Jason (AR 8) - Naval Cruise Book

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MANUS ISLAND S S ESSO BALBOA 0 t b Merchant Oil Tanker C O er 'Sw 111 of Panamanian registry, was severely 1 lth another Vesgel Pte bow of the other vessel penetrated 'msg imaged dnbiwcgf the-:OISSVSO bAlBOA to a maximum depth of thirty feet- The Shelllplati s ar oar m the for-ecggtle deck to about eight feet below the load waterline, The frames, deck beamsil deck plat ing and bulkheads were ruptured and buckled' in a forty-foot area. Thgfpf 40mm mount just aft of the point of collision was torn from its base The degaussing cable anti light and power cables? were cut. A Since this ship swag? built in Germany, no prints were available. Working sketches were made from the opposite side and fabrication was started before the twistedsi beams and deck platingi were cleared. The frames, deck beams, and shelll plat ing were renewed. The 40mm gun platform was rebuilt and the gun repaired. The degaussing cable was repaired by splicing it into a large connection box as shown in the picture on the opposite page. The light ing and power cables were renewed as necessary- The JASON worked for fourteen days OH 3 twenty-four hour basis to complete repairs to the ESSO BALBOA. Fift66n thousand man hours and fifty-five thousand pO11Hd9 of steel were put mm' the job. When repairs were about ninety percent completed the JASON received order? to proceed to Ulithi Harbor. On 25 0Ct0b.9H 1944 the JASUN left M8 the and was relieved by U.s.s. sainssus KAR-13 who completed the repairs to the Esso UAL-BOA.g.

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Fleet on Tanker The JAS0N'S first major hull job was the work performed on the U.S.S. MILLICOMA. Damaged in a collision, the MILLICOMA proceeded to Seeadler Harbor, Manus, under her OWU POWBP and WHS t9mP0FaPi1Y repaired by the JASON before proceeding to the rear area fOr final P9P8iPS- The damage extended from just aft of the stack to the stern on the St8Pb0HPd Side- The Steering engine room was sheared in the collision for a distance of forty feet in length and from two to five feet in width. The five and three-inch gun platforms were demolished. Tempo- rary repairs were effected by cutting away the debris, removing the damaged guns, repairing the ship's hull, and sealing the buckled bulk- heads and decks. Tempo- . - AN 1 , r i rary light ing was install- ' ed. The steering engine room was put back in full commission. The vegetable locker on the port side was insulated, new coils installed, and the locker converted into a freeze box to replace the freeze box which was demolished. The job was completed in e . - nine days by working around the clock. After satisfactory tests were made, the vessel pro- - - w Q seeded to Terminal Island, Californiai Close view of damage on starboard side . 4 4 - 'T' ,.-' , T 'T rf'. ' .Z MILLICOMA entering forward area for repair MILLICOMA underway after temporary PeP3iT M ,J U , Revs Yi

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