Page 44: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (August 1978)

Shown, with the USS Tarawa-LHA-1 in the background, are left to right: Lt. (jg) Alan W. Lockwood, USN, ship superintendent; Lt. Kenneth M. Smith, USN, ship superintendent; Comdr. Richard J. Kinnear, USN, assistant repair officer, and Ensign Debra L. Deacon, USN, ship superintendent.

The June meeting of the Long Beach-

Greater Los Angeles Section of The Ameri- can Society of Naval Engineers was held jointly with the Los Angeles Metropolitan

Section of The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers.

The more than 160 participants who were members of each or both Societies, along with their families and invited guests, con- vened at the Allen Center Officer's Club at the Long Beach (Calif.) Naval Station where they boarded buses for a "drive-through" tour of the Long Beach Naval Station and the Long Beach Naval Shipyard complex.

Each bus had a tour guide who pointed out various buildings, berths, drydocks, ships, etc., and one of the outstanding landmarks viewed was the world's largest self-propelled floating crane, YD-171. This crane is one of four built at Bremerhaven, Germany, during

World War II at an estimated cost of $3.5 million each, and captured by the British at

Kiel in 1945. Of the four, one was sunk at

Hamburg, one capsized in the English Chan- nel as the British were attempting to move it to their homeland, one was assigned to the

Russians, who moved the partially completed crane overland to Danzig, and it has not been heard of since, and the last one was very carefully handled in transiting the Atlantic,

Panama Canal, and the final leg up the Pa- cific Coast to Long Beach.

The crane is of the level luffing type with a lifting capacity of 386 tons at a radius of 114 feet. The hull is fitted with three elec- trically driven, vertical axis, variable-pitch propellers, giving her a maximum speed of over 6 knots, and by varying the pitch indi- vidually on the three thrusters, the crane can be moved omni-directionally for any de- sired orientation. In 1969, she was repowered from 725-hp motors to 1,200-hp diesel en- gines driving 960-hp electric motors at a cost of $318,000, and is maintained in an active status at all times. She is truly a beautiful piece of machinery and has served well in both Naval and commercial lifting assign- ments over the past some 30 years.

The tour proceeded to alongside the USS

Tarawa-LHA-1, where the buses unloaded the group for the tour of the newest and most versatile amphibious warfare ship in the U.S. Navy. Small groups were guided through the ship by men of the ship's crew, and to many of the Society members it was a much more familiar and meaningful visit than one usually experiences on such a tour.

Many had participated in the design, and more than just a few held positions of con- siderable responsibility during the concep- tual and design phases of the ship's evolu- tion. Even though the physical ship was built in Pascagoula, Miss., she was conceived, de- veloped and designed in the Greater Los

Angeles area.

The USS Tarawa combines the functions and payloads of four amphibious force ships in that she carries helicopters, landing craft, tanks, jeeps, cargo and troops. Her flight deck extends the full 820 feet of her length, permitting simultaneous operation of nine helicopters. She also has a very large "wet well deck" in her stern which allows docking landing craft within the hull where they may be loaded with men, tanks, trucks, jeeps or cargo at the same time that similar materiel is being deployed by the helicopters up top- side. The movement of materiel within the ship from the storage areas to the flight deck and the "wet well deck" is accomplished by means of an elaborate system of convey- ors, elevators and inclined ramps, affording her the capability of almost single-handedly conducting landing force operations.

Her electronics and communications sys- tems are both extensive and versatile, and have as a heart of the electronics a system called Integrated Tactical Amphibious War- fare Data Computer System which, in addi- tion to keeping track of the landing forces after leaving the ship, also tracks the enemy targets ashore. With this system the com- puter can direct, aim and fire the ship's guns and missiles, or can direct other supporting ships to do so. She can also maintain both air and surface traffic control for her own helicopters and landing craft and additionally those of the combat air patrols and the task force supply ships.

She has extensive medical facilities which include two main and two emergency oper- ating rooms, two X-ray rooms, a blood bank, laboratories, and hospital wards with 300 beds, all staffed with competent doctors, nurses, technicians, specialists and corpsmen.

Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz once said "The U.S. Navy's errands of mercy have saved more lives than all its guns have de- stroyed," and the USS Tarawa is by far bet- ter suited than any other Naval vessel to sustain this tradition. No matter what the disaster—be it typhoon, earthquake or hur- ricane—she has the capability to provide food, clothing, shelter, medical care, com- munications and transportation to aid the victims.

On completion of the inspection of the USS

Tarawa, the group again boarded the wait- ing buses to return to the Allen Center where a no-host buffet luncheon was served.

Matson Names McClelland

To Post In Hawaii

Joseph J. McClelland, a Matson Navigation

Company vice president in San Francisco,

Calif., has been named assistant area man- ager-Hawaii, R.J. Pfeiffer, president, an- nounced.

Mr. McClelland, a retired Coast Guard admiral, joined Matson in February as a vice president and director of corporate develop- ment. He retired as Coast Guard Commander,

Pacific Area, in San Francisco in 1976 after 36 years of service, including a tour as super- intendent of the Coast Guard Academy, New

London, Conn.

Seatrain Lines Sells

Interest To Dodwell

Completion of the sale of a 26 percent in- terest in its Pacific Container Division to

Dodwell and Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Inchcape and Co. Ltd., has been announced by Seatrain Lines, Inc.

Forming a new joint venture that will op- erate Seatrain's Pacific container service be- tween the U.S. West Coast and the Far East,

Dodwell will pay the carrier approximately $12 million, plus an additional payment of up to $5 million, depending on the division's future financial performance.

Seatrain will control the other 74 percent of the new company, which will continue to operate as Seatrain Pacific Services. The di- vision has seven containerships in the West

Coast-Far East trade.

A tentative agreement with Dodwell, which has been acting as Seatrain's Japan and Hong

Kong agent for some years, was first an- nounced last May.

Dodwell's parent company, Inchcape, is a multinational corporation which recorded net earnings of approximately $28.6 million in 1976. Other subsidiaries of the company are involved in ship operations, forwarding, lightering, port operations, marine and gen- eral engineering, commodity dealing, insur- ance brokering, and other businesses.

ASNE And SNAME Members Tour Long Beach Naval Yard Complex 46 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News