ABSD-3 is an

advanced base sectional dock An auxiliary floating drydock is a type of US Navy Dry dock#Floating, floating dry dock. Floating dry docks are able to submerge underwater and to be placed under a ship in need of repair below the water line. Water is then pumped out of the fl ...

, constructed of nine advance base dock (ABD) sections for the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

as an

auxiliary floating drydock An auxiliary floating drydock is a type of US Navy floating dry dock. Floating dry docks are able to submerge underwater and to be placed under a ship in need of repair below the water line. Water is then pumped out of the floating dry dock, r ...

for

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. ABSD-3 was delivered to the US Navy in April 1944, and was commissioned on 27 October 1944. Advance Base Sectional Dock-3 (Auxiliary Floating Dock Big-3) was constructed in sections during 1942 and 1943. Each section was 3,850 tons and 93 feet long. Each section had a 165 feet beam, 75 feet molded depth and 10,000 tons lifting capacity. There were four ballast compartments in each section. With all nine sections joined, she was 844 feet long and 28 feet tall (keel to welldeck), with an inside clear width of 133 feet 7 inches. ABSD-2 had a traveling 15-ton capacity crane with an 85-foot radius and two or more support

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...

s. The two side walls were folded down under tow to reduce wind resistance and lower the center of gravity. ABSD-3 had six capstans for pulling, each rated at at . Four of the capstans were reversible.Building the Navy's Bases in World War II, History of the Bureau of Yards and Docks and the Civil Engineer Corps 1940-1946 Chapter IX, Floating Drydocks
/ref>
/ref>

Construction

The nine sections that made up dock ABSD-3 were built at four different shipyards, to speed up construction: *Section A -

Pollock-Stockton Shipbuilding Company Pollock-Stockton Shipbuilding Company was established in 1942 to build ships needed for World War II. As part of the Emergency Shipbuilding Program the US Navy provided some of the capital to start Pollock-Stockton Shipbuilding at Stockton, Califo ...

Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. Stockton was founded by Carlos Maria Weber in 1849 after he acquir ...

*Sections B & F -

Everett-Pacific Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company Everett-Pacific Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company was established in 1942 to build ships needed for World War II. Yard construction began on 1 March 1942. As part of the Emergency Shipbuilding Program the US Navy provided some of the capital to star ...

Everett, Washington Everett is the county seat and largest city of Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is north of Seattle and is one of the main cities in the metropolitan area and the Puget Sound region. Everett is the seventh-largest city in the ...

*Sections C & E - Chicago Bridge in

Morgan City, Louisiana Morgan City is a small city in St. Mary and lower St. Martin parishes in the U.S. State of Louisiana. The population was 12,404 at the 2010 census. Known for being “right in the middle of everywhere”, Morgan City is located 68 miles (109&nb ...

*Sections D, G, H & I -

Pittsburgh-Des Moines Steel Co. The Pittsburgh-Des Moines Steel Company (originally the Des Moines Bridge and Iron Company), and often referred to as Pitt-Des Moines Steel or PDM was an American steel fabrication company. It operated from 1892 until approximately 2002 when it ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

World War II

Commissioned on 27 October 1944, the USS ABSD-3 was assigned to the

Asiatic-Pacific Theater The Asiatic-Pacific Theater was the theater of operations of U.S. forces during World War II in the Pacific War during 1941–1945. From mid-1942 until the end of the war in 1945, two U.S. operational commands were in the Pacific. The Pacific O ...

. It was towed in sections to the

Naval Base Guam Naval Base Guam is a strategic United States Navy#United States territories, U.S. naval base located on Apra Harbor and occupying the Orote Peninsula. In 2009, it was combined with Andersen Air Force Base to form Joint Region Marianas, which is a ...

Apra Harbor Apra Harbor, also called Port Apra, is a deep-water port on the western side of the United States territory of Guam. It is considered one of the best natural ports in the Pacific Ocean. The harbor is bounded by Cabras Island and the Glass Breakwa ...

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

, Marianas Islands. After assembling she was placed in service to repair ship at Guam with ABSD-6. On an island in the harbor at Guam the Navy built a base to support the crew of ABSD-3 and ABSD-6. At the base were supplies, movie theater, mess hall, officers' clubs, movie theater, and enlisted club. The base was built mostly with

quonset hut A Quonset hut is a lightweight prefabricated structure of corrugated galvanized steel having a semi cylindrical cross-section. The design was developed in the United States, based on the Nissen hut introduced by the British during World War I ...

s. The largest repairs at Guam were that of the USS ''Pennsylvania'' near the end of World War II; the ship was hit by a

kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...

attack off

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

on 12 August 1945. Due to the ''Pennsylvania''s 28.9 ft (8.8 m) draft with a full load, the battleship had to unload much of her

ammunition Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...

and

fuel oil Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil, marine fuel oil (MFO), bun ...

before entering AFDB-3. The USS ''Idaho'' (BB-42) was also repaired in ABSD-3 after a kamikaze attack on the same day. Able to lift 90,000 tons, ABSD-3 could raise large ships such as

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

s, and large auxiliary ships, out of the water for repair below the

waterline The waterline is the line where the hull of a ship meets the surface of the water. Specifically, it is also the name of a special marking, also known as an international load line, Plimsoll line and water line (positioned amidships), that indi ...

. She was also used to repair multiple smaller ships at the same time. Ships in continuous use during war need repair both from wear and from war damage from

naval mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any ...

and

torpedoes A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

Rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...

s and

propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

s are best serviced on dry docks. Without ABSD-2 and her

sister ships A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...

, at remote locations months could be lost in a ships returning to a home port for repair. ABSD-3 had

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many p ...

s, ballast

pump A pump is a device that moves fluids (liquids or gases), or sometimes slurries, by mechanical action, typically converted from electrical energy into hydraulic energy. Pumps can be classified into three major groups according to the method they u ...

s, repair shops, and

machine shop A machine shop or engineering workshop (UK) is a room, building, or company where machining, a form of subtractive manufacturing, is done. In a machine shop, machinists use machine tools and cutting tools to make parts, usually of metal or plast ...

s, and could be

self-sustaining Self-sustainability and self-sufficiency are overlapping states of being in which a person or organization needs little or no help from, or interaction with, others. Self-sufficiency entails the self being enough (to fulfill needs), and a self-s ...

. ABSD-2 had two rail track moveable

cranes Crane or cranes may refer to: Common meanings * Crane (bird), a large, long-necked bird * Crane (machine), industrial machinery for lifting ** Crane (rail), a crane suited for use on railroads People and fictional characters * Crane (surname), ...

able to lift tons of material and parts, for removing damaged parts and installing new parts. The first ship repaired at Guam was on 5 March 1945 and the last ship on 5 March 1946, after one year of operation. * Ships ABSD-3 repaired during World War 2: * USS ''Napa'' (APA-157) * LST 802 *LST 822 *PC 42 * USS ''Minneapolis'' (CA-36) *LCI 544 *LCI 610

Landing Craft Infantry The Landing Craft Infantry (LCI) were several classes of landing craft used to land large numbers of infantry directly onto beaches during the Second World War. They were developed in response to a British request for seagoing amphibious assault s ...

*AK 142 - Cargo Ship * LST 688 *LST 442 *YD USS ''McInteze'' * USS ''Alnitah'' (AK-127) * LST 827 * HM LST-421 *

USS LST-486 USS ''LST/LST(H)-486'' was an built for the United States Navy during World War II. Construction ''LST-486'' was laid down on 31 December 1942, under Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 1006, by Kaiser Shipyards, Yard No. 4, Richmon ...

* LCT 840 *LCT 830 Landing craft tank *LCT 868 *LCT 846 *AOD 186 * USS LST-546 *LST 646 *LCI 890 *LCI 910 * USS ''Idaho'' (BB-42) * USS ''South Dakota'' (BB-57) * USS ''Arkansas'' (BB-33) *YNT AN-48 USS ''Lancewood'' Net Layer Tug *YNT AN-47 USS ''Canotia'' * USS LST-1000 * USS LST-767 *LST 609 * USS ''Pittsburgh'' (CA-72) *YDGT 7 *SC-760 Submarine chaser *SC-1317 Submarine chaser *YMS 403 Minesweeper *YMS 361 Motor Minesweeper *YMS 163 *AGS 14 a surveying ship *APC 102 small coastal transport *APC 25 *APC 45 * USS ''Earle B. Hall'' (DE-597) * USS ''Tillman'' (DD-641) *YMS 845 *AM 50 * USS ''Rescue'' *AK USS ''Edward G. Acheson'', cargo ship * USS ''Munsee'' (ATF-107) *LCI 562 *SC 658 Submarine chaser *AV 4 *LST 789 *LSM 476 * USS ''St. George'' (AV-16) *LST 800 *LSM 208 Landing Ship Medium *LCT 971 *LCT 358 *LCT 1182 *LCT 911 *LCT 912 *LCT 945 *LCT 817 *LCI 321 *SC 677 *AK SS E B Cargo Ship *AK SS ''Abigail Adams'' *FD 188 US Army *LCT 1185 *YMS 163 *GS 11 *LSM 439 *SC 654 * USS ''Lamar'' (PCE-899) * USS ''Kern'' (AOG-2) *LCI 1290 *PC 787 patrol craft *AK SS ''Ida Tarbell'' *Ak SS SS ''Carlos J. Finlay'' *LCT 803 *MS 323 *AN 68 *YMS 275 *YTB 299 *YD *AU 22 *LCT 1010 *LCT 905 * USS ''Pennsylvania'' (BB-38) *APA SS ''B. Dixon'' *GAGL 308 ''Papaw'' * USS ''Wantuck'' (APD-125) *LCI 910 *LCI 784 *BCL 3068 (Concrete#42 ''Uranium'') *YPK 3 Salvage Pontoons * USS ''Mona Island'' (ARG-9) *YC 1132 * USS ''Locust'' (AN-22) *YF 771 Freight Barge *LST 621 *LST 831 * USS LST-931 * LCI 461 * LCI 355 * LST 986 * LCM 184 * LCM 37 * LCM 256 * LCI 689 *YF 768 Barge *APL 15 APL-2 non-self-propelled barracks * LCI 817 * LCI 1064 * LCM 140 * LCM 142 *

FS-255 (U.S. Army ship) U.S. Army ''FS-255'' was one of the U.S. Coast Guard-manned U.S. Army Freight and Supply (FS) ships of World War II. Construction The ship was a Design 381 coastal ship built at Wheeler Shipbuilding, Whitestone, New York and commissioned at the ...

*FS 229

Commanding officers

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

Asel Bayless Kerr, USN, from 27 October 1944 to 28 December 1944 *

Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

Leo Kampman, USN, from December 1944 to 15 February 1945 *Commander Asel Bayless Kerr, USN, from 15 February 1945 to 17 March 1946 *Lieutenant commander Leo Kampman, USN, from 17 March 1945 to 1 April 1946

Post-war

After the war ABSD-3 was decommissioned from the US Navy on 1 April 1946. Some sections were laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet in Green Cove Springs, Florida. Some sections were stored in the

James River Reserve Fleet The James River Reserve Fleet (JRRF) is located on the James River in the U.S. state of Virginia at () near Fort Eustis. James River Reserve Fleet, a "ghost fleet,", is part of the National Defense Reserve Fleet. The Reserve Fleet ships in s ...

from 1979 to 1982. She was struck from the Naval Register on 1 August 1981. On 1 April 1982 eight sections were sold to Bath Iron Works in

Bath, Maine Bath is a city in Sagadahoc County, Maine, in the United States. The population was 8,766 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Sagadahoc County, which includes one city and 10 towns. The city is popular with tourists, many drawn by its ...

. In 1982 she was towed to Portland, Maine. Bath Iron Works used the dock to lift new-built guided missile destroyers (DDG) to install

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigation, navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect o ...

domes on the new ships' bows. The USS ''Samuel B. Roberts'' (FFG-58) was one of the ships serviced at the Bath Iron Works in May 1998. Bath Iron Works built a new land dry lock facility and no longer needed ABSD-3.Photos of USS ''Samuel B. Roberts'' on blocks in AFDB-3 in 1988
/ref> In 1999 she was sold and then in 2000 moved to two pieces (four sections) with the heavy-lift ship MV ''Blue Marlin'' to a shipyard in

Rijeka Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

External links

Youtube, BATTLESHIP USS IDAHO REPAIRED AT ESPIRITU SANTO in 1944 in USS Artisan (ABSD-1)1Youtube, August 15, 1944 mighty battleship Idaho at ABSD-1Youtube, Floating Dry Docks WWIIUSS ABSD-3 crew photo with battleship Pennsylvania (BB-38) in the dock.Photo of USS ABSD-3 engineering crew basketball team "Champs" in July 1945 at GuamPhoto USS ABSD-3 engineering crew of Section D-E-F, at Guam in July 1945. George "Bing" Crosby - 2nd left - back rowColor Photo of ABSD-3 with USS Idaho (BB-42) in drydockPhoto ABSD-3 at work in Bath Iron Works, Portland yardPhoto ABSD-3 aboard the Heavy Lift Vessel MV ''Blue Marlin'' at Portland, ME. Bath Iron Works, Portland yard

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:ABSD-3 World War II auxiliary ships of the United States 1944 ships Floating drydocks of the United States Navy Ships built by Everett-Pacific Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company