Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online:
Identification Numbered Vessel Photo Archive

Samarinda (ID 2511)

Freighter:

  • Built in 1912 by William Hamilton and Co., Ltd., Port Glasgow, Scotland for NV Rotterdamsche Lloyd (W.Ruys & Zonen) of Rotterdam, The Netherlands
  • Launched 30 April 1912
  • Requisitioned by the U.S. Army 21 March 1918
  • Acquired by the Navy 21 March 1918
  • Commissioned 29 March 1918
  • Decommissioned 14 May 1919 at Rotterdam and returned to her owner
  • Scrapped 22 June 1932 at Bruges, Belgium.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 12,300 t.
  • Length 448'
  • Beam 55' 4"
  • Draft 25' 10½"
  • Depth of hold 34' 4"
  • Speed 12 kts.
  • Complement 62
  • Armament: One 5"/51 mount and one 6-pounder
  • Propulsion: Two double ended and two single ended boilers, one David Rowan and Co., Glasgow 4,200hp vertical triple expansion steam engine, one shaft.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    Samarinda 53k Photo from Koninklijke Rotterdamsche Lloyd Museum via Shipscribe.com Robert Hurst
    Samarinda 56k Photo from Clyde Built Ships via Shipscribe.com
    Samarinda 83k In port wearing Dutch neutrality markings, probably when inspected in New York on 29 March 1918.
    Naval Historical Center photo NH 105232
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: Samarinda (No. 2511) was launched during 1912 by W. Hamilton & Co., Ltd., Port Glasgow, Scotland, as a steel collier for the Rotterdamsche Lloyd Line. Interned during World War I at New York, she was seized during March 1918 by Customs officials along with 88 other Dutch ships to speed relief to Holland and to further the war effort against the Central Powers. The ship was commissioned on 29 March 1918 at New York, Lt. Comdr. George White, USNRF, in command.

    Assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service (NOTS), Samarinda departed from New York on g April 1918 on the first of three round-trip voyages to Europe before the war's end. Operating from New York, she landed general Army supplies and coal at Brest, St. Nazaire, and le Verdon, France. After the Armistice of 11 November, Samarinda made one further round-trip voyage to Quiberon and Nantes France, before being transferred from NOTS to the United States Shipping Board account.

    After discharging cargo at Copenhagen and Hamburg, Samarinda proceeded to The Netherlands, arriving at Rotterdam on 14 April 1919. Samarinda was decommissioned there on 14 May 1919 and was returned to her owner the same day. Her United States crew was returned to the United States on board Lake Tulare [ID 2652].

    Back To The Main Photo Index Back to the Identification Numbered Vessel (ID) Photo Index
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster
    This page created by Joseph M. Radigan and maintained by David Wright
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History