SS Justicia

SS Justicia was a British troop ship that was launched in Ireland in 1914 and sunk off County Donegal in 1918. She was designed and launched as the transatlantic liner Statendam, a new flagship for the Holland America Line (NASM), but the outbreak of First World War delayed her completion. In 1915 NASM agreed to let the United Kingdom acquire her and have her completed as a troop ship.

The ship was completed in 1917 and renamed Justicia, with the intention that Cunard Line would crew and operate her. However, Cunard was unable to raise a crew for her, so the Shipping Controller appointed White Star Line to manage her.

Justicia entered service in April 1917, carrying troops from North America to Europe. She escaped a U-boat attack in January 1918, but sank that July off the coast of Ireland after two U-boats hit her with a total of six torpedoes.

The ship was 90 ft longer and 9 ft broader than NASM's then flagship, the SS Rotterdam (1908), which Harland & Wolff had completed in 1908. Statendam would have been by far the largest NASM had yet owned. Only HAPAG's Imperator-class ocean liner

Service and loss

White Star Line ran Justicia across the North Atlantic, bringing troops to Liverpool first from Halifax, Nova Scotia and then from New York. At the beginning of 1918 she was painted with dazzle camouflage developed by Norman Wilkinson. She was attacked soon after, on 23 January 1918, by a German submarine in the North Channel, but no torpedo hit her, and she was undamaged.

On 19 July 1918 Justicia left Belfast for New York, escorted by destroyers. She was unladen, and her Master was Hugh Frederick David. 20 miles off Skerryvore, Scotland, SMU UB-64 hit her with one torpedo, at first mistaking her for USS SS Leviathan.[4] Justicia developed a list, but the watertight doors in her bulkheads were closed in time and kept her afloat. UB-64 fired two torpedoes, but Justicia's guns destroyed one of them, and the other missed. The tug Sonia took Justicia in tow, heading for Lough Swilly. UB-64 fired a fourth torpedo, but Justicia's gunners destroyed it. UB-64 then fired a fifth torpedo, which hit Justicia but did not sink her. Part of Justicia's crew was evacuated, and Sonia continued to tow her. The escorts damaged UB-64, which withdrew, but reported Justicia's position via wireless telegraph.

The next morning, 20 July, SMU UB-124 found Justicia and hit her amidships with two torpedoes, killing either 10[2][4] or 16[3] of her engine room crew (sources differ). Her surviving crew were evacuated, and by noon she rolled onto her starboard side and sank. The destroyers HMS Marne (1915), HMS Milbrook (1915), and HMS Pigeon (1916) depth charged UB-124, forcing her to the surface, and then sank her by gunfire.

The German press celebrated the sinking. The Royal Navy held an inquiry to establish how the U-boats could have sunk a ship that was escorted by at least three destroyers. The inquiry concluded that the German submariners' determination and bravery were "beyond belief".[3]

The UK government compensated NASM with 60,000 tonnes of steel, which it used to build a fleet of cargo ships. In 1921 NASM ordered a new SS Statendam (1924) from Harland & Wolff. She was launched in 1924 but her completion was delayed until 1929.

country	United Kingdom
namesake	*1917: Lady Justice
owner	Oceanic Steam Navigation Co
operator	White Star Line
registry	Liverpool
builder	Harland & Wolff, Belfast
yard number	436
laid down	1912
launched	9 July 1914
completed	7 April 1917
identification	UK official number 137544 code letters JPFL *
fate	Sunk by six torpedoes, 1918

Design

Building and acquisition

Service and loss

Wreck

Bibliography

References