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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u.s.s. FRANKLIN icv-may U'-'TH' HARBOR Essex Class Aircraft Carrier NOVQWCY i944 d hen a suicide dive-bomber crashed into the flight deck The FRANKLIN was damage W about ten feet forward of number two elevator making a rectangular hole about twenty., five by fifty feet and putt ing out of commission number two elevator. A large fire followed causing additional damage. In early November, 1944, the JASGN moored along.. Side the FRANKLIN in Ulithi Harbor and commenced clearing the debris and investigating the damage. As can be seen from the pictures, the explosion of the bomb load and the resultant fire completely wrecked a large area. The JASON could have repaired the flight deck and accompanying compartments, and had started to do so. It became apparent h b r two elevator was beyond the capacity of for-ces this elevator out of however that the repair of t e num e afloat. Since the FRANKLIN could not operate efficiently with o cannibalize her to effect repairs on the newly arrived battle-damaged U.S.S. LEXINGTON. After being cannibalized and the necessary voyage repairs accomplished, the FRANKLIN was ordered to the West Coast for complete repairs. Such equipment as the SK and SC antennas, several 20-NM and 40-NIM guns, and interior communication instruments were removed. Note: The term cannibalizat ion as used in Naval l of items not required in its return to the commission, it was decided t parlance means to remove or strip a vesse States and which are needed in the forward area. 'QQET !g' ' QL fa: J, JASUN moored alongside clearing the debris Damage on the overhead of hangar deck . ' : Vkxx K YHA, 'M 'vs . LE :sg .P nv. N E .- xii--.Q . S' X 0 i 3' I My .L , .X V. ,Mlm an-gg S. Q .4-. T ct , - K W Qjgaygigm my L '-we ,lwr-N lIuEHHEE!iEl:::!ghh . is -Q Close view of the fli Qht deck damage , e' Clearlingi' of the debris new-5 cgmplei-im.