USS AFDB-2

USS AFDB-2

USS ABSD-2 repairing the USS Iowa in 1945
History
United States
Name	USS AFDB-2 - ABSD-2
Owner	US Navy
Builder	Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, California
Laid down	1942 and 1943
Completed	April of 1944
Commissioned	14 August 1943
Recommissioned	August of 1946 to AFDB-2
Decommissioned	January 1947 from US Navy
Honors and awards	American Campaign Medal Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal World War II Victory Medal National Defense Service Medal
Fate	See Post-war for fate of each of the 10 sections
General characteristics
Displacement	38,500 (in ten sections)
Length	927 ft (283 m) (in ten sections)
Beam	256 ft 0 in (78.03 m)
Height	9 ft (2.7 m) floated, 78 ft (24 m) flooded
Propulsion	None
Capacity	90,000 tons lift
Complement	690 officers and men
Armament	None

USS ABSD-2, later redesignated as AFDB-2, was a ten-section, non-self-propelled, large auxiliary floating drydock of the US Navy. Advance Base Sectional Dock-2 (Auxiliary Floating Dock Big-2) was constructed in sections during 1942 and 1943 by the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, California for World War II. Her official commissioning ceremony took place on 14 August 1943 with CDR Joseph J. Rochefort in command. With all ten sections joined, she was 927 feet (283 m) long, 28 feet (8.5 m) tall (keel to welldeck), and with an inside clear width of 133 feet 7 inches (40.72 m). ABSD-2 had a traveling 15-ton capacity crane with an 85-foot (26 m) radius and two or more support barges. The two side walls were folded down under tow to reduce wind resistance and lower the center of gravity. ABSD-2 had 6 capstans for pulling, each rated at 24,000 lbf (110,000 N) at 30 ft/min (0.15 m/s), 4 of the capstans were reversible. There were also 12 ballast compartments in each section.^{[1] [2]}