YFD-2

YFD-2 (Yard Floating Dock-2, USS YFD-2) was an auxiliary floating drydock built for the United States Navy in 1901. The first parts were laid down in early 1901 at Maryland Steel Co. of Sparrows Point, Maryland. YFD-2 was the first of its kind, steel movable auxiliary floating drydock, used to raise large ships out the water for repair below the ship's waterline. YFD-2 had a 18,000 tons lifting capacity.[1]

YFD-2 arriving Pearl Harbor Oct 1940
History
United States
Name:

USS YFD-2

(nickname: Old New Orleans)
Namesake: New Orleans
Builder: Maryland Steel Co.
Laid down: early 1901
Launched: 1901
Commissioned: 06 November 1901
Honors and
awards:		 Combat Action Ribbon, American Defense Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal
Fate: unknown - Struck from the Naval Register, 28 January 1947
General characteristics
Displacement: 16,000 tons
Length: About 375 feet
Beam: 128 feet
Propulsion: none
Armament: none
Notes: First Yard Floating Dock, 18,000 tons lifting capacity.

New Orleans Navy Yard

YFD-2 was towed to her station in the Navy Yard near New Orleans at Algiers, New Orleans, Louisiana on 6 November 1901. It took four steam tugboats: the Orion, Taurus, Peerless, and Volunteer to tow YFD-2 from Maryland to New Orleans. YFD-2 was a new state of the art machine for its time. USS Stranger with the Louisiana governor, William Wright Heard and the New Orleans mayor, Paul Capdevielle where there to greet the arrival. A New Orleans parade was held to celebrate the arrival. The first US Navy ship repaired was the 11,565-ton battleship USS Illinois, a Pre-dreadnought battleship in January of 1902. Next YFD-2 repaired the 300 feet long transfer boat Carrier. In 1903 she repaired the Norwegian cargo ship Telefon. YFD-2 remained in New Orleans until towed to Pearl Harbor, she arrived in Pearl Harbor on 23 August 1940, before World War 2. She departed New Orleans on March 19, 1940 after modification to make her sea worthy for the 6,000-mile travel. To go through the Panama Canal she was taken apart at Cristóbal, Colón, the Canal was only 100 feet wide at that time and the 128 feet wide drydock would not pass. The sections were towed through the Canal and reassembled at Balboa, Panama.[2][3]

Attack on Pearl Harbor

YFD-2 was repairing the destroyer USS Shaw on 7 December 1941 during the attack on the harbor. YFD-2 and Shaw were hit and damaged in the attack by Japanese dive bombers. The USS Shaw also damaged YFD-2 with the explosion of her forward ammunition magazines stores. Both ships were repaired and put back in service. On 9 January 1942 YFD-2 had the water pumped out of her pontoon tanks and was raised for repair. When the repairs were completed she was put back in service in May of 1942. The Pacific Bridge Company was give charge for the repairs of YFD-2. Divers had to repair more than 200 holes in YFD-2 to float her again. Repaired, the YFD-2 raised the USS Shaw for 10 days of repairs to install a new temporary bow so the Shaw could return to the naval shipyard at Mare Island at Vallejo, California for final repairs. YFD-2 was used for salvaging and repairing many of ships damaged on 7 December 1941, as she could raise any ship here, other than the large new battleships.

She continued repair work throughout WWII at Pearl Harbor. After the war YFD-2 was struck from the Naval Register on 28 January 1947. She was sold on 30 March 1948 for private use.[4][5][6][7]

  • Yard Floating Dock-2 with battleship USS Illinois, a Pre-dreadnought battleship in January of 1902 for repair
  • USS Shaw exploding after her forward magazine was detonated by the raging fire
  • Wreckage of bombed YFD-2 and Shaw at Pearl Harbor
  • USS Shaw (DD-373) in half-sunken YFD-2 at Pearl Harbor
  • USS Shaw (DD-373) in sunken YFD-2 after Pearl Harbor attack.jpg

See also

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

  1. UN Navy, Building the Navy's Bases in World War II, Chapter IX, Floating Drydocks, page 208
  2. "Navy Drydock At Algiers Had Rich History". 26 March 2018.
  3. The Wall Street Journal, Transfer boat Carrier, July 24, 2017
  4. "Yard Floating Dock (YFD)". www.navsource.org.
  5. US Navy, YFD-2
  6. Honolulu, Mailing Address: National Park Service Pearl Harbor National Memorial 1845 Wasp Blvd Bldg 176; Us, HI 96818 Phone:422-3399 Contact. "Civilian Casualties - Pearl Harbor National Memorial (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov.
  7. USS Shaw

Further reading


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