diff --git a/Create.c b/Create.c
index 4acda30c5256..bbe9e13dc76d 100644
--- a/Create.c
+++ b/Create.c
@@ -26,6 +26,10 @@
 #include	"md_u.h"
 #include	"md_p.h"
 #include	<ctype.h>
+#include	<fcntl.h>
+#include	<signal.h>
+#include	<sys/signalfd.h>
+#include	<sys/wait.h>
 
 static int round_size_and_verify(unsigned long long *size, int chunk)
 {
@@ -91,9 +95,149 @@ int default_layout(struct supertype *st, int level, int verbose)
 	return layout;
 }
 
+static pid_t write_zeroes_fork(int fd, struct shape *s, struct supertype *st,
+			       struct mddev_dev *dv)
+
+{
+	const unsigned long long req_size = 1 << 30;
+	unsigned long long offset_bytes, size_bytes, sz;
+	sigset_t sigset;
+	int ret = 0;
+	pid_t pid;
+
+	size_bytes = KIB_TO_BYTES(s->size);
+
+	/*
+	 * If size_bytes is zero, this is a zoned raid array where
+	 * each disk is of a different size and uses its full
+	 * disk. Thus zero the entire disk.
+	 */
+	if (!size_bytes && !get_dev_size(fd, dv->devname, &size_bytes))
+		return -1;
+
+	if (dv->data_offset != INVALID_SECTORS)
+		offset_bytes = SEC_TO_BYTES(dv->data_offset);
+	else
+		offset_bytes = SEC_TO_BYTES(st->data_offset);
+
+	pr_info("zeroing data from %lld to %lld on: %s\n",
+		offset_bytes, size_bytes, dv->devname);
+
+	pid = fork();
+	if (pid < 0) {
+		pr_err("Could not fork to zero disks: %s\n", strerror(errno));
+		return pid;
+	} else if (pid != 0) {
+		return pid;
+	}
+
+	sigemptyset(&sigset);
+	sigaddset(&sigset, SIGINT);
+	sigprocmask(SIG_UNBLOCK, &sigset, NULL);
+
+	while (size_bytes) {
+		/*
+		 * Split requests to the kernel into 1GB chunks seeing the
+		 * fallocate() call is not interruptible and blocking a
+		 * ctrl-c for several minutes is not desirable.
+		 *
+		 * 1GB is chosen as a compromise: the user may still have
+		 * to wait several seconds if they ctrl-c on devices that
+		 * zero slowly, but will reduce the number of requests
+		 * required and thus the overhead on devices that perform
+		 * better.
+		 */
+		sz = size_bytes;
+		if (sz >= req_size)
+			sz = req_size;
+
+		if (fallocate(fd, FALLOC_FL_ZERO_RANGE | FALLOC_FL_KEEP_SIZE,
+			      offset_bytes, sz)) {
+			pr_err("zeroing %s failed: %s\n", dv->devname,
+			       strerror(errno));
+			ret = 1;
+			break;
+		}
+
+		offset_bytes += sz;
+		size_bytes -= sz;
+	}
+
+	exit(ret);
+}
+
+static int wait_for_zero_forks(int *zero_pids, int count)
+{
+	int wstatus, ret = 0, i, sfd, wait_count = 0;
+	struct signalfd_siginfo fdsi;
+	bool interrupted = false;
+	sigset_t sigset;
+	ssize_t s;
+
+	for (i = 0; i < count; i++)
+		if (zero_pids[i])
+			wait_count++;
+	if (!wait_count)
+		return 0;
+
+	sigemptyset(&sigset);
+	sigaddset(&sigset, SIGINT);
+	sigaddset(&sigset, SIGCHLD);
+	sigprocmask(SIG_BLOCK, &sigset, NULL);
+
+	sfd = signalfd(-1, &sigset, 0);
+	if (sfd < 0) {
+		pr_err("Unable to create signalfd: %s\n", strerror(errno));
+		return 1;
+	}
+
+	while (1) {
+		s = read(sfd, &fdsi, sizeof(fdsi));
+		if (s != sizeof(fdsi)) {
+			pr_err("Invalid signalfd read: %s\n", strerror(errno));
+			close(sfd);
+			return 1;
+		}
+
+		if (fdsi.ssi_signo == SIGINT) {
+			printf("\n");
+			pr_info("Interrupting zeroing processes, please wait...\n");
+			interrupted = true;
+		} else if (fdsi.ssi_signo == SIGCHLD) {
+			if (!--wait_count)
+				break;
+		}
+	}
+
+	close(sfd);
+
+	for (i = 0; i < count; i++) {
+		if (!zero_pids[i])
+			continue;
+
+		waitpid(zero_pids[i], &wstatus, 0);
+		zero_pids[i] = 0;
+		if (!WIFEXITED(wstatus) || WEXITSTATUS(wstatus))
+			ret = 1;
+	}
+
+	if (interrupted) {
+		pr_err("zeroing interrupted!\n");
+		return 1;
+	}
+
+	if (ret)
+		pr_err("zeroing failed!\n");
+	else
+		pr_info("zeroing finished\n");
+
+	return ret;
+}
+
 static int add_disk_to_super(int mdfd, struct shape *s, struct context *c,
 		struct supertype *st, struct mddev_dev *dv,
-		struct mdinfo *info, int have_container, int major_num)
+		struct mdinfo *info, int have_container, int major_num,
+		int *zero_pid)
 {
 	dev_t rdev;
 	int fd;
@@ -148,6 +292,14 @@ static int add_disk_to_super(int mdfd, struct shape *s, struct context *c,
 	}
 	st->ss->getinfo_super(st, info, NULL);
 
+	if (fd >= 0 && s->write_zeroes) {
+		*zero_pid = write_zeroes_fork(fd, s, st, dv);
+		if (*zero_pid <= 0) {
+			ioctl(mdfd, STOP_ARRAY, NULL);
+			return 1;
+		}
+	}
+
 	if (have_container && c->verbose > 0)
 		pr_err("Using %s for device %d\n",
 		       map_dev(info->disk.major, info->disk.minor, 0),
@@ -224,10 +376,23 @@ static int add_disks(int mdfd, struct mdinfo *info, struct shape *s,
 {
 	struct mddev_dev *moved_disk = NULL;
 	int pass, raid_disk_num, dnum;
+	int zero_pids[total_slots];
 	struct mddev_dev *dv;
 	struct mdinfo *infos;
+	sigset_t sigset, orig_sigset;
 	int ret = 0;
 
+	/*
+	 * Block SIGINT so the main thread will always wait for the
+	 * zeroing processes when being interrupted. Otherwise the
+	 * zeroing processes will finish their work in the background
+	 * keeping the disk busy.
+	 */
+	sigemptyset(&sigset);
+	sigaddset(&sigset, SIGINT);
+	sigprocmask(SIG_BLOCK, &sigset, &orig_sigset);
+	memset(zero_pids, 0, sizeof(zero_pids));
+
 	infos = xmalloc(sizeof(*infos) * total_slots);
 	enable_fds(total_slots);
 	for (pass = 1; pass <= 2; pass++) {
@@ -261,7 +426,7 @@ static int add_disks(int mdfd, struct mdinfo *info, struct shape *s,
 
 				ret = add_disk_to_super(mdfd, s, c, st, dv,
 						&infos[dnum], have_container,
-						major_num);
+						major_num, &zero_pids[dnum]);
 				if (ret)
 					goto out;
 
@@ -287,6 +452,10 @@ static int add_disks(int mdfd, struct mdinfo *info, struct shape *s,
 		}
 
 		if (pass == 1) {
+			ret = wait_for_zero_forks(zero_pids, total_slots);
+			if (ret)
+				goto out;
+
 			ret = update_metadata(mdfd, s, st, map, info,
 					      chosen_name);
 			if (ret)
@@ -295,7 +464,10 @@ static int add_disks(int mdfd, struct mdinfo *info, struct shape *s,
 	}
 
 out:
+	if (ret)
+		wait_for_zero_forks(zero_pids, total_slots);
 	free(infos);
+	sigprocmask(SIG_SETMASK, &orig_sigset, NULL);
 	return ret;
 }
 
diff --git a/ReadMe.c b/ReadMe.c
index bd8d50d28661..db251ed2f3d4 100644
--- a/ReadMe.c
+++ b/ReadMe.c
@@ -138,6 +138,7 @@ struct option long_options[] = {
     {"size",	  1, 0, 'z'},
     {"auto",	  1, 0, Auto}, /* also for --assemble */
     {"assume-clean",0,0, AssumeClean },
+    {"write-zeroes",0,0, WriteZeroes },
     {"metadata",  1, 0, 'e'}, /* superblock format */
     {"bitmap",	  1, 0, Bitmap},
     {"bitmap-chunk", 1, 0, BitmapChunk},
@@ -390,6 +391,7 @@ char Help_create[] =
 "  --write-journal=      : Specify journal device for RAID-4/5/6 array\n"
 "  --consistency-policy= : Specify the policy that determines how the array\n"
 "                     -k : maintains consistency in case of unexpected shutdown.\n"
+"  --write-zeroes        : Write zeroes to the disks before creating. This will bypass initial sync.\n"
 "\n"
 ;
 
diff --git a/mdadm.c b/mdadm.c
index 57e8e6fa64b9..4685ad6b06c2 100644
--- a/mdadm.c
+++ b/mdadm.c
@@ -590,6 +590,10 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 			s.assume_clean = 1;
 			continue;
 
+		case O(CREATE, WriteZeroes):
+			s.write_zeroes = 1;
+			continue;
+
 		case O(GROW,'n'):
 		case O(CREATE,'n'):
 		case O(BUILD,'n'): /* number of raid disks */
@@ -1251,6 +1255,11 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 		}
 	}
 
+	if (s.write_zeroes && !s.assume_clean) {
+		pr_info("Disk zeroing requested, setting --assume-clean to skip resync\n");
+		s.assume_clean = 1;
+	}
+
 	if (!mode && devs_found) {
 		mode = MISC;
 		devmode = 'Q';
diff --git a/mdadm.h b/mdadm.h
index 8bd65fba1887..211cfcd54f92 100644
--- a/mdadm.h
+++ b/mdadm.h
@@ -275,6 +275,9 @@ static inline void __put_unaligned32(__u32 val, void *p)
 
 #define ARRAY_SIZE(x) (sizeof(x)/sizeof(x[0]))
 
+#define KIB_TO_BYTES(x)	((x) << 10)
+#define SEC_TO_BYTES(x)	((x) << 9)
+
 extern const char Name[];
 
 struct md_bb_entry {
@@ -435,6 +438,7 @@ extern char Version[], Usage[], Help[], OptionHelp[],
  */
 enum special_options {
 	AssumeClean = 300,
+	WriteZeroes,
 	BitmapChunk,
 	WriteBehind,
 	ReAdd,
@@ -640,6 +644,7 @@ struct shape {
 	int	bitmap_chunk;
 	char	*bitmap_file;
 	int	assume_clean;
+	bool	write_zeroes;
 	int	write_behind;
 	unsigned long long size;
 	unsigned long long data_offset;
