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UNITED STATES NAVY
TEMPORARY AUXILIARY SHIPS
WORLD WAR I

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-- U.S. NAVY SHIPS --

USS Oosterdijk (ID # 2586), 1918.
Originally S.S. Oosterdijk (1913)

Oosterdijk, a 8251 gross ton (17,000 tons displacement) freighter with passenger accomodations, was built at West Hartlepool, England, in 1913 for the Holland America Line. She was seized at Baltimore by the United States Government on 20 March 1918 under the right of angary, which allowed a belligerant power to use the property of a neutral nation subject to full indemnification. Taken over by the Navy and commissioned on 2 April 1918 as USS Oosterdijk (ID # 2586), she loaded general supplies and naval stores at Baltimore and Norfolk, then proceeded to New York, where she joined a convoy bound for France. This cargo was delivered to St. Nazaire, France, in mid-May. Following her return to Baltimore in mid-June Oosterdijk took on 9000 tons of general cargo and, after bunkering at Norfolk, sailed to New York to join another convoy for St. Nazaire. While in this convoy she was in collision on 11 July 1918 with S.S. San Jacinto (ID # 1531) and sank. The latter, a merchant ship used by the Army to carry cargo, was badly damaged but was able to take on board Oosterdijk's crew and reach a U.S. port. Oosterdijk's sister Westerdijk (ID # 2514) also served in the U.S. Navy in World War I.

This page features all available views concerning USS Oosterdijk (ID # 2586) and the civilian freighter Oosterdijk of 1913.

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Page made 6 August 2007