Bolster (ARS 38) - Naval Cruise Book

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BATTLEaAR BOLSTER USS BOLSTER (ARS-38) 1 May 1945 - 24 September 1994 The USS BOLSTER (ARS-38) is an agile vessel having a short, 214 foot length and a shallow. 15 foot draft, giving her enough aneiiverahility to petfonn in nearly inaccessible water. The crew must combine e.xpert seamanship with concerted diving efforts to complish missions, including harbor clearance and coastal salvage in wartime environments. BOLSTER has the capability to ' float stranded or sunken vessels and aircraft, making the neccs. ' iaiy repairs to.mfely return them to a friendly port. She is also cm icellent towing ship, well ec uipped and suited for open ocean towing. BOLSTER was built by the Basalt Rock Company in early 1945 at Napa. California. She was taken to Vallejo {Mare Island) for itfitting and was commissioned on 1 May. 1945. BOLSTER was the first of six cotnbat salvage ships. These steel-hulled ships were considered so valuable that operational doctrine developed during the war (WWII) called for stationing them outside the combat me where they would not be exposed to unnecessary hazard but would be available for any major .salvage situations. writes aptain C.A. Bartholomew in his hook Mud. Muscle, and Miracles. Crew size was about 120 men including the complement of divers, made complete with some unique features found onboard. Two re monitors, capable of pumping out 4000 gallons of water per minute onto a flaming deck, aided in BOLSTER ' S rescue efforts. A •II machine shop allowed patches to be cut and assembled, repairing damaged hulls long enough to return to port for any major ■pairs. The forward boom could lift up to 20 tons while the one aft, on the fantail. had a ma.ximum lift of 8 tons. Also on the fantai! as the Almon Johnson towing machine which held 2 100 feet of 2 inch wire rope capable of a ma.ximum pull of 50 tons. Further, in her salvage holds was an extensive inventoiy of portable salvage equipment- pumps, generators, and welding machines ' various sizes that could be placed wherever needed. Plus, eight complete legs of beach gear, each capable of generating up to 60 •ns of pulling power, were maintained onboard. BOLSTER could lift up to 150 tons off the bottom of the ocean with its main bow illers and an additional 30 tons on its aiLxiliary bow rollers. A recompression chamber was available for treating diving related cknesses and the MK-5 suiface supplied diving system was in use. Finally, the ship was ouffitted with four 20mm anti-aircraft guns id one 40mm Bofors cannon. BOLSTER ' S expansive storage facilities allowed her to remain on station for over 4 0 davs or travel •er 9000 nautical miles without replenishment. The initial shakedown cruise was from Vallejo to San Diego. Determined fit for duty. BOLSTER picked up a floating drydock in ureka. and headed for Hawaii. Peiforming several more towing jobs in the Hawaiian area. BOLSTER was in Pearl Harbor when e war ended. Then, leaving Hawaii, she sailed to Ulithi Atoll, where the fleet was assembled for the invasion of Japan. On to kinawa and finally Yokosuka. Japan. BOLSTER began to raise scutded Japanese ships from the bay, tow them to sea, and re-sink em. Operating in Japanese waters for a year, followed by six months of repair and salvage duty- in the Republic of the Philippines, OLSTER transited east to her original homeport. Hawaii. For the majority of her service. BOLSTER was homeported in Pearl arbor, rotating between overseas deployments which included Japan, the Philippines, Guam, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, ' istralia, Vietnam. Fiji, the Marshall Islands. Alaska, California, and Washington. During the Korean Conflict. BOLSTER towed and repaired battle-damaged vessels and acted as a screen. She was involved in the chon Lcmding (15 September 1950) and the Hungnam Evacuation (9-25 December 1950). and was awarded seven battle stars for ' ■ Korean senice. After the Korean Conflict. BOLSTER continued duties throughout the Pacific Ocean. In May of 1955. she was involved in peration Wigwam, a single detonation, deep submerged nuclear test operation occurring approximately 500 miles southwest of San iego. bolster ' s station was six miles upwind of the detonation point. Three hours after detonation. BOLSTER began retrieving bmarine salvage pontoons which had been 5000 to 1 1.000 yards from the detonation. BOLSTER towed two pontoons to San iego. Throughout her histon: BOLSTER has conducted countless salvage operations. In 1 964. BOLSTER refloated the Philippine ship AJAH SOLIMAN, and salvaged the USS FRANK KNOX (DD-742). During Vietnam. BOLSTER peiformed multiple salvage i.s.sions off ' the coast of Da Nang. The salvage efforts on the SEA RAVEN and EXCELLENCY occurred in 1965 and ' 66. In 1973, OLSTER worked with the Air Force Pararescue Teams as the secondary- recovery- ship for Sk iab 4. BOLSTER recovered the erchant ship LINDENBERY in 1975. rescued the USNS UTE oft ' the coast of mainland China in 1977, and in 1978 took under tow e USS PREBLE (DDG-46), which was adrift northeast ofOahu and brought her safely back to port after an open ocean transit. In 1982, BOLSTER was tasked with salvaging a U.S. Marine Corps F-4S in 225 feet of water just outside of the harbor in Subic ly. The Navy ' s MK-12 Mixed-Gas diving rig (where divers breathe a mixture of helium and oxygen, allowing their bodies to ' tforni at increasing depths) commenced its first working dive from the decks of the BOLSTER. Currently. BOLSTER is assigned to Long Beach, California, the t rv she has called home since June of 1983. at which time she so became a member of the Naval Resene Force. Her armament has been updated. There is no longer a 40mm cannon and nvo of e 20mni guns have been replaced by 50 caliber machine guns. The divers use the technologically advanced MK-21 Surface ipplied Diving System and are capable of going to depths of 1 90 feet below the surface. Four Caterpillar engines power generators hicli in turn power electric motors giving the ship 3060 shaft horsepower. Recent operations have included numerous open-ocean tows of decommissioned cruisers, destroyers, frigates, repair ships, irges. and floating dtydocks. In addition. BOLSTER is regularly called upon to tow a decommissioned nuclear submarine from idmun. Panama, to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington, a distance of almost 5000 miles. Regretfully, the BOLSTER is to be decommissioned and take her place among the many historic vessels of the inactive fleet. OLSTER leaves behind almost 50 years of sea stories, and numerous former sailors to whom those stories belong. The ' commissioning ceremony will take place in Long Beach on Saturday the 24th of September, at ten o ' clock.