May 10, 1938 The Holland America liner Nieuw Amsterdam departed Rotterdam on her maiden voyage. She was the first large liner built by the Dutch since the depression of the early 30's. While the Dutch had concentrated on ships designed for sailing to the Dutch colonies, Nieuw Amsterdam was built for the New York run. She made 17 round trips before being laid up in Hoboken, New Jersey when Germany invaded Poland. Like many liners she was requisitioned by the Admiralty and pressed into trooping duty. She steamed over half a million miles carrying 350,000 troops helping the Allies defeat the Axis powers. After the war she returned to passenger service and remained on the New York route until the 1960's. Several mechanical problems relegated her to cruising the Caribbean for the last few years of her life. The Nieuw Amsterdam was scrapped in 1974.

Nieuw Amsterdam