford. It was rated at 370NHP[2]or 2,200ihp,and gave her a speed of10 to10+1⁄2knots (18.5 to 19.4 km/h).[3][4]

When completed in 1903,Grängesbergwas the largest single-deck cargo ship in the World. She was eclipsed in 1905 when Doxford completed the Q-classbulk carriersQueda,Querimba,andQuiloafor theBritish India Steam Navigation Company.The Q-class were the largest turret deck ships ever built.[5]

Owners and early career

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Grängesberg's first owner wasWilliam H. Müller & Co,whoregisteredher atRotterdam.Hercode letterswere NVCL.[2]Müller bought the ship to carryiron orefrom the port ofOxelösundinSweden.She was named after the Swedish town ofGrängesberg,where the ore was mined, 150 miles (240 km) northwest of Oxelösund.

On 2 June 1907, while en route from Oxelösund to Rotterdam,Grängesbergran aground offFalsterboin southern Sweden. She was refloated on 4 July.[6]On 12 February 1912Grängesbergcollided with the Dutchfishing trawlerBarendszin fog in theNorth Sea.[3]

On 27 January 1916Holland America Line(NASM) bought two turret deck ships from Müller & Co:Grängesberg,and the smallerBlötberg,and renamed themBeukelsdijkandBlommersdijkrespectively.[3][7]Beukelsdijk's code letters were changed to NGWQ.[8]

On 3 March 1917, when anchored inHalifax Bayin a storm,Beukelsdijkwas stranded. She was later refloated.[3]

The ship asBeukelsdijksometime between January 1916 and March 1918, with her smokestack inHolland America Linecolors, and with Dutch neutrality markings on her side

USSBeukelsdijk

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On 20 March 1918 the US government seizedBeukelsdijkunderangaryin thePort of San Juan,Puerto Rico.The next day she wascommissionedinto the US Navy as USSBeukelsdijk,with the Naval Regstry Identification Number ID–3135. At first she was commanded by anensign,Frank L Stiles, of theNational Naval Volunteers.[4]In due course she was defensively armed with one3-inch/50-caliber gunand two6-pounder guns.[9]

Beukelsdijkwas assigned to theNaval Overseas Transportation Service(NOTS). She took coal toBrazil,calling atBahia,SantosandRio de Janeiro.On 4 June 1918 she left Rio de Janeiro carrying a cargo of coffee. On 6 July she reachedNew York,where she discharged her cargo and underwent repairs.[4]

After being repaired,Beukelsdijkloaded 1,680 tons of bulk oil, 818 tons of general cargo, and aeroplane parts, and went from New York toHampton Roads,where she joined aconvoytoFrance.Her engine failed four times during thetransatlantic crossing,but she resumed the voyage under her own power. On 26 July she reachedBrest,where her boilers and engines were repaired. She then continued toSaint-Nazaire,where she discharged her cargo, and then took onballastfor her return crossing.[4]

Spanish flubroke out among her crew, causing her to delay sailing. on 13 OctoberBeukelsdijkleft St-Nazaire forQuiberon Bay,where she disembarked her sick crew members to the naval hospital there. On 16 October a fire was discovered in her coal bunkers. Her crew unloaded enough coal to extinguish the fire, which took until 18 October. A week later the ship left Quiberon Bay to return across theAtlantic.From 2 to 9 November she stopped at theAzores.On 23 November ahe reached New York, where she underwent lengthy repairs.[4]

On 5 January 1919Beukelsdijkleft New York, and on 13 January she reachedGalveston,Texas,where she loaded a cargo of cotton and oil. She crossed the Atlantic toLe Havre,where she arrived on 28 January. While her cargo was being unloaded, she suffered aboiler explosion,which killed two of her crew. The NOTS cancelled her return voyage to the US, and on 24 April she left Le Havre for Rotterdam, where on 19 May she was decommissioned, stricken from theNavy List,and returned to her owners.[4]

Later career and loss

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The ship asGrängesberg,between 1903 and 1916, possibly inRotterdam

Beukelsdijkresumed merchant service with Holland America Line. By 1921 she was equipped forwireless telegraphy.[10]

In January 1923 she was sailing in ballast from Rotterdam toNarvik.On the night of 28–29 January she was steaming at a full 10 knots (19 km/h) along the coast ofNorway.At 03:18 hrs she passedStøtt,and ten minutes later passed Kuna. At 03:35 visibility became very poor, and thepilotdared not continue.[3]

Shortly afterward her starboard side struck rocks. She was refloated at 04:15 hrs, but an accident in herengine roommade her unmaneuverable. She quickly made water in holds 2, 4, 5 and 6, and herboiler roomwas flooded. It was impossible to anchor. She drifted onto the rocks, and listed to port at 06:00 hrs. All of her crew abandoned ship and reached land safely. The ship could not besalvaged,and within a few months her wreck broke up.[3]

References

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  1. ^"Grangesberg (sic)".Wear Built Ships.Shipping and Shipbuilding Research Trust.Retrieved24 May2023.
  2. ^abcLloyd's Register1905,GRA.
  3. ^abcdefg"Grängesberg – ID 8485".Stichting Maritiem-Historische Databank(in Dutch).Retrieved24 May2023.
  4. ^abcdefCressman, Robert J (7 October 2021)."Beukelsdijk (Id.No. 3135)".DANFS.Naval History and Heritage Command.Retrieved24 May2023.
  5. ^Gray & Lingwood 1975,pp. 6, 7, 8.
  6. ^"Page 053, Shipbuilders – Page 12".The Sunderland Site.Searle Canada.Retrieved24 May2023.
  7. ^"Blötberg – ID 1012".Stichting Maritiem-Historische Databank(in Dutch).Retrieved2 June2023.
  8. ^Lloyd's Register1919,BET–BIC.
  9. ^Radigan, Joseph M."Beukelsdijk (ID 3135)".Identification Numbered Vessel Photo Archive.NavSource Online.Retrieved1 June2023.
  10. ^Lloyd's Register1921,BET–BIA.

Bibliography

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Wikimedia Commons has media related toUSS Beukelsdijk (ID-3135).
  • "Oxelösundsarkivet"(in Swedish).– includes several photographs ofGrängesbergin port in Oxelösund

67°00′N13°24′E/ 67.00°N 13.40°E/67.00; 13.40

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