View source for SS Batavier V (1902)

{{Short description|Dutch steam packet}}
{{other ships|SS Batavier V}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[File:SS Batavier V (1902).jpg|300px|SS ''Batavier V'']]
|Ship caption= SS ''Batavier V''
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Ship name=SS ''Batavier V''
|Ship owner=[[William Müller and Company|William Müller & Co.]]<ref name=simplon>{{cite web | title = Batavier Line | url = http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/Batavier.html | work = Simplon Postcards: The Passenger Ship Website | publisher = Ian Boyle | access-date = 18 March 2009}}</ref>
|Ship operator=[[Batavier Line]]<ref name=simplon />
|Ship registry={{Flagicon|Netherlands|civil}} [[Rotterdam]]<ref name=Miramar />
|Ship route=Rotterdam–London<ref name=simplon />
|Ship builder=[[Gourlay Brothers]], [[Dundee]], Scotland<ref name=Miramar>{{csr|register=MSI|id=5600938|shipname=Batavier V|access-date=18 March 2009}}</ref>
|Ship yard number=205<ref name=Miramar />
|Ship launched=28 November 1902<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title= Gale at Dundee. A Launch in the Storm|url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000582/19021128/006/0002 |newspaper=Dundee Evening Post |location=Dundee |date=28 November 1902 |access-date=11 November 2015|via = [[British Newspaper Archive]] |url-access=subscription }}</ref>
|Ship completed=February 1903<ref name=Miramar />
|Ship captured=seized as [[prize (law)|prize]] by {{SMU|U-28|Germany|2}}, 18 March 1915, but later released<ref name=ubn>{{cite Uboat.net | name = Batavier V (p.) | id = 665 | type = 1ship | access-date = 18 March 2009}}</ref>
|Ship fate=mined and sunk, 16 May 1916<ref name=ubn />
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship type=[[packet (sea transport)|steam packet]]
|Ship tonnage={{GRT|1562}}<ref name=Miramar />
|Ship length={{convert|79.3|m|ftin|abbr=on}} ([[length between perpendiculars|lpp]])<ref name=Miramar />
|Ship beam={{convert|10.7|m|ftin|abbr=on}}<ref name=Miramar />
|Ship height=
|Ship draft=
|Ship decks=
|Ship propulsion=1 × 3-cylinder, [[triple-expansion steam engine]], {{convert|2300|ihp|abbr=on}}<ref name=simplon />
|Ship speed={{convert|14.5|knots|km/h}}<ref name=Miramar />
|Ship capacity=
* passengers:<ref name=simplon />
** 75 [[first class travel|first class]]
** 28 second-class
** 325 [[steerage]]
|Ship crew=
}}
|}
'''SS ''Batavier V''''' was a [[packet (sea transport)|steam packet]] for the [[Batavier Line]] that sailed between [[Rotterdam]] and [[London]] for most of her career. The ship was built in 1897 by the [[Gourlay Brothers]] of [[Dundee]]. The Dutch ship could carry a limited amount of freight and up to 428 passengers. She was rebuilt in 1909 which increased her length by over {{convert|5|m|ft}}.

During World War I, the Batavier Line attempted to maintain service, but in March 1915, ''Batavier V'' was seized as a [[prize (law)|prize]] by German submarine {{SMU|U-28|Germany|2}} and sailed into [[Zeebrugge]] in German-occupied Belgium. The ship was released by a German [[prize court]] in September. In May 1916, ''Batavier V'' struck a mine laid by German submarine {{SMU|UC-6||2}} off the British coast and sank with the loss of four lives.

== Career ==
''Batavier V'' and [[sister ship]] {{SS|Batavier IV|1902|2}} were built for [[William Müller and Company]] by the [[Gourlay Brothers]] of [[Dundee]], Scotland. The ship was [[launch (ship)|launch]]ed on 28 November 1902. She was {{convert|79.3|m|ftin}} long ([[length between perpendiculars|between perpendiculars]]) and {{convert|10.7|m|ftin}} [[beam (nautical)|abeam]]. ''Batavier V'' was powered by a single 3-cylinder, [[triple-expansion steam engine]] of {{convert|2300|ihp}} that moved her at a speed of up to {{convert|14.5|knots|km/h}}. She could carry a maximum of 428 passengers: 75 in [[first class travel|first class]], 28 in second, and up to 325 in [[steerage]].<ref name=simplon /> She was listed at {{GRT|1562|disp=long}}.<ref name=Miramar />

Upon completion in February 1903, she joined ''Batavier I'', {{SS|Batavier II|1897|2}}, {{SS|Batavier III|1897|2}}, and ''Batavier IV'' in packet service between Rotterdam and London. In Rotterdam, the ships docked at the Willemsplein; in London, the ships docked at the Customs House and Wool Quays near the [[Tower Bridge]].<ref name=simplon /> The Batavier Line service between Rotterdam and London was offered daily except Sundays,<ref name=van-222>van Ysselsteyn, p. 222.</ref> with each ship making multiple round trips per week.<ref name=tsl>{{cite web | title = Batavier Line | url = http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/batavier.htm | publisher = The Ships List | date = 9 March 2007 | access-date = 18 March 2009 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120522040915/http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/batavier.htm | archive-date = 22 May 2012 | df = dmy-all }}</ref>

After the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, the Batavier Line continued service on the Rotterdam–London route. ''Batavier V'' was frequently stopped by German warships, examined and allowed to proceed.<ref name=reynolds-147>Reynolds, et al., p. 147.</ref> On 17 March 1915, however, ''Batavier V'' left Rotterdam and proceeded to [[Hook of Holland]], passing there in the early morning hours of 18 March. At about 05:00, {{convert|6|nmi|km}} southwest of the Maas Lightship, German submarine {{SMU|U-28|Germany|2}} hailed ''Batavier V''.<ref name=sub_seizes>{{cite news | title = Submarine seizes two Dutch vessels | url = https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1915/03/22/100146636.pdf | work = [[The New York Times]] | date = 22 March 1915 | access-date = 18 March 2009 | page = 01
}}</ref> ''[[Kapitänleutnant]]'' Georg-Günther von Forstner, ''U-28''{{'}}s commanding officer,<ref name=U28>{{cite Uboat.net
|name=U 28
|id=28
|type=1sub
|access-date=18 March 2009
}}</ref> made clear his intent to seize ''Batavier V'' and sail it to German-occupied [[Zeebrugge]]. While the captains of the two vessels argued the legalities of seizing a vessel [[flag state|flagged]] under a neutral country, lookouts on the submarine spotted another Dutch steamer, ''Zaanstroom''. ''U-28'' left an officer and a sailor on board ''Batavier V'', and proceeded to stop and similarly seize ''Zaanstroom''. ''U-28'' and a pilot boat, ''W2'', led both of the Dutch ships through minefields and into Zeebrugge.<ref name=sub_seizes />

[[File:German submarine SM U-28.jpg|thumb|left|Pilot boat ''W2'' and {{SMU|U-28|Germany|2}} as seen from ''Batavier V'' when she was captured as a [[prize (law)|prize]] in March 1915.]]
According to ''[[Popular Mechanics]]'', one of ''Batavier V''{{'}}s passengers was a photographer who was able to snap pictures of the ship's encounter with the U-boat.<ref name=PM-0715>{{cite journal | editor-last = Windsor | editor-first = H. H. | title = Latest type of German submarine | journal = [[Popular Mechanics]] | location = [[Chicago, Illinois|Chicago]] | publisher = Popular Mechanics Co. | issn = 0032-4558 | oclc = 3643271 |date=July 1915 | page =
}}</ref> In April, the [[International News Service]] copyrighted eight images from the photographer, and deposited them with the [[Library of Congress]].<ref>Library of Congress, Copyright Office, p. 214.</ref> According to ''Popular Mechanics'', which published one of the photos in its July 1915 edition, the photographs give a sense of the "enormous size and power of the latest German submarines".<ref name=PM-0715 /><ref group=Note>Some of the Copyright deposits and the ''Popular Mechanics'' article identify the submarine as {{SMU|U-36||2}}, while some of the copyright deposits and all contemporary news accounts identify the submarine as ''U-28''. While its possible that ''Batavier V'' may have been seized twice by two different submarines, it seems more likely that International News Service was responsible for the misidentification.</ref>

At Zeebrugge, ''Batavier V''{{'}}s Dutch crew, and all the Dutch citizens, women, and children among the ship's passengers were released; fourteen Belgian men of fighting age and two priests were taken prisoner by the Germans. ''Batavier V''{{'}}s cargo of fresh meat and ''Zaanstroom''{{'}}s {{convert|300|LT|ST}} of fresh eggs were confiscated and unloaded by German personnel. The women and children were fed what one woman called "unpalatable black bread" before being sent to [[Ghent]] and on to [[Terneuzen]] in the Netherlands.<ref name=sub_seizes /> The Dutch government requested explanation from Germany over the seizure of the neutral vessels and their cargoes.<ref>{{cite news | title = Holland asks Berlin explain ships' seizure | work = [[Chicago Daily Tribune]] | date = 23 March 1915 | page = 2
}}</ref> ''Batavier V'' was released by a German [[prize court]] in September.<!-- released --><ref name=ubn /><ref>{{cite news | title = German court strict | newspaper = [[The Washington Post]] | date = 19 September 1915 | page = 16
}}</ref><!-- timeframe -->

''Batavier V'' resumed Rotterdam–London passenger service after her release from German control at Zeebrugge. On 16 May 1916, while outbound from London for Rotterdam, ''Batavier V'' struck a [[mine (naval)|mine]] near the north buoy at [[Inner Gabbard]].<ref name=dutch_liner>{{cite news | title = Dutch liner sunk, one American lost | url = https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/05/18/301861122.pdf | work = The New York Times | date = 18 May 1916 | access-date = 18 March 2009 | page = 1
}}</ref> The mine had been recently planted by the German coastal minelaying submarine {{SMU|UC-6||2}}. According to one witness, the ship's decks were awash within three minutes of the explosion, which blew the rear [[cargo hold]] hatch and sent a great deal of cargo flying through the air. ''Batavier V'' sank within twenty minutes, taking with her three members of the crew and one American passenger.<ref name=dutch_liner />

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|group=Note}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{cite book | author = [[Library of Congress]], Copyright Office  | title = Catalogue of Copyright Entries for the Year 1915, Part 4 | year = 1915 | location = Washington, D.C. | publisher = [[United States Government Publishing Office|Government Printing Office]] | oclc = 6467863 }}
* {{cite book | last = Reynolds | first = Francis J. |author2=Allen L. Churchill |author3=[[Francis Trevelyan Miller]] | title = The Story of the Great War: The Complete Historical Record of Events to Date | url = https://archive.org/details/storygreatwar02palmgoog | location = New York | publisher = P.F. Collier and Son | year = 1916 | oclc = 2678548 }}
* {{cite book | last =  van Ysselsteyn | first = Hendrik Albert | title = The Port of Rotterdam  | location = Rotterdam | publisher = Nijgh & Van Ditmar's Publishing Co. | year = 1908 | edition = 3d | oclc = 60983381 }}

{{Good article}}
{{May 1916 shipwrecks}}
{{coord missing|North Sea}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Batavier V}}
[[Category:Ships built in Dundee]]
[[Category:Passenger ships of the Netherlands]]
[[Category:World War I shipwrecks in the North Sea]]
[[Category:1902 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1916]]
[[Category:Ships sunk by mines]]