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Identification Numbered Vessel Photo Archive

Beukelsdijk (ID 3135)

Collier:

  • Laid down in 1903 as Grängesberg by William Doxford and Sons, Ltd., Sunderland, England for the William M. Müller and Co. of Rotterdam, The Netherlands
  • Acquired by the Holland-America Line of Rotterdam and renamed Beukelsdijk
  • Acquired by the Navy 21 March 1918 at San Juan, Puerto Rico and commissioned USS Beukelsdijk (ID 3135) the same day
  • Returned to her owners 18 May 1919 at Rotterdam
  • While en route from Rotterdam to Narvik, Norway she was stranded near Bodø, Norway 29 January 1923 and sank.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 13,740 t.
  • Length 440' 2"
  • Beam 62'
  • Depth of hold 26' 1"
  • Draft 23' ½"
  • Speed 10.5 kts.
  • Complement 62
  • Armament: One 3"/50 mount and two 6-pounders
  • Propulsion: Three single ended boilers, one 2,200hp vertical triple expansion steam engine, one shaft.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    SS Grängesberg
    Beukelsdijk 281k Model of Grängesberg in drydock at the Maritime Museum, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
    Photo by Targaryen taken on 4 August 2012    		 Robert Hurst
    Photo added 22 April 2019
    SS Beukelsdijk
    Beukelsdijk 72k Photographed in port with neutrality markings, possibly at San Juan, Puerto Rico, before seizure by the U.S. Government
    National Archives photo 19-N-19535 from Shipscribe.com    		 Robert Hurst
    Beukelsdijk 92k In Dutch commercial service with the Holland-America Line. Note the hull configuration of this "turret" type steamship
    Arendnet Shipping.com photo from Shipscribe.com
    Beukelsdijk 93k In port, possibly when inspected by the Third Naval District on 10 July 1918
    U.S. Navy Photo NH 99360    		 Naval Historical Center
    Commanding Officers
    01ENS Frank L. Stiles, NNV21 March 1918
    02LCDR Oscar James Channon, USNRF1918
    03LCDR Eben Smith Estes, USN - Awarded Certificate of Appreciation (1920)1919
    Courtesy of Joe Radigan and Wolfgang Hechler
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships History:

    Beukelsdijk

    Beukelsdijk is a town in the Netherlands.

    Beukelsdijk (No. 3135), a collier, was built in 1903 by William Doxford and Sons, Ltd., Sunderland, England, as Grängesberg (later renamed Beukelsdijk), taken over from her Dutch owners at San Juan, Puerto Rico, 21 March 1918 in accordance with the President's proclamation of the previous day, and commissioned the same day, Ensign F. L. Stiles, NNV, in command.

    Beukelsdijk was assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service and placed on the South American run carrying coal to Latin America and returning with coffee. Early in 1919 she carried a cargo of cotton and oil from Galveston, Texas, to Le Havre, France. While discharging cargo one of her boilers exploded, killing two men. After repairs to her boilers she sailed to Rotterdam, Holland, where she was returned to her owners 18 May 1919 through the Shipping Board.

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