USS Rijndam

At the turn of the 20th century, Holland America Line's flagship was , launched by Blohm+Voss in Hamburg in May 1899 and completed in May 1900. While she was being built, HAL ordered the first of two sister ships for her from Harland & Wolff in Belfast. Rijndam was laid down on 23 November 1899 as yard number 336, launched on 18 May 1901 and completed on 3 October that year. Harland & Wolff also built a third sister ship, Noordam, which was launched in September 1901 and completed in March 1902. Rijndams length overall was and her registered length was . Her beam was and her depth was . Her tonnages were , and . Her passenger accommodation had berths for 286 first class, 196 second class and 1,800 third class passengers. Her holds had capacity of for grain or for cargo in bales. Rijndam had twin screws, each driven by a three-cylinder triple-expansion steam engine. The combined power of her twin engines was rated at 1,265 NHP. and gave her a speed of . Holland America Line registered Rijndam at Rotterdam. Her Dutch code letters were PRNB. ==Rijndam and Ryndam==

"Rijn" is Dutch for "Rhine". HAL called the ship Rijndam, and registered her as such with Lloyd's Register. But H&W's internal records anglicised her name to Ryndam. When the Marconi Company equipped her for wireless telegraphy, it also listed her in its English-language publications as Ryndam. HAL adopted the anglicised spelling for later ships. ==Early career==

Rijndam joined Potsdam on HAL's regular route between Rotterdam and New York via Boulogne. Rijndam left Rotterdam on her maiden voyage on the route on 10 October 1901. On 18 January 1916 a mine laid by damaged Rijndam in the Thames Estuary. The US singer Alice Sjoselius was aboard. She reported that the lifeboats were lowered, and passengers donned lifejackets, but the ship was not abandoned. Rijndam was repaired, and on 15 April resumed transatlantic sailings. ==Troopship==

in 1919 On 6 April 1917 the US declared war against the Central Powers. The Netherlands were neutral in the First World War, but on 20 June 1917 the US detained Rijndam. She became one of 89 Dutch ships that the United States Customs Service seized under angary in March 1918. 31 of these were commissioned into the US Navy. Rijndam was converted into a troopship, with capacity for up to 3,000 troops. Together the two contingents formed the 35th US convoy of the war. It was escorted by the cruiser USS Frederick. On 21 May, 11 destroyers relieved Frederick as escorts. On 24 May the convoy reached Brest. to Newport News in March 1919 On 29 May Rijndam left Brest on her return voyage, in convoy with Antigone, President Lincoln, Susquehanna, and an escort of destroyers. At sunset the next day the destroyers detached, and the troopships continued unescorted. On the morning of 31 May, attacked the convoy. Three torpedoes sank President Lincoln. U-90 fired torpedoes at Rijndam, but the troopship took successful evasive action, and shortly afterward, nearly rammed a submarine cruising at periscope depth. The cruisers Frederick and and destroyers and escorted them. The battleship Texas and several other destroyers joined the escort for a time. Rijndam landed troops and supplies at Brest on three more occasions until November 1918, and once at Quiberon in July. After the Armistice she repatriated US troops from Quiberon, Brest and Saint-Nazaire to Newport News, Norfolk, Virginia, Hoboken and New York. Princess Matoika was the swifter ship, but Rijndam recruited volunteers from the 133rd Field Artillery Regiment aboard as extra stokers for her furnaces, and with their help she narrowly won the race. Rijndams final troop repatriation voyage was from Brest, and reached New York on 4 August 1919. On 11 August 1919 Rijndam was transferred from the Cruiser and Transport Force to the 3rd Naval District in New York. She was decommissioned, and on 22 October 1919 she was returned to her owners. ==Later career==

On 31 July 1920 Rijndam returned to commercial service between Rotterdam and New York. In May 1925 she was refitted as a two-class ship, with cabin class replacing her first and second class accommodation. In May 1926 she reverted to being a three-class ship, but the classes were called cabin, tourist and third. On 16 April 1929 Rijndam left Rotterdam on her final voyage to New York. In May she was sold to Frank Rijsdijk's Industriëele Ondernemingen NV, which scrapped her at Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht. ==References==