USS ABSD-5

USS ABSD-5
ABSD-5 at Manicani Island, Philippines repairing USS Mississippi in July 1945
History
United States
NameUSS AFDB-5- ABSD-5
OwnerUS Navy
OperatorUS Navy
BuilderChicago Bridge & Iron Company in Morgan City, Louisiana
Laid down1943 and 1944
Sponsored byMrs. John P. Millon
Completed1944
Commissioned15 June 1944
Recommissioned1946 to AFDB-5
Out of serviceMay 1946
Stricken15 April 1989
Honors &
awards
American Campaign Medal

Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal

World War II Victory Medal
FateScrapped in 1997
General characteristics
Displacement30,800 (in nine sections, (A-G)
Length825 ft (251 m) (in nine sections)
Beam256 ft 0 in (78.03 m)
Height9 ft (2.7 m) floated, 78 ft (24 m) flooded
Propulsionnone
Capacity90,000 tons lift
Complement690 officers and men
Armament
  • 14 × 40 mm (1.6 in) guns
  • 14 × 20 mm (0.79 in) guns

USS ABSD-5, later redesignated as AFDB-5, was a nine-section, non-self-propelled, large auxiliary floating drydock of the US Navy. Advance Base Sectional Dock-5 (Auxiliary Floating Dock Big-5) was constructed in sections during 1943 and 1944 by the Chicago Bridge & Iron Company in Morgan City, Louisiana for World War II. With all nine sections joined, she was 825 feet long, 28 feet tall (keel to welldeck), and with an inside clear width of 133 feet 7 inches. ABSD-5 had two traveling 15-ton capacity crane with an 85-foot 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-5 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 4 ballast compartments in each section.