ARDM-1-class floating dry dock
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USS ''Oak Ridge'' (ARD-19/ARDM-1) was originally a
United States 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 ...
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 ...
suitable for
dry docking A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...
destroyers,
submarines 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 o ...
and
landing craft Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force (infantry and vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. The term excludes landing ships, which are larger. Pr ...
, built by the Pacific Bridge Company. In the early 1960s she was upgraded to support Los Angeles-class submarines, and re-classified as . A stern door and enclosed bow design allows for open ocean transits. The dock is non-propelled and therefore must be taken under tow to operational areas of the fleet. A steering mechanism with twin rudders is installed to facilitate this operation. Sufficient electrical power was provided by four diesel-driven generator sets to maintain all normal and operational requirements. Living, berthing, and mess facilities are provided for the dock's complement of 5 officers, 10 CPO's and a crew of 186. Oak Ridge was towed, in stages across the Pacific. While in transit she was used as a van to help move the service squadron forward and at the end of August 1944 arrived at Seeadler Harbor carrying a YTL, 2 pontoon crane barges, and 20
LCMs LCMS may refer to: Science and technology * Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry, a chemical analysis technique * Learning content management system * LittleCMS, an open-source color management system Organizations * Lindero Canyon Middle S ...
and LCVPs. From Manus ServRon 10 provided the logistic support for the Palau offensive, then moved itself forward to
Naval Base Ulithi Naval Base Ulithi was major United States Navy base at the Ulithi Atoll in the Caroline Islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea during World War II. The base was built to support the island hoping Pacific war e ...
and Naval Base Kossol Roads. The Leyte landings soon followed and the repair facilities were moved up to San Pedro Bay. On 27 November 1944 ARD-19 was moored in that bay with USS ''Ross'' (DD-563) in dock undergoing repairs. Shortly before noon the
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese launched an air attack. A "Tojo" fighter crashed into the drydock, passed through the starboard wingwall of the dock, and caused gasoline fed flames to encompass the dock basin deck, searing ''Ross'' as they spread. As the fire was being contained another Japanese fighter commenced a strafing run, but was splashed by gunfire from the ARD, ''Ross'', and . Heavy damage kept the ARD busy on self-repairs for only a brief time. She soon resumed her drydocking and repair role, and continued that service, at Subic Bay, Luzon, until after the end of World War II. In 1948, ''ARD-19'' was towed back across the Pacific and on 29 October she reported for duty with the Pacific Reserve Fleet at Long Beach. For the next six months she operated under that command and ServRon 1, carrying district craft to various berthing areas on the west coast. In March 1949 she carried YFN–599 to Puget Sound, took on cranes and got underway, in tow, for the
Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the terr ...
. From the Canal Zone she continued on to Orange, Texas, with more district craft in her dock basin. Arriving 10 June, she continued her ferry service until decommissioned and assigned to the Texas Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet for berthing, 30 September 1949. Thirteen years later, September 1962, ''ARD-19'' was brought out of reserve and taken to Jacksonville, Florida, where she was converted by the Gibbs Shipyards to support forward deployed Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) submarines. Her length increased to 536'1" and a maximum ballasted displacement to 9,700 tons, she became the first mobile single unit capable of such docking. She was then named, redesignated, and recommissioned as ''Oak Ridge (ARDM-1)'', 1 October 1963. Further changes, such as the replacement of two 10-ton cranes with two 25-ton cranes, kept her at Norfolk until 4 June 1964 when she was taken under tow by USS Atakapa (ATF-149) to begin the long journey to her homeport of Rota, Spain. With in her dock basin, she arrived at Rota 22 days later and commenced providing the services, to Polaris-equipped submarines and others as required attached to SUBRON 16 until June 1979. Her last station in the Navy was at Naval Submarine Base New London, Connecticut. ''Oak Ridge'' was decommissioned on 10 August 2001, stricken from the Naval register on 26 November 2001, and transferred to the United States Coast Guard on 8 February 2002; categorized as a moveable piece of docking equipment and recorded as General Purpose Property. From March 2011 to November 2013, ''Oak Ridge'' underwent an extensive Service Life Extension Project (SLEP), which included replacement of more than 2,000 square feet of steel plating and 3,200 linear feet of longitudinal stiffeners, in addition to installation of a new firemain system, new transit-ways for shore services, upgraded remote valve and pump controls to the ballast system, internal emergency dewatering equipment, interior communications, closed circuit TV system and structural improvements to the stern door. As of 8 August 2018, after a long service history. USS Oak Ridge was being offered for sale to the highest bidder by the General Services Administration. It was purchased for $1.396 million by East Coast Repair and Fabrication, a ship repair facility in Norfolk, Virginia.USCG Yard Curtis Bay "Yard News" VOLUME 67 NUMBER 05 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018
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List of ARDM-1 class ships


Gallery

File:USS Atakapa (ATF-149).jpg, USS Oak Ridge (ARDM-1) under tow by USS Atakapa (ATF-149) arriving in Rota, Spain on 26 June 1964. US Navy photo #USN 1104547 by PH1 J.A. Herry USN File:USCGC EAGLE in Oak Ridge.jpg, USCGC EAGLE dry dock in Oak Ridge, 8 December 2017 File:USSOakRidge(ARDM-1).jpg, USS Oak Ridge


Awards

* Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with one battle star * World War II Victory Medal * National Defense Service Medal


References

*


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oak Ridge ARD-12-class floating drydocks World War II auxiliary ships of the United States Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States Ships built in Alameda, California 1944 ships 2002 ships Floating drydocks of the United States Navy Historic American Engineering Record in Maryland