USS Los Alamos (AFDB-7) - Holy Loch

Holy Loch

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 USS 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 June 18, 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 October 1, 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 May 29, 1991, YFP-14 remained at Guam and was designated to be used in a Sinkex on June 18, 1998. YFP-14 was sunk 250 nmi (460 km; 290 mi) southeast of Agana, Guam on July 19, 2001. The Naval Vessel Register's entry for YFP-14 incorrectly indicates the vessel was sunk on June 18, 1998, that was the date the vessel was designated to be sunk.

On December 5, 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 August 11, 1995. Currently in use as Solomon Ortiz Dry Dock at Keppel AmFELS Shipyard, Brownsville, Texas.