USS ''AFDM-3'', (former ''YFD-6''), was the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships that are all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very comple ...

of the ''AFDM-3''-class

floating dry dock 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, ...

built in 1943 and operated by the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

Construction and career

''YFD-6'' was built at the Chicago Bridge and Iron Shipyard, in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

in January 1943. She was commissioned on 9 December 1943. From 24 to 26 June 1944, was dry-docked inside ''YFD-6''. In late December 1944, voyaged to

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

where she took ''YFD-6'' in tow before continuing on to the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

. On 26 June 1945, ''YFD-6'' was prepared transiting the

, circa 1945. ''YFD-6'''s center section fully turned 90 degrees, floating on its side with the support of a thousand Navy pontoons installed atop the wing wall. This work, done by Navy SeaBees, was necessary to allow the drydock section to fit through the canal's locks. , and guided and towed the dry dock through the canal. In AUgust 1946, the dry dock was re-designated as ''AFDM-3''. towed ''AFDM-3'' and steaming in company with , and , she reached

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

on 12 October 1946. In latter 1948, ''AFDM-3'' and arrived at the Balboa yard to be prepared to transit the Panama Canal similarly to . Throughout 1950, The US Navy done heavy workload on ''AFDM-3'', USS AFDM-7 and . In 1986, ''AFDM-3'', and were all laid up in Mobile,

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. In 1999, the dry dock was leased to the Bender Shipbuilding and Repair Company. The ''AFDM-6'' was struck from the

Naval Register A Navy Directory, Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a co ...

on 15 November 2000. On 1 April 2002, it was sold to the company in Mobile. In 2010, the Bender Shipbuilding Company was declared bankrupt thus all systems were acquired by the

Signal International Signal International, LLC is a Mobile, Alabama based marine construction firm specializing in the construction of large oceangoing structures such as offshore drilling rigs, production platforms and barges. The company also has operations in Pasca ...

. After 2018, the shipyard was sold to

World Marine of Alabama The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk of a "plu ...

Awards

American Campaign Medal The American Campaign Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was first created on November 6, 1942, by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was intended to recognize those military members who had per ...

* Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal *

World War II Victory Medal The World War II Victory Medal was a service medal of the United States military which was established by an Act of Congress on 6 July 1945 (Public Law 135, 79th Congress) and promulgated by Section V, War Department Bulletin 12, 1945. Histo ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:AFDM-3 World War II auxiliary ships of the United States Floating drydocks of the United States Navy 1943 ships Ships built in Chicago