USS ''Richland'' (YFD-64/AFDM-8) was an ''AFDM-3''-class medium auxiliary floating drydock built in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

for the U.S. Navy. Originally named USS ''YFD-64'', she was towed to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

and

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 ...

where she served until war's end. In 1946 she was placed back into service to support

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

maintenance at Guam for the next forty years.

History

United States Navy

Construction

The second ship to be so named by the Navy, ''Richland'' (AFDM-8) was built by the Chicago Building & Iron Co.,

Eureka, California Eureka (Wiyot: ''Jaroujiji'', Hupa: ''do'-wi-lotl-ding'', Karuk: ''uuth'') is the principal city and county seat of Humboldt County in the Redwood Empire region of California. The city is located on U.S. Route 101 on the shores of Humboldt ...

, and commissioned as ''YFD-64'' on 28 November 1944.

World War II

Drydock ''YFD-64'' remained on the west coast until 15 December 1944 when she was towed to

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

. On 25 January 1945 she was towed into

Eniwetok Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with it ...

and then on to

Ulithi Ulithi ( yap, Wulthiy, , or ) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap. Overview Ulithi consists of 40 islets totaling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest i ...

. She was next towed to San Pedro Bay where she worked until November when she was towed to

. She decommissioned there on 8 June 1946.

Post-war reactivation and service

''YFD-64'' was redesignated ''AFDM-8'' on 1 August 1946, placed in service at Guam on 1 January 1947. The floating drydock supported Fleet Ballistic Missile

maintenance at Guam for over forty years. She was named ''Richland'' on 6 April 1968.

Dispositioning at end of service

The drydock was struck from the

Navy List A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval author ...

on 22 August 1997 and transferred to the local redevelopment authority in Guam on 6 April 1999.

Transfer to the Philippines

After its service with the U.S. Navy, Richland became an asset owned by Guam Shipyard. The drydock was reportedly bought from Guam Shipyard in January 2016 to an undisclosed buyer. Richland was then moved to the Philippines. On January 28, 2016, local tugboats and the 467-ton Philippine tug Rhocas began moving the drydock an operation that would take several days. It was later reported that Philippine maritime service provider Harbor Star Shipping Services bought the floating drydock, and was also providing the towing from Guam to the Philippines. October 2017 Currently waiting for repair, in RRYD, yacht and ship repair, AFAB, Mariveles, Bataan. Coincidentally is same location for the Zero KM Bataan Death March Marker

Honors and awards

Qualified ''Richland'' personnel were eligible for the following: *

American Campaign Medal The American Campaign Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was first created on November 6, 1942, by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was intended to recognize those military members who had perfo ...

* Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal * World War II Victory Medal * National Defense Service Medal

References

*
NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - YFD-64 / AFDM-8 Richland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richland Ships built in Eureka, California World War II auxiliary ships of the United States Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States Floating drydocks of the United States Navy