AFDM-2 was 37 feet (11.3 m) tall, 116 feet (35.4 m) wide, length of 614 feet (187.1 m) (all three section connected), and has a displacement of 6,360 tons. AFDM-2 could lift capacity 9,000 tons and had two service cranes to lift material and parts for removing damage parts and the installation of new parts. The floating drydock can repair ships up to a beam of 90 feet (27.4 m), as she is 90 feet wide between the wing walls. Ballastpontoonstanks are flooded with water to submerge or pumped dry to raise the ship. Submerged she can load a ship with a draft up to 20 feet (6.1 m).[1][2][3][4][5]
Hurricane Betsy, Category 4, sank and damaged AFDM-2 on 9 September 1965. USS AFDM-2 was at Todd Shipyards on the west side of the Mississippi River in Algiers, New Orleans. AFDM-2 had the water pumped out of her pontoon tanks and was raised for repair. The salvage ships MS Cable and USS Curb and USS Salinan, an Achomawi-classfleet ocean tug, helped in the recovery of AFDM-2. Due to the large size of AFDM-2 two rescue and salvage ships, USS Salvager and USS Windlass arrived with three special support barges to help in the salvage. Land-based winches were also used in the recovery. On 25 August 1966 tugs returned AFDM-2 to Todd Shipyards, eleven months after her sinking. Repairs where completed and she was put back in service. Divers had to repair more than 100 holes in AFDM-2 to float her again.[6]
