Los Alamos(AFDB-7)
 Los Alamos(AFDB-7) atHoly Loch,Scotland
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Los Alamos |
| Namesake | Los Alamos, New Mexico |
| Builder |
|
| Commissioned | 1 March 1945 |
| Decommissioned | 5 December 1994 |
| Reclassified | AFDB-7 (Large Auxiliary Floating Dry Dock), 10 November 1961 |
| Stricken | 5 December 1994 |
| Fate | Section 'F' sunk as a target 19 July 2001 |
| Status | Sections 'A'–'E' and 'G' active in Brownsville, Tx since 11 August 1995 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Advance Base SectionalDrydock |
| Displacement | 30,800long tons(31,294 t) |
| Length | 825 ft 3 in (251.54 m) |
| Beam | 246 ft 5 in (75.11 m) |
| Draft | 8 ft 8 in (2.64 m) |
| Propulsion | None |
| Complement | 187 |
| Armament |
|
ABSD-7,anadvanced base sectional dock,[1]was constructed of seven advance base docks (ABD) as follows: ABD-37, ABD-38, ABD-39, and ABD-40 were built byChicago Bridge & Iron Company,Morgan City, Louisiana,and completed in December 1944 and January and February 1945; ABD-51 and ABD-52 were built byPollock-Stockton Shipbuilding Company,Stockton, California,and completed in January and March 1945; and ABD-58 was built byPittsburgh-Des Moines Steel Co.,Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania, and completed in October 1944.
Mare Island
[edit]The seven advance base docks were towed toMare Island Navy Yardwhere they were erected and assembled into ABSD-7. Completed in March 1945, the advance base section dock began duty atMare Island,she served there until placed on the inactive list in March 1946. In August 1946 she was reclassified to auxiliary floating drydock AFDB-7. Disassembled and towed to the east coast, she entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Green Cove Springs, Florida in January 1947.
Holy Loch
[edit]Early in 1961, four sections— "A", "B", "C", and "D" —of AFDB‑7 were towed across the Atlantic Ocean toHoly Loch,Scotland, where on 3 March 1961 the Navy established an important base for fleet ballistic submarines. A detachment ofSeabeesfrom MCB-4 erected and assembled the four sections. Completed 10 November, the auxiliary floating drydock was placed in service asLos Alamos(AFDB-7).
Assigned toSUBRON 14,Los Alamosbegan drydock service for theFBM boats.
Converted for use bysubmarines,she had the following characteristics:
- Displacement: 18,795long tons(19,097 t)
- Length: 513 ft (156 m)
- Draft: 9 ft 3 in (2.82 m) light, 67 ft 4 in (20.52 m) submerged
- Complement: 143
- Armament: none
Late in 1961 she carried out her first SSBN drydocking ofUSSGeorge Washington(SSBN-598).She then served submarines of the "Highland Squadron" atHoly Loch.She supported refit and repair operations by submarine tendersProteus,Hunley,Holland,Simon Lake,andCanopus.In February 1964 she successfully completed the first "off center" docking of aPolarissubmarine. By providing keel blocks preset for two separate classes ofSSBNboats,Los Alamos"added immeasurably to the site’s repair flexibility."
On 18 June 1966, section "F" was turned over to theU.S. Army,where it was converted into a floating power plant at Kwajalein namedAndrew J Weber(BD-6235). On 1 October 1977,Andrew J Weberwas returned to theU.S. Navyand reinstated on theNaval Vessel RegisterasYFP-14.Stricken from theNaval Vessel Registeron 29 May 1991, YFP-14 remained at Guam and was designated to be used in a Sinkex on 18 June 1998. YFP-14 was sunk 250 nmi (460 km; 290 mi) southeast of Agana, Guam on 19 July 2001.[2][3]TheNaval Vessel Register's entry for YFP-14 incorrectly indicates the vessel was sunk on 18 June 1998, that was the date the vessel was designated to be sunk.[citation needed]
On 5 December 1994Los Alamoswas decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register. It was disassembled into sections and returned to the United States, the remaining six original ABSD-7 sections ( "A", "B", "C", "D", "E" and "G" ) were transferred to the Brownsville Navigation District, Texas on 11 August 1995. It is currently in use asSolomon Ortiz Dry Dockat Keppel AmFELS Shipyard, Brownsville, Texas.[4]
References
[edit]- ^Angas, W. Mack, Capt. (CEC) USN (November 1945)."Sea Going Navy Yard Follows The Fleet".Popular Science:121–124.Retrieved10 July2012.
{{cite journal}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^"Ocean Dumping Report for Calendar Year 2001 for Non-dredged Material"(PDF).p. 3.Retrieved10 July2012.[permanent dead link]
- ^NAVSEA Sinkex List[dead link]
- ^Recent Google Earth picture showing Los Alamos in service in Brownsville, TX
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.The entry can be foundhere.- This article includes information collected from theNaval Vessel Register,which, as a U.S. government publication, is in thepublic domain.The entries can be foundhereandhere.—AFDB-7 Sections A–E & G, AFDB7 Section F
- This article includes information collected from theNaval Vessel Register,which, as a U.S. government publication, is in thepublic domain.The entry can be foundhere.—YFP-14
