USS Beukelsdijk
 The ship as Grängesberg, with her smokestack in Wm. H. Müller & Co colors, between 1903 and 1916 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Netherlands | |
| Name |
|
| Namesake |
|
| Owner |
|
| Operator |  US Navy (1918–19) |
| Port of registry |  Rotterdam |
| Route | 1903: Oxelösund – Rotterdam |
| Builder | Wm Doxford & Sons, Sunderland |
| Yard number | 305 |
| Launched | 14 March 1903 |
| Completed | April 1903 |
| Acquired | by US Government, 20 March 1918 |
| Commissioned | into US Navy, 21 March 1918 |
| Decommissioned | from US Navy, 19 May 1919 |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | Wrecked 29 January 1923 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | turret deck ship |
| Tonnage | 6,749 GRT, 4,370 NRT, 10,530 DWT |
| Displacement | 13,740 long tons (13,960 t) |
| Length | 440.2 ft (134.2 m) |
| Beam | 62.0 ft (18.9 m) |
| Draft | 23 ft (7.0 m) (mean) |
| Depth | 26.0 ft (7.9 m) |
| Depth of hold | 29 ft (8.8 m) |
| Decks | 1 |
| Installed power | 370 NHP, 2,200 ihp |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 10 to 10+1⁄2 knots (18.5 to 19.4 km/h) |
| Capacity | 488,000 cu ft (13,800 m3) grain, 452,000 cu ft (12,800 m3) bale |
| Complement | in US Navy, 62 |
| Armament |
|
USS Beukelsdijk was a Dutch-owned turret deck ship that was built in England in 1903 as Grängesberg. She was renamed Beukelsdijk in 1916 when she changed owners. In 1918 she was requisitioned as USS Beukelsdijk, with the Naval Registry Identification Number ID–3135. She returned to civilian service in 1919, and was wrecked in the Norwegian Sea in 1923.
Building
[edit]William Doxford & Sons built the ship in Pallion, Sunderland, as yard number 305. She was launched on 14 March 1903 as Grängesberg and 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] Her tonnages were 6,749 GRT, 4,370 NRT, 10,530 DWT. 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, with derricks to work her cargo holds.
The ship had a single screw, driven by a three-cylinder triple-expansion engine built by Doxford. It was rated at 370 NHP[2] or 2,200 ihp, and gave her a speed of 10 to 10+1⁄2 knots (18.5 to 19.4 km/h).[3][4]
When completed in 1903, Grängesberg was the largest single-deck cargo ship in the World. She was eclipsed in 1905 when Doxford completed the Q-class bulk carriers Queda, Querimba, and Quiloa for the British India Steam Navigation Company. The Q-class were the largest turret deck ships ever built.[5]
Owners and early career
[edit]Grängesberg's first owner was William H. Müller & Co, who registered her at Rotterdam. Her code letters were NVCL.[2] Müller bought the ship to carry iron ore from the port of Oxelösund in Sweden. She was named after the Swedish town of Grängesberg, where the ore was mined, 150 miles (240 km) northwest of Oxelösund.
On 2 June 1907, while en route from Oxelösund to Rotterdam, Grängesberg ran aground off Falsterbo in southern Sweden. She was refloated on 4 July.[6] On 12 February 1912 Grängesberg collided with the Dutch fishing trawler Barendsz in fog in the North Sea.[3]
On 27 January 1916 Holland America Line (NASM) bought two turret deck ships from Müller & Co: Grängesberg, and the smaller Blötberg, and renamed them Beukelsdijk and Blommersdijk respectively.[3][7] Beukelsdijk's code letters were changed to NGWQ.[8]
On 3 March 1917, when anchored in Halifax Bay in a storm, Beukelsdijk was stranded. She was later refloated.[3]
USS Beukelsdijk
[edit]On 20 March 1918 the US government seized Beukelsdijk under angary in the Port of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The next day she was