SS Maasdam (1920)
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SS ''Maasdam'' was a Dutch
turbine A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work. The work produced can be used for generating electrical ...
steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...
that was launched in 1920 and sunk in 1941. She was the third
Holland America Line Holland America Line N.V. (HAL) is an American cruise line operating as a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. Founded in 1873 in Rotterdam, Netherlands as the Netherlands-America Steamship Company (NASM), the company operated regular trans ...
(Nederlandsch-Amerikaansche Stoomvaart Maatschappij, or NASM) ship to be named after the village of
Maasdam Maasdam is a village in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is located about 14 km south of the city of Rotterdam, in the municipality of Hoeksche Waard, on the rural Hoeksche Waard island. From the 14th Century until around 1800, Maasd ...
in
South Holland South Holland ( ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.8 million as of January 2023 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely populated areas. ...
. She was built as an
ocean liner An ocean liner is a type of passenger ship primarily used for transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). The ...
with berths for 990 passengers. In 1935 her passenger accommodation was reduced, and she continued her career as a
cargo liner A cargo liner, also known as a passenger-cargo ship or passenger-cargoman, is a type of merchant ship which carries general cargo and often passengers. They became common just after the middle of the 19th century, and eventually gave way to conta ...
. In June 1941 a
U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...
sank her in the
Battle of the Atlantic The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allies of World War II, ...
, killing two of her passengers.


Building

Maatschappij voor Scheeps- en Werktuigbouw
Fijenoord Fijenoord () was a shipyard, shipbuilding company and machine factory in Rotterdam the Netherlands from 1823 to 1929. In 1929 it merged with Wilton to become Wilton-Fijenoord. Early years First ships and activities of the NSM In 1822 a num ...
built ''Maasdam'' as yard number 289, launching her on 21 October 1920 and completing her on 6 August 1921. Her lengths were
overall Overalls or bib-and-brace overalls, also called dungarees in British English, are a type of garment usually used as protective clothing when working. The garments are commonly referred to as a "pair of overalls" by analogy with "pair of trousers ...
and registered. Her
beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Radio beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially lo ...
was and her depth was . Her
tonnage Tonnage is a measure of the capacity of a ship, and is commonly used to assess fees on commercial shipping. The term derives from the taxation paid on '' tuns'' or casks of wine. In modern maritime usage, "tonnage" specifically refers to a cal ...
s were , and . Her holds had capacity for of grain, or of baled cargo. As built, she had berths for 990 passengers: 14 in first class, 174 in second class, and 802 in
steerage Steerage is a term for the lowest category of passenger accommodation in a ship. In the nineteenth and early twentieth century, considerable numbers of persons travelled from their homeland to seek a new life elsewhere, in many cases North Amer ...
. Until 1920, all NASM ships had reciprocating steam engines, in most cases
triple-expansion A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...
. ''Maasdam'' was part of a new generation of NASM ships, nearly all of which had steam turbines, which were reduction-geared for economy. ''Maasdam'' had a three Brown-Curtis turbines, made by
John Brown & Company John Brown and Company of Clydebank was a Scottish Naval architecture, marine engineering and shipbuilding firm. It built many notable and world-famous ships including , , , , , and ''Queen Elizabeth 2 (ship), Queen Elizabeth 2''. At its heig ...
in
Clydebank Clydebank () is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Milton beyond) to the w ...
,
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. They drove a single
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via double reduction gearing. Their combined power was rated at 880 NHP or 4,200 shp, and gave her a speed of . As built, ''Maasdam'' had two funnels, but the second one was a dummy. ''Maasdam'' was followed by three
sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...
s. Koninklijke Maatschappij 'De Schelde' Scheepswerf en Machinefabriek in
Vlissingen Vlissingen (; ) is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the island of Walcheren. With its strategic location between the Scheldt river and the North Sea, Vlissingen has been an importan ...
launched ''Edam'' in January 1921. Scheepsbouw-Maatschappij 'Nieuwe Waterweg' in
Schiedam Schiedam () is a large town and municipality in the west of the Netherlands. It is located in the Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan area, west of the city Rotterdam, east of the town Vlaardingen and south of the city Delft. In the south, Schi ...
launched ''Leerdam'' in December 1920, and ''Spaardnam'' in January 1922.


Peacetime career

NASM
registered Registered may refer to: * Registered mail, letters, packets or other postal documents considered valuable and in need of a chain of custody * Registered trademark symbol, symbol ® that provides notice that the preceding is a trademark or service ...
''Maasdam'' in
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
. Her
code letters Code letters or ship's call sign (or callsign) Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853"> SHIPSPOTTING.COM >> Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853/ref> were a method of identifying ships before the introduction of modern navigation aids. Later, with the introduction of ...
were PJSN. By 1923 her navigation equipment included submarine signalling. NASM ran various routes between Rotterdam and the
Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
. In the 1925–26 season, Maasdam and her three sisters were working a route between Rotterdam and
Tampico Tampico is a city and port in the southeastern part of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It is located on the north bank of the Pánuco River, about inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and directly north of the state of Veracruz. Tampico is the fif ...
in Mexico. Outward voyages called at
Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
,
Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...
,
Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...
, Santander,
Gijón Gijón () or () is a city and municipality in north-western Spain. It is the largest city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality by population in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Asturias. It is located on the coa ...
,
A Coruña A Coruña (; ; also informally called just Coruña; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality in Galicia, Spain. It is Galicia's second largest city, behind Vigo. The city is the provincial capital of the province ...
,
Vigo Vigo (, ; ) is a city and Municipalities in Spain, municipality in the province of province of Pontevedra, Pontevedra, within the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. Located in the northwest ...
,
Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Vera Cruz. Return voyages called at Vera Cruz,
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, Havana, A Coruña and Santander. On 30 November 1926 ''Maasdam'' was about off the coast of
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
, en route from Vera Cruz to Rotterdam, when she signalled that she was on fire. The fire started in her number 3 hold. The US cargo steamship ''West Ivis'' changed course to assist, and ''Maasdam'' declined an offer of assistance from the British cargo steamship ''Dalegarth''. ''Maasdam'' reached Vigo on 2 December. In 1928 NASM revised ''Maasdam''s passenger accommodation. Second class and steerage were merged into third class, with berths for 950 passengers. First class continued to have 14 berths. By 1934 her navigation equipment included wireless
direction finding Direction finding (DF), radio direction finding (RDF), or radiogoniometry is the use of radio waves to determine the direction to a radio source. The source may be a cooperating radio transmitter or may be an inadvertent source, a naturall ...
, and the
call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...
PFQS had replaced her code letters. At the beginning of 1935 ''Maasdam'' was refitted. Her dummy second funnel was removed, and her passenger capacity was reduced to 90 berths. First class was increased to 30, and third class was reduced to 60. The size of her crew was reduced from 89 to 48.


Second World War

On the evening 17 February 1940, sank the Finnish cargo ship ''Wilja'' in the
Western Approaches The Western Approaches is an approximately rectangular area of the Atlantic Ocean lying immediately to the west of Ireland and parts of Great Britain. Its north and south boundaries are defined by the corresponding extremities of Britain. The c ...
at position . ''Maasdam'' rescued all 27 crew two hours later. She continued her transatlantic voyage to
Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
. The next day Germany invaded the Netherlands. By 26 May ''Maasdam'' was off
Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in south-eastern Essex, England. It lies on the nor ...
, joining a convoy that took her as far as the
Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is a firth in Scotland, an inlet of the North Sea that separates Fife to its north and Lothian to its south. Further inland, it becomes the estuary of the River Forth and several other rivers. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate ...
off
Methil Methil () is a coastal town in Fife, Scotland. Methil has ancient origins: two Bronze Age cemeteries have been discovered which date the settlement as over 8,000 years old. The town was first recorded as "Methkil" in 1207, and belonged to ...
. On 25 June she left the anchorage off Southend again, this time with Convoy OA 174, which dispersed at sea. Her destination was
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
. She returned carrying general cargo via Halifax,
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...
, where she joined eastbound
Convoy HX A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...
60. The convoy was bound for Liverpool, but ''Maasdam'' detached for Methil, where she joined Convoy FS 247 to Southend, arriving on 11 August. The record of ''Maasdam''s next westbound
transatlantic crossing Transatlantic crossings are passages of passengers and cargo across the Atlantic Ocean between Europe or Africa and the Americas. The majority of passenger traffic is across the North Atlantic between Western Europe and North America. Centuries ...
is missing. She returned with Convoy HX 81, which left Halifax on 16 October 1940 and reached Liverpool on 2 November 1940. On 28 November 1940 ''Maasdam'' left Liverpool with Convoy OB 251, which dispersed at sea. On 12 December she collided with the British steamship ''Anthea'' off the coast of
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, sinking her at position . ''Maasdam'' returned carrying grain and general cargo. She joined Convoy HX 105, which left Halifax on 25 January 1941 and reached Liverpool on 9 February. On 8 March 1941 ''Maasdam'' left Liverpool with Convoy OB 295, which dispersed at sea. On 2 April 1941 she left
Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; ) is a City (New Jersey), city in Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Hoboken is part of the New York metropolitan area and is the site of Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub. As of the ...
carrying grain and general cargo. On her return voyage she joined Convoy HX 119B, which left Halifax on 6 April and reached Liverpool on 22 April. ''Maasdam'' was in Liverpool in the May Blitz, which began on 1 May 1941 and continued for seven nights.
Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
bombers dropped
incendiary bombs Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices, incendiary munitions, or incendiary bombs are weapons designed to start fires. They may destroy structures or sensitive equipment using fire, and sometimes operate as anti-personnel weaponry. Incendiarie ...
, many of which fell around ''Maasdam''. Her crew used shovels to push
thermite Thermite () is a pyrotechnic composition of powder metallurgy, metal powder and metal oxide. When ignited by heat or chemical reaction, thermite undergoes an exothermic redox, reduction-oxidation (redox) reaction. Most varieties are not explos ...
incendiaries overboard, which melted the shovels. When a shovel was not to hand, one crewman used his overcoat to pick up a thermite bomb, which burned his arms and temporarily damaged his eyes. On 12 May 1941 ''Maasdam'' left Liverpool with Convoy OB 322, which dispersed at sea. At the end of May she reached New York, where she loaded wheat and war materiél, including aircraft engines, and two twin-engined bomber aircraft, with their wings detached and loaded separately. She also embarked 32 passengers, including 11
US Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expedi ...
on their way to serve at the
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, 17
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nurses on their way to work at the ARC-Harvard Hospital at
Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...
in
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. The marines were commanded by Major Walter I Jordan. The nurses included Ruth Breckinridge, mother-in-law of attorney
John Stephens Graham John Stephens Graham (August 4, 1905 – October 20, 1976) was a Washington, D.C., attorney and political appointee. He was an Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, and commissioners for the Internal Revenue Service and Atomic Energy Commission. ...
and former wife of politician
Henry Breckinridge Henry Skillman Breckinridge (May 25, 1886 – May 2, 1960) was an American lawyer and politician who was a member of the prominent Breckinridge family and served as the United States Assistant Secretary of War from 1913 to 1916. During the Lind ...
, who was to be house-mother to all 60 nurses at the ARC-Harvard Hospital. President
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
had authorised an exemption from the
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to allow the nurses and marines to travel on the ship of a belligerent nation.


Loss

On 11 June 1941 ''Maasdam'' left New York. She steamed to Halifax, where she joined
Convoy HX 133 Convoy HX 133 was the 133rd of the numbered series of World War II HX convoys of merchant ships from HalifaX to Liverpool. The ships departed Halifax on 16 June 1941,Hague p.127 and were found on 23 June by U-boats of the 1st U-boat Flotilla, ...
, which comprised 64 merchant ships. HX 133 left on 16 June in dense fog, which lasted for the next four days, and contributed to several collisions. On 21 June, Convoy BHX 133 from
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joined HX 133 at sea, increasing its size to 58 merchant ships. On 23 June, of the
1st U-boat Flotilla The 1st U-boat flotilla (German ''1. Unterseebootsflottille'') also known as the Weddigen flotilla, was the first operational U-boat unit in Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy). Founded on 27 September 1935 under the command of ''Fregattenka ...
found HX 133, south of
Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...
. Other members of the flotilla converged on the convoy. On the morning of 24 June different U-boats sank two Norwegian
motor ship A motor ship or motor vessel is a ship propelled by an internal combustion engine, usually a diesel engine. The names of motor ships are often prefixed with MS, M/S, MV or M/V. Engines for motorships were developed during the 1890s, and by th ...
s: ''Soløy'' just after 0330 hrs and the straggler ''Vigrid'' just after 1130 hrs. Shortly after 2100 hrs that evening, a third U-boat sank the British steamship ''
Brockley Hill Brockley Hill, Stanmore, is an area of high ground on the outskirts of North London, England. The hill, which rises to above sea level, is traversed by the A5 road. It follows the course of the Roman road known as Watling Street. The hill is a ...
''. There were no attacks on 25 or 26 June. But in the early hours of 27 June, attacked the convoy about southwest of
Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
, at position . ''Maasdam'' was the leading ship in the eighth column of the convoy. The second ship in the column was a Norwegian oil tanker, ''Kongsgaard''. The leading ship in the ninth column, to port of ''Maasdam'', was the British motor ship ''Malaya II''. At 0155 hrs ''U-564'' fired three torpedoes, the first of which hit ''Maasdam'' in her number 2 hold. The second hit ''Malaya II'', whose cargo included 413 tons of
TNT Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...
. She immediately exploded, killing 43 of her 49 crew, and showering ''Maasdam'' with débris, injuring a number of people, including the Master,
Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
Boshoff, and his Third Officer. ''Maasdam''s wheelhouse and chart room were destroyed, and her bow soon sank to sea level. Boshoff gave the order to abandon ship. The third torpedo from ''U-564'' hit ''Kongsgaard'', which caught fire but stayed afloat. ''Maasdam'' had six lifeboats: numbers 1, 3 and 5 carried on her port side, and 2, 4 and 6 on her starboard side. The attack had blown away her number 1 boat, and left number 3 boat damaged and hanging from its davit. The crew had to cut it away in order to launch number 5 boat. Captain Boshoff ensured that ''Maasdam''s
wireless telegraphy Wireless telegraphy or radiotelegraphy is the transmission of text messages by radio waves, analogous to electrical telegraphy using electrical cable, cables. Before about 1910, the term ''wireless telegraphy'' was also used for other experimenta ...
codebook A codebook is a type of document used for gathering and storing cryptography codes. Originally, codebooks were often literally , but today "codebook" is a byword for the complete record of a series of codes, regardless of physical format. Cr ...
s had been thrown overboard in their weighted bag. He was unable to do the same for her confidential papers, as they had been in the chart room, which had been destroyed. After touring the ship to ensure that all passengers and crew had taken to the boats, Boshoff was the last to leave his ship, boarding number 6 boat, whose occupants also included the
Chief Officer A chief mate (C/M) or chief officer, usually also synonymous with the first mate or first officer, is a licensed mariner and head of the deck department of a merchant ship. The chief mate is customarily a watchstander and is in charge of the ship ...
.


Rescue

Survivors at first tried to keep together their four boats, numbers 2, 4, 5 and 6. Boats 2 and 4 reached HX 133's designated rescue ship, the Canadian cargo ship ''Randa''. Boat 5 reached the Norwegian tanker ''Havprins'', which was the third ship in the eighth column, behind ''Maasdam'' and ''Kongsgaard''. Boat 6 was damaged, leaking, and eventually swamped. Its buoyancy tanks kept it afloat, but it was impossible to row. Waves washed several occupants away from the swamped boat. Those who could swim, started swimming toward ''Havprins'', which was about away. Some of ''Havprins'' Norwegian crew set out in the now-empty boat 5, and rescued from the water four people who had been washed overboard from boat 6. Ruth Breckinridge swam to the side of ''Havprins''. She was weak from either exhaustion or
hypothermia Hypothermia is defined as a body core temperature below in humans. Symptoms depend on the temperature. In mild hypothermia, there is shivering and mental confusion. In moderate hypothermia, shivering stops and confusion increases. In severe ...
. Several people tried to pull her from the water. One was ''Maasdam''s
Third Engineer A third engineer or second assistant engineer is a rank of engine officer who is part of the engine department on a ship. The third engineer is usually in charge of boilers, auxiliary engines, condensate and feed systems, record keeping of che ...
, Eugene Plouvier, on a rope ladder. He got hold of her, but was unable to keep hold. At that moment ''Havprins'' suddenly changed course to avoid ''Maasdam'', which at that time was still afloat. Breckinridge was sucked underwater and not seen again. ''Havprins'' crew had thrown a lifeline into the water, with an empty
drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...
secured to the end for flotation. Several people in the water reached either the drum or the rope attached to it. They included ''Maasdam''s
Chief Engineer A chief engineer, commonly referred to as "Chief" or "ChEng", is the most senior licensed mariner (engine officer) of an engine department on a ship, typically a merchant ship, and holds overall leadership and the responsibility of that departmen ...
, Pieter Schutter, who found one of the nurses, Maxine Loomis, clinging to the drum "in utter terror", apparently in
shock Shock may refer to: Common uses Healthcare * Acute stress reaction, also known as psychological or mental shock ** Shell shock, soldiers' reaction to battle trauma * Circulatory shock, a medical emergency ** Cardiogenic shock, resulting from ...
. ''Havprins'' crew hauled the line and drum toward the ship, and each survivor let go and was rescued, but Loomis continued to cling to the drum. Two lines and a
lifebuoy A lifebuoy or life ring, among many other names (see § Other names), is a life-saving buoy designed to be thrown to a person in water to provide buoyancy and prevent drowning. Some modern lifebuoys are fitted with one or more seawater-activat ...
were thrown to her, but she did not respond. Eventually she lost her grip on the drum, and disappeared underwater near ''Havprins'' propeller. ''Randa'' detached from HX 133 and landed its share of ''Maasdam''s survivors in
Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...
, where another NASM ship, the liner , later picked them up. ''Havprins'', which was carrying vital
aviation fuel Aviation fuels are either petroleum-based or blends of petroleum and synthetic fuels, used to power aircraft. They have more stringent requirements than fuels used for ground applications, such as heating and road transport, and they contain add ...
, stayed with the convoy. HX 133 reached Liverpool on 3 July 1941, but ''Havprins'' detached to dock at
Avonmouth Avonmouth ( ) is a port and outer suburb of Bristol, England, on the north bank of the mouth of the River Avon and the eastern shore of the Severn Estuary. Part of the Port of Bristol, Avonmouth Docks is important to the region's maritime eco ...
.


References


Bibliography

* * * * *


External links

* – photographs of ''Maasdam'', before and after she was refitted


See also

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maasdam (1921) 1920 ships 1926 fires Cargo liners Maritime incidents in 1926 Maritime incidents in June 1941 Passenger ships of the Netherlands Ship fires Ships built at Maatschappij voor scheeps- en werktuigbouw Fijenoord, Rotterdam Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II Ships of the Holland America Line Steamships of the Netherlands World War II merchant ships of the Netherlands World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean