SS Thedens
From Our Contribution
 SS Thedens (Dutch) | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | SS Thedens |
| Owner | Koninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappij (KPM) |
| Builder | Int. Scheepsbouw Mij. De Maas, Slikkerveer, Rotterdam |
| Launched | 1927 |
| Completed | 1928 |
| In service | 1928 |
| Out of service | 1955 |
| Fate | Scraped at Hong Kong 1956 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | cargo vessel |
| Tonnage | 2,071 tons |
Remarks
During ww2 the ship was chartered, along with all other surviving members of the KLM Duth East Indies Fleet, and it operated under US Army control. Its primary use was to carry stores and troops between New Guinea Ports and Australia.
During late 1942 early 1943 SS Thrdens was one of a number of Dutch small cargo ships used to transport troops and material to the New Guinea conflict in a series of convoys. On 14 May 1943, 20 Japanese bombers attacked SS Reijnst and SS Thedens in Oro Bay where they were unloading troops and cargo for use in the fighting around Buna. The ships were undamaged. Thedens sailed from Newcastle for New Zealand with 13 New Zealand servicemen on 29 June 1944. On 19 Oct 1944 SS Thedens carried stores and troops from Townsville to Merauke.
20th Jan 1946 this ship was used to repatriate Dutch POWs from Indonesia to Holland