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Library listing
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Library listing
Westerdijk, a 8261 gross ton (17,050 tons displacement) freighter, was built at West Hartlepool, England, in 1913. She operated commercially for the Holland American Line until March 1918, when she was taken over by the U.S. Navy and placed in commission as USS Westerdijk (ID # 2514). During the rest of World War I the ship made four voyages to Europe as a unit of the Naval Overseas Transportation Service. Repaired during late 1918 and early 1919, she steamed to Chile and back to New York, then carried cargo to New Orleans and from there crossed the Atlantic to Liverpool, England, and Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Westerdijk was decommissioned and returned to her owner in September 1919. Subsequently employed as a merchantman, she was renamed Eschersheim during the early 1920s.
This page features our only view of the Dutch freighter Westerdijk, which served as USS Westerdijk (ID # 2514) in 1918-1919.
| If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.
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Photo #: NH 102563 S.S. Westerdijk (Dutch Freighter, 1913) Photographed prior to her World War I era Naval service, possibly when inspected by the Third Naval District on 23 March 1918. Acquired by the Navy on 21 March 1918, this ship was placed in commission as USS Westerdijk (ID # 2514) on 27 March 1918. She was returned to her owner, the Holland American Line, on 25 September 1919. In October 1923 her name was reported to have been changed to Eschersheim. The original print is in National Archives' Record Group 19-LCM. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 77KB; 740 x 585 pixels |
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| If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
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Historical Center home page.Page made 23 August 2004