Escape (ARS 6) - Naval Cruise Book

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WELCDME ABOARD USS ESCAPE QARS-61 is a Rescue Salvage Ship, a unit of Service Squadron EIGHT and ofthe parent command, Service Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet. She is designed to carry out a great variety of salvage operations and to provide innumerable types of Ser- vice to the Fleet. ESCAPE, built by the Basalt Flock Company at Napa, California, was launched in November 1943. At the end of World War ll she was decommissioned and moth balled. ln early 1950 she once again joined the active fleet. ESCAPE is presently homeported in Nlayport, Florida. ESCAPE is 213 feet long, 43 feet wide, and dis- places 2000 tons. She moves through the water at 13 knots pushed by twin propellers generating a total of 3000 shaft horse power. To accomplish her primary mission of rescue and salvage, ESCAPE is outfitted with special machinery both installed and portable. To pull a stranded ship afloat, blocks and falls in a system called beach gear are used. ESCAPE's allowance is 8 sets, which if rigged simultaneously could exert a straight line pull of upto 450 tons. Should the distressed ship be flooded or afire, ESCAPE can provide the means to control either emergency. Pumps both installed and portable are capable of sucking 20000 gallons of li- quid per minute out of a sinking vessel. The fire fighting equipment in the hands of the trained crew can effectively overcome the fiercest blaze. For salvage operations beneath the surface of the sea, ESCAPE is equipped to provide extensive diving support. ' ESCAPE is manned by 8 officers and 92 enlisted men of various specialties and experiences. Among the crew are 4 officers and 10 enlisted men es- pecially trained asNavy divers. From its many successful accomplishments, ESCAPE has not only gained a wealth of know how in salvage and rescue operations, but enjoys an unequalled reputation for coming through when the occasion demands. P