SS 's Jacob (1907)
KPM steamer 's Jacob in the harbour of Makassar, C 1907-1914
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| History | |
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 Netherlands
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| Name: | SS 's Jacob |
| Namesake: | |
| Owner: | Koninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappij |
| Builder: | Maatschappij Fijenoord, Rotterdam |
| Launched: | 1907 |
| Fate: | Sunk, 8 March 1943 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Cargo ship |
| Tonnage: | |
| Length: | 325 ft 5 in (99.2 m) |
| Beam: | 44 ft 1 in (13.4 m) |
| Draft: | 22 ft 8 in (6.9 m) |
| Decks: | 2 |
| Installed power: | 233 Nominal horsepower (nhp) |
| Propulsion: | steam T.3Cy. 22", 36.5" & 60-42" |
| Armament: | 1 × 4 in (100 mm) gun |
SS 's JacobDutch freighter built by Maatschappij Fijenoord, Rotterdam, Netherlands, in 1907, of 2,839 GRT and operated by Koninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappij (KPM) in the Dutch East Indies trade. The ship, after seeking refuge in Australia during the Japanese invasion of the islands, became part of the Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA) command's permanent local fleet. 's Jacob was sunk off Papua New Guinea on 8 March 1943 during World War II by Japanese air attack.
The ship was engaged in logistics support for Allied forces in the efforts to hold the Malay Barrier by the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDA). During the final days before Java fell, she was in convoy MS.4 of four tankers and another cargo ship departing Sydney 31 January bound for the ABDA area taking a route south of Australia and up the west coast. On 15 February, the day Singapore fell and as HMAS Perth took over the escort, ports in Sumatra were falling and the tankers and other cargo vessel were ordered to return to Fremantle. 's Jacob and Perth continued to be later joined by the Dutch ships Swartenhondt and Karsik until, on the evening of 21 February and some 600 miles south of the Sunda Strait, they too were ordered to return to Fremantle.
's Jacob was one of the 21 KPM ships that sought refuge in Australia on the fall of Java that the Commanding General, United States Army Forces in Australia (USAFIA) was instructed to purchase or charter for the SWPA's permanent local fleet. On 26 March 1942, the Chief Quartermaster, USAFIA arranged interim charters pending final negotiations with the Netherlands Government in London. Final negotiations between the War Shipping Administration (WSA) and the Dutch government resulted in their being placed under U.S. Army control through a complex charter arrangement in which the British Ministry War Transport (BMWT) chartered the KPM vessels and with WSA allocated them to SWPA with the stipulation they be under total control of the U.S. Army. They typically were crewed by KPM's Dutch officers and Javanese crew. As part of the war effort, 's Jacob was upgraded and a 4-inch naval gun was mounted aft.
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