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Civilian Identification Numbered Ships Photo Archive

Zeelandia (ID 2507)



Navy call sign:
George - Boy - Mike - Tare
Transport:

  • Built in 1910 by Alexander Stephen and Sons, Ltd., Glasgow, Scotland for Koninklijke Hollandsche Lloyd Amsterdam
  • Launched 26 April 1910
  • Acquired by the Navy in March 1918
  • Commissioned 3 April 1918
  • Decommissioned 6 October 1919, struck from the Navy list and returned to her owners the same day
  • Laid up in 1935
  • Scrapped in April 1936.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 11,500 t.
  • Length 440'
  • Beam 55' 7"
  • Draft 27'
  • Depth of hold 34'
  • Speed 15 kts.
  • Complement 322
  • Armament: Four 6"/50 mounts, two 1-pounders and two machine guns
  • Propulsion: Three double ended and one auxiliary boiler, two vertical triple expansion steam engines, two shafts.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    SS Zeelandia
    Zeelandia 87k At New York City, circa early 1918. She is wearing World War I neutrality markings, with a large Dutch flag painted on her bow
    U.S. Navy photo NH 89784    		 Original photo: Russ Padden
    Replacement photo: Naval Historical Center
    Zeelandia 54k . Clyde Built Ships
    USS Zeelandia (ID 2507)
    Zeelandia 35k Unknown crew members Tommy Trampp
    Zeelandia 86k At the New York Navy Yard, circa mid-1918, after being painted in "dazzle" camouflage
    Naval Historical Center photo NH 93895    		 Robert Hurst
    Zeelandia 143k Underway, circa late 1918 or early 1919, while still bearing traces of her World War I "dazzle" camouflage.
    U.S. Navy photo NH 71047    		 Naval Historical Center
    Zeelandia 144k Steaming at sea with a troopship convoy, 25 October 1918. Photographed from USS Little (Destroyer No. 79). The ship in the center of the view, partially visible beyond Zeelandia's bow, is USS Madawaska (ID 3011).
    U.S. Army Signal Corps Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
    U.S. Navy photo NH 93896
    Zeelandia 94k At sea with a convoy of troopships, 25 October 1918. Photographed from USS Little (Destroyer No. 79). The ship second from left, in the distance, is USS
    Mercury (ID 3012)    .
    U.S. Army Signal Corps Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
    U.S. Navy photo NH 93897
    Zeelandia 138k Photo taken circa late 1918, while the ship was wearing weathered pattern camouflage
    Courtesy of Charles R. Haberlein Jr., 2008
    Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 106253    		 Robert Hurst
    Zeelandia 142k Underway, circa late 1918 or early 1919, while still showing traces of her 1918 "dazzle" camouflage
    Photographed by the Army Transport Photograph Company ("A.T.P. Co."), 204 Franklin Street, New York City
    Courtesy of Charles R. Haberlein Jr., 2008
    Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 105765
    Zeelandia 85k Arriving in a U.S. port with troops on board returning home from France, 1919. Location may be Charleston, South Carolina
    Panoramic photograph by Griffiths, 410 Union National Bank Building, Columbia, S.C.
    Donation of Dr. Mark Kulikowski, 2006
    Naval Historical Center photo NH 104233
    Zeelandia 136k Docked at Charleston, South Carolina, with troops on board returning home from Europe, 1919. Many of the Soldiers visible are African-Americans
    Panoramic photograph by Sargeant, Columbia, SC
    Donation of Dr. Mark Kulikowski, 2006
    Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 103675
    Zeelandia 116k In a harbor, probably on arrival in a U.S. East Coast port, 1919. Her decks are crowded with troop
    Courtesy of Charles R. Haberlein Jr., 2008
    Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 106384
    Zeelandia 136k Ship's officers, circa 1919
    Donation of Dr. Mark Kulikowski, 2010
    Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 107311
    Commanding Officers
    01CDR Robert Henderson, USN - USNA Class of 1904
    Awarded the Navy Cross (1918) - Retired as Rear Admiral    		3 April 1918 - August 1918
    02CDR David Lyons, USN - Awarded the Navy Cross (1918)1919
    Courtesy Joe Radigan and Wolfgang Hechler
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships History: Zeelandia (Id. No. 2507), a steamer constructed in 1910 by A. Stephens & Sons, Ltd., at Glasgow, Scotland, was operated in transatlantic service by the Koninklijke Hollandsche Lloyd lines until March 1918 when she was chartered by the Navy. The ship was placed in commission at New York on 3 April 1918, Comdr. Robert Henderson in command. Assigned to the Newport News Division of the Transport Force, Zeelandia carried troops across the Atlantic during the remaining months of World War I. She made five round-trip voyages to French ports between commissioning and Armistice Day, 11 November 1918. During those voyages, she carried a total of 8,349 passengers, mostly troops, to Europe. Though she claimed to have sighted and engaged German U-boats on several occasions during her wartime service, only one encounter was verified as definitely a submarine. That event occurred at dusk on 31 August when a submarine surfaced to attack the convoy in which she cruised. The attacker, however, could not press home his attack because of zigzag tactics and a moderately strong escort.

    The steamer remained in naval service between 11 November 1918 and 31 July 1919, making seven voyages between Europe and America returning troops home after the war. During those voyages, she repudiated 15,737 American soldiers and carried 3,170 passengers to Europe. On 31 July 1919, she was transferred to the custody of the Commandant, 3d Naval District for disposal. She was finally placed out of commission on 6 October 1919, was struck from the Navy list the same day, and was simultaneously returned to her owner.

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