Hello Indy and crew,
I wanted to ask, what was the role of the USS Dobbins (AD-3) and other destroyer tenders during the war. I’m currently tracking down what happened to my great grandfather during the war (who happened to be serving on the ship and just 8 days from discharge when Pearl Harbor was attacked), so I figured it fitting to ask. Thanks in advance.
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Destroyer (and submarine) Tenders carried machine and tool shops and the skilled technician sailors that operated that equipment on board. Think of a tender as a mobile shipyard.
A damaged or in need of repairs destroyer would moor alongside the tender and the tender’s crew would help the destroyer’s crew repair everything from radars to boilers to weapons systems.
The USS Frank Cable still serves this purpose at the US Navy base in Guam for the pacific fleet submarines.
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