Los Alamos (AFDB-7)

The seven advance base docks were towed to Mare Island Navy Yard where they were erected and assembled into ABSD-7. Completed in March 1945, the advance base section dock began duty at Mare Island, she served there until placed on the inactive list in March 1946. In August 1946 she was reclassified to auxiliary floating drydock AFDB-7. Disassembled and towed to the east coast, she entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Green Cove Springs, Florida in January 1947.

Early in 1961, four sections—"A", "B", "C", and "D"—of AFDB‑7 were towed across the Atlantic Ocean to Holy Loch, Scotland, where on 3 March 1961 the Navy established an important base for fleet ballistic submarines. A detachment of Seabees from MCB-4 erected and assembled the four sections. Completed 10 November, the auxiliary floating drydock was placed in service as Los Alamos (AFDB-7).

Assigned to SUBRON 14, Los Alamos began drydock service for the FBM boats.

Converted for use by submarines, she had the following characteristics:

• Displacement: 18,795 long tons (19,097 t)
• Length: 513 ft (156 m)
• Draft: 9 ft 3 in (2.82 m) light, 67 ft 4 in (20.52 m) submerged
• Complement: 143
• Armament: none

Late in 1961 she carried out her first SSBN drydocking of USS George Washington (SSBN-598). She then served submarines of the "Highland Squadron" at Holy Loch. She supported refit and repair operations by submarine tenders Proteus, Hunley, Holland, Simon Lake, and Canopus. In February 1964 she successfully completed the first "off center" docking of a Polaris submarine. By providing keel blocks preset for two separate classes of SSBN boats, Los Alamos "added immeasurably to the site’s repair flexibility."

On 18 June 1966, section "F" was turned over to the U.S. Army, where it was converted into a floating power plant at Kwajalein named Andrew J Weber (BD-6235). On 1 October 1977, Andrew J Weber was returned to the U.S. Navy and reinstated on the Naval Vessel Register as YFP-14. Stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 29 May 1991, YFP-14 remained at Guam and was designated to be used in a Sinkex on 18 June 1998. YFP-14 was sunk 250 nmi (460 km; 290 mi) southeast of Agana, Guam on 19 July 2001.[2][3] The Naval Vessel Register's entry for YFP-14 incorrectly indicates the vessel was sunk on 18 June 1998, that was the date the vessel was designated to be sunk.

On 5 December 1994 Los Alamos was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register. Disassembled into sections and returned to the United States, the remaining six original ABSD-7 sections ("A", "B", "C", "D", "E" and "G") were transferred to the Brownsville Navigation District, Texas on 11 August 1995. Currently in use as Solomon Ortiz Dry Dock at Keppel AmFELS Shipyard, Brownsville, Texas.[4]

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
• This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entries can be found here and here.—AFDB-7 Sections A–E & G, AFDB7 Section F
• This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.—YFP-14

USS Abraham Lincoln (SSBN-602) in Los Alamos

• Photo gallery of Los Alamos at NavSource Naval History
• Naval Historical Center
• Youtube, BATTLESHIP USS IDAHO REPAIRED AT ESPIRITU SANTO in 1944 in USS Artisan (ABSD-1)1
• Youtube, August 15, 1944 mighty battleship Idaho at ABSD-1
• Youtube, Floating Dry Docks WWII