It was one of a pair of motor ships built for Holland America Line (Nederlandsch-Amerikaansche Stoomvaart Maatschappij, or NASM) in 1938.

Machinefabriek en Scheepswerf van P. Smit Jr. in Rotterdam built Noordam, launching her in April 1938 and completing her that September.

[2] Dok- en Werf Maatschappij Wilton-Fijenoord in Schiedam built Zaandam as yard number 663.

[6] Zaandam had twin screws, each driven by an MAN six-cylinder, double-acting two-stroke diesel engine.

The combined power of her twin engines was rated at 3,359 NHP[4] or 12,500 ihp, and gave her a speed of 18 knots (33 km/h).

[3] Zaandam's navigation equipment included wireless direction finding and an echo sounding device.

Zaandam was placed under WSA control, and 18 United States Navy Armed Guards were added to her 112 crew to man her defensive armament.

[8] Her Master was Captain Jan Wepster,[9] who had been in command of the NASM liner Volendam when she survived being torpedoed in August 1940.

Nearly all were survivors from merchant ships that U-68, U-159 and U-172 had sunk off the South African coast between 7 and 9 October: the US steamships Chickasaw City, Firethorn, Coloradan, and Examelia, and the Panamanian motorship Swiftsure.

At 18:17 hrs on 2 November she was about 300 nautical miles (560 km) north of Cape São Roque in northeastern Brazil, when U-174 hit her with one torpedo, which exploded on the port side of Zaandam's engine room.

The US Navy Armed Guards gunnery officer, Ensign James Maddox ordered his men to battle stations.

Boat number 2 was damaged and leaking, but its new occupants used it to search for and rescue other survivors, until 60 men were aboard.

Under the command of Second Officer Willem Broekhof, it reached the coast of Maranhão on 10 November, near the Preguiças River and town of Barreirinhas.

[9] With the help of a local fisherman, Broekhof, with Captain Mathews from Swiftsure, sailed a boat to the village of Pharo.

After the survivors were discharged from hospital, the Norwegian cargo ship Banaderos took them from São Luís to Belém.

[13] It was provisioned with 10 US gallons (38 L) of water, nine cans of condensed milk, 2 pounds (1 kg) of chocolate, and two dozen hardtack biscuits.

They pulled it aboard the raft, tried to kill it by beating it to death, and then four men held the shark while the fifth knifed it.

On Thanksgiving Day, which that year was 26 November, a large bird alighted on the sea nearby.

One of the Dutch survivors, Nicolaas Hoogendam, jumped into the sea and caught the bird, which the men then ate.

He complained of stomach pains, went blind in one eye, then deaf in one ear, and after 66 days he died.

Ensign Maddox, who in civilian life was a lecturer at Purdue University, conducted his burial at sea.

[8] Izzi and Hoogendam held van der Slot's legs to help him stand up and wave to the nearest escort.

PC-576 rescued the three surviving occupants: Van Der Slot, Izzi, and a seaman, Nicolaas Hoogendam.

From there they were flown via Miami to Washington, whence they were taken to Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland, from which they were eventually discharged.

[11] The US Navy then sent him on a two-month tour of the eastern and midwestern states of the USA to visit defence manufacturing plants, speak to workers and incentivize them.