“Construimus, Batuimus” “We Build, We Fight”

Naval Pontoon Assembly Detachment 1

Historical Information

• 144

' 44

.')

/I '1 10 258 1 .lo5€,

30 Sepl44 456 1 Oet l 44 10 456 1 ov l 44 10 454

1 Dec'44 11 5i!5

1 Jan'45 11 51? MoR

1~1/~~111B- ~~~!~'; ...rs ~I1 Apr 45 12

39 Transients (Storage Un ts iZ. & 4 tta ~e ) 1 ~'45 11 638 " MoB

39 Tranllent. (Sto~ Unit. 13 a 4 ) 11 676 • oR .. ...9 T - ~t r~~ Lotts ~ ~

10 644 :ID1P625 & R 3) Trans - Storage Uni t f4

14 5a9

~~

Reeap MoR

R Moll

1 Oct'45 280 BNP625

Pontoon A.8Setlb~ Detachment #1 (I c IVA'l'ED)

Pontoon Asse:n1!.ly Detaehment ':'1

N;TC - Nor!olk PAD waa fomed. a t No r f ok: -ABD - Gulfport Oet142. Arrived a t Nounea Ready Date - 18 m. 143. The old PE lit Left Am> - 13 Dec 142 into a units Dec 143 . (PAD 1 Location - wal~e-Pe~~ NeQaeQ Uaa~ operation report d td 21 .pr'44)

Los Negro8

12-13-42 - Departed Gult:Port with 12 off. and 343 men. (Also 2 oft. and 16 mell had prp • proceeded to destination)

l.- 1-43 - Sailed tor EPIO I with 8 off. and A53 en on 1 ship; 5 oft. and 108 men on other. 1-20-43 - At White POPP7 - Just arrived - for fabrication as bly pontoon • 5-11-43 - Pont. ABsem. Dat. 1s located at Boume • (Com! vEases SoPac area to ComSoPae eo

Itr dtd 5-11-43) 9-21-43 - One-half Pontoon Assembly Dcteahment to be moved to Russell Islands. ShipniDg

~ea1gaator change to be advised later. (See Disp Cooseronsopac to CND 140556 Sap) 3- 3-43 - 1 Feb l 44 r port ot PAD flt1 - located at NOllDB • 5- 8-44 - 1 Aprl44 report ot PAD *1 _ 0 eret1ng at N'oumea. 2'1 Me.r l 44 rec1d 37 en fr 2Dd

CB. S- 1-44 - 1 MoyI44 re~rt of PAD 11 - o?erattng at Noumea. 5- 1-44 - PAD #1 1s at present dismantling its camp and factory at No a for movement to a

forward area . (Operation report to Budocks dtd 21 Apr l 44) 7- 3-44 - PAD 11 19 enroute to Manus as of 31 M~I44. (Comserfor7f1t S c ltr A-9 over 3er

BP-OOl407 to Dirpacilock dtd 8 Jun'«)

http:Asse:n1!.ly

PAD 11

8-21-44 - 1 Jul'44- report of PAD #1 fr'l NI)'~t! 1 Jun 44 an rived at u'"'............. 19 Junt 44. 1 AugI44 report of PAD 11 - Draft of 200 men expected to arriv 1n England.

10-25-44 - PAD 11 is located at Los roe. (Corns rfor7fit Mo. report fo Augl44, .:;.0 ~e 001815 dtd 12 Sep' 44)

1-~ - 1 Sep'44 r port of PAD 1 - 1oc~ted at Manus. End. b CODserfor7flt tates t PAD 1 1s tentaUnly scheduled to be a transhipment depot tor oOlllpl te pontoon tructure. actory operations are elUmated to start between the 15th ~Ot

of Sep. 11- 8-44 - PAD , 1 1. located. at Lo Negros. (Oomsertor7tlt Sec ltr A9-4 o?er Ser 3P-OO 882

to Budocka dtd 12 Oct t44 mo. report for Sepl44) 12-18-44 - 1 Oot '44 report of PAD #1 - located at Manus. 13-29044 - PAD 1 h loop-ted at Loa liegros. (COiDB rfor7:flt Sec report for Oct t 44 dtd.oo 0)

1-13-45 - PAD 11 18 located at Lo Negros. (Oomserfor7flt sec report for NOT' 44 dtd 15 Dec) 1-23-45 - 1 Nov t44 report of PAD 11 - loca.ted at Manus a of 1 Nov. Rec'd d,rq,ft ot e rox

200 en in ~. 1-31-4.'5 - 1 Dee'44 report of PAD II - located at Manus. .2 off. and 37 me ot loati.D«

Ammunition Sto~ UDits Nos. 3 and 4 are on temp duty with PAD *1 in connection

with 8l18emb17 and staging of their units. 3 off. fUld 102 men of tho 302nd 013

were ~rt.red with PAD 11 from 12 Nov to 1 Dec'44 10 connection with ass mbly

of equipment for their unit. 76 men were a signed to PAD fl for permanent dut,.

ot the last balf of Nov.

PAD #1

2-12-45 - 1 Jan'45 report of PAD *1 - loc ted a.t Manus. Approx 75 men rectd from Sh.&. &: Reo. Barracks. Brisbane and 18 velders from mise ourees have been ss1gned this unit since 1 Jan t 4S. Oomserfor?i'l~ has requested tha.t the .a5 men fro PAD '2 who ret'd to the U.S. for rotation last Nov. be a signed PAD ~l. 2 off. Rnd 40 men of Floeting Arnoun1tion Storage Unit. f3 and +4 are at pr sent on temp. duty with PAD 11 in connection with B.sse bly and staging of their untts. 3 off. end 102 men of the 302nd 013 Det8ehm~nt who were quartered with PAD '*1 the letst ba1f ot lio". departed 2 Dec' 44. .

3- 9-45 - OOIDsertor7tlt grants authority to PAD 11 to t~nsfer 157 men to the Ree. Ship or Station nearest the port of entry on the Weat Ooast of the U.S. for rehab_ll ta~lon leave and after expiration of leave they are to report to Parks for rea8s1gnment. (Oomserfor7t1t Ltr - (3rd end to 010C PAD +1 Itr dtd 23 J 145) to OinC PAD #1 Ser P-2294 dtd 12 Feh'45)

3-20-45 _ 1 Jan'45 report ot CBMU 605 - The lOB I!len left behind by the 55th 013 to b trf"d to PAD fl.

:3-30-45 - 1 Feb l 45 re}X)rl of PAD ,1 - located at ManUB. A total of 248 men to be trf'6.. to PAD f1, approx 200 of which have rflported aboard. 40 men of ~loe.t. un. Stor e Unit. #3 and f4 attached.

4- 4-45 _ CD '2645. 1 off. end 59 men. left for PAD #1. (Cont' Diap 272246 from Cornl2 to

Comsertor7f1t dtd 28 Mar l 45)

4-11-45 -?lID 1 1s loce.t d at Manus ecor(ling to Di~cdock9 S.F. ~~c F~ fo~ 15 t;r I 4-16-A5 _ 1 Aprl45 report of PAD 1 - 35 men -of PAD tl have b en ordere~ to m~ _or ~

purposed of er~eting a 75-ton cranes. 2 off. end 39 men of ~loet. Amn. :tcr~~ Unite 08 3 & 4 JU'e attached to PAD 1 in connfldtion 1t/ith outfl~t1Dg F'ntl tRgi of their unit!.

..

7

-13-45 -

11

on Apr' .. 35 tr - locat ed et

ru-c of ~f\ on bo r PAD

Location - Manun PAD II

10-Z3-45 - 1 Oct l 45 report of PAD *1 - located at Manus. 15 man transferred to U.S. f or leave . reassignment. Z9 men were recl~. 170 men transferred to U.S. for di~_,~.~ under the point sy'stem.

10-24-45 - OOmS9rTpnC directs Oom 11e fron to in ctiY te PAD 1 iomediately. Inform Comservpac when inactivation 1s comoleted. (Comservpac conf epdltr er 05357 dtd 21 Sept I 45 to OomphUsea:f'ron).

11-13-45 - 1 NoY'4,5 report of PAD *1 - located t Manus. This report tstes that PAD 1 s inact1'YJ'lted on 30 Oct 145. 192 men transferred to 140th CB. 35 men diBche eli.

I

Seabee MuseumDeclassified

A I+$~i;h-by-;AnZ'il S u r m w j of @;crxbio!m of t;.>.e F k s t I.onGoon L l a u v ~ ? a c t ~ r i ~ Mi't. Coi;uissionad 2s ii-rtr-,';oon As- ambly i)etaclment. i n October l3I& cilld reclesicnatei! ion- toan 2 ~ s c ; n L l y Uctzci:s:ent ih:I!ier I on 1 Decei~L~er lS:!:.3.

S U Y l l A X X

LZ THE OFJIICIAT. HLSMRIOIIt ACoOu1n

In over 30 months overseas, Pontoon Assembly DBtachmnt Murber Qls (including

the period it was first known as just Pontoon Assembly Detachnant) has hat-

tured 20,055 pentooas in its Ne-w Galedonia andLos N e w s factories* Average

monthly proaction for mnths the factory has had stock and operated a t mar-

capacity perPolmance is 1630 --. with the daily average reaching as high as 70

per day (also peak pe r fomce) .

These f i y r e s show t h a t if PAD-1 had recej.ved enm& s tee l and had been able

t o maintain its complemnt, both officers ard edlisted wn, a t f u l l strength,

the detachment could easily h v e produced twice thls.nunber of pontoons during

these 30 months. For several different period8 the f a c t o ~ was shut down due

to the lack of knackdl(idown s teel stock* Hoawer, during t h i s t3m, the m n

of the detachment -re never idle but were assigned t o lnany different conetmc-

tive projects.

Although, as it was pointed out i n the early 9art of th is review, the Eontoon

Assembly Detachment originally formed t o mufac ture pontoone overseas, the

asssmblying or' barges and cau8ewa.m became an add8d and a leading function . 'Phe constmction of causeways and the i r ramps for use a t *.he bow of E3I"s on

lnaly invasions of Pacific islands waa the nearest Pontoon Assembly Detachrmnt

Number One came to tairing 3n activ* port in tile vrar -- nsc? thSs soztribution . . i.as r;wsi.Z;L-~ esi3t~31Ly 20 :~.s.1:i-ai;r ti.

A la~sge p& of' t'fieae ca i ld j\ist as well bamnlailufactund cves he--. lltle

ketachmeiit has samed ss a vem recessary pontoon gdep31. and dis t r ibut ion cen-

ter. For every pontoon mmfactured there mast be assembly equipmnt sucki as

auglss, bolts, t i e rods, and so forth. At ~wny times the detachmnt's stock

of pontoons c12d assembly Bquiploekit i se totaled armid $5,3CG,000. &sembly

of barges, bridgas, dtydocks, causeways, wharfs, tugs, cawela, tenders was

undertaken as an added function at New Caledoaia es it coul8 be (and was) -11-

cordiaated with the manufacture of pontoons.

Tm Pontoon Assembly Detaclu~nt nas i'onued in October 1942 f o r the purpose

of manufacturing navy pontoons at edvanced bases i n the Eacif ic to save valuable

shipping space and t o expedite delivery of the pontoonck

lkis first pontoon detachment wls more or l e s s ernierimental but later it be-

cans the model detachment f o r fau! other pontoon m%nttncturing detaohmntsg at

tha t t h e i t waa redesignated Pontoon ksembly &tach nt Number One. 30th the

munber one and munber tm detachmsnts m r e fonaed i n 1943 fmm the o r i g b d

designated iontoon kssembly &tacIumnt. This division of the original PAD (a

i.t is popularly called) will be dealt with later i n *his o f f i c i a l account.

AS the enl i s ted personnel were hand picked from the kabees ' h n p s Allen and

Bradford, they were sent i n three different rmvenents to Advance Base Depot,

Chlfport, Xi::sissippi, f o r duty with the Pontoon &se&,ly Detachment under

Autht W e r e Deferred Dispatch 171631~ of October 18, 19@; BuYera Bfe r red

Dispatch 8 1 9 5 of Cctober 28, 19428 and EaEers Deferred Dispatch 0&1234 of

h'ovaIwr 5 , 194.20

During the perioB of mament of en l i s ted personnel ix the training cemp at

W3port , the f o l l o a C./C., & d i d , Dental , Zupsly csd i%vy officers

r q o r t e d f o r duty:

G T F I I ~ 5iiEK CGRPS @ Q , ~ , E

"7 -1 ,.(s' ace lil?.im Risbeen 2 L , 2 : Gz'iicel'-in-Clzu,~e . . ;iii jj3p :in,-i~vipk ;qAa''$y .:

h i s perris visshkmre Lt(jds5;CY(G)&%JR 2hpsl.y Officer

Otis Allen Maxmll brr SC, V(G) ?SGi Pisb. rsiub i3i f icer

Nathan Norrmn HofAnsn Eins, CEC, V(S) USiR Engineering Officer

Bdward Dovs Baxter Lt. (jg)* CEC, V(S). USilR .. Freclerick Arthur h i r i l &is.* C?dC, Y(S), USSIR

P e t e r Richan? Vsrkon Carp, CISC, V(S) USIB

Joseph Patrids Brme Carp, CEC, V(S) USB

Michael Joseph Wozniak carp,

Andrew Daminick Zambe c t i , %.s % v ( s )

Ragene Lee Gibson carp*.

Follow& is the rated and ncn-rated full complement of the PAD as trahhg

o

Semien lc - 73 ~ecmen 20 - 2 2

S e a w 5r+&ict-. . . . . . . 134 Chief ~ lec t r i c i an l s Ahtea

Electricians %tea 1c

Zlectricians niatea 2c

Electricians &tea 3c

Chief Carpenter's Plates

Cerpenter's Mates l c

Carpenter's bhtes 2c

Carpenter's h t e s 3c

Chief Shipfitter 's

Shipfitters lc

Shipfitters 2c

Shipfittern 30

I airxkrs ic

Painters 3c

Chief &ofiiniet*s bktes

%ieP T o m n

Yemen 2c

' i e a ~ n 3c

- 2 Chief Storekeepers - 3 Storkcepers lc - 7 Storkeepers 20 - 3 Sltmekeepers 3c - 3 I U l Clerk Splc(l4) - ? ~ h o m ~ c i s t * ~ f i t as ic

Chief Wmissary Stetrsards

Shiprs C o d l c

Ship's h o b 20

Sllip's Cooks 3c

Ldc€rs lo

B&ers 2c

Uachiniat's &tea 1c - 11 Wss &tendants 2c d Machiniat*a &tea 2c -b 5

21 Pk..otograp~~r*s &&tea l o

t * * . 35%

Grand Total . . . . . . . (includes Oft'icers) , . + . . . . . . . 372 i3ura Novmbor of l y e cis auvaced base miLitary i;~*tiiii&. ;WAS carried Qn

2s :s;;sg.>~t, .,.e?&i&q ,:lmi.ua ;rte.l.r? i:.e].i, ,lor ILL !KC;

took me instructions which w-;re given by cpalif'ied ci6lie.n inatmctcrs. -. c v 6 i b ~ o ~ not already .Y veternri welder who crxlii not i:a&,su a civilian s k t i g y a

.6sr of ?erz-icai and overhead sielillng tilad t o take t h i s f k l l w-hour c w s e - 02 take it unt i l lr could pass a test given by the instruettm, and then pass

on t o the pontoon wlding shcool, which was a building at the &Ifport Advanced

aase Depot designed t o r e s a b l e the proposed ommeas factoIy of the f i r a t Pon-

tocn assembly DBtachnt*

School aas clceed on the first of Deaanber, 1943. ani aftor a five* am-

barkation leave and a few days af' elaee order drill, the cletaolamnt mow&

e p u i ~ n t nnd men %a NorfoJk. Vb, via milr On h 0 - b ~ 1-5, 1942, fhe Pontoon

&seably Detachmsnt embarkad for duty cutside tb contirental limits of the

United States on board the U. S. 3. Titania m) and the V S George Clyimr W57) i n c o m e

Tk.s convoy sailed t! the Panam %ma1 December 2J+ and 25. 1942, crossed

the 180th hfmidian on Jarplary 15, 1943. and regohed their destination and the

liartor cr9 N-a, New Cdedonia on Jenuasy 18, 1y@s Unloading of equipmsnt aad

sapplies began the evaning of the saw day on a s i t e on the island uf Ile NFRl

i n the Noumea harbor. %'his sate had wen provicusly prepared fo r t h i s d e t a h n t .

com'identail &port No* 1 (monthly prog~eas') f r o m the Officer-indharge, Pon-

Loon ilssembly E%tachmnt. to the Chief af the &re= of Y&s ma U o c b a t

Waiaahington, show t h a t aae thglsard tons car@ were unloaded i n three clap.,

in the area set; aside for PAD. *bterial. rn 310ugL;:2 s r f e d * in tixis area, a

J'rone stmcturc aes ~reotod mi &lie factory buiid- wsre laid at. h e ko

The me& 3f tliie area by a Ship &pa.& Unit, 8::hirZt b? higher yriorit;y, th.&

.,ietac'mnt was c?irsctod $0 mn. o n atauL Jamrat' -o a new =us ~ ~ ~ r c x b z t e l ; ;

c_~ia~'be~. mile fmr.i t l ~ : $rj,yir&i :: i. i:ar 8

:‘&*i:rc:ari..:, 1.n. z:,,: ..q .. *g ::- . .~ ~; . ,.,:.t,~i$ ,*, * 9 , .-Pa::? ;c "'33 . . [ p y a sj>*, $;lt'.) ti,,*

exceition of cement wLieh was a toied in an exietinc; 'mildin@ and wved as

a t was useb

T h i s s i t e requrred considerable earth mow W o r e a lev& m a could be

obtained. 'Pen quonset huts wre erected for a &ick bay, offioerls quarters.

Shipla btore, and lYarrircom a d Chief's msae Concrete was pcured over old

French grison fouodations for the erewas teot floara.

This first report &owed that to date (Wch 1, 1543,) 4.90 feet of faur-

inch pipe to connect with the ~~a system, were l a d to supi~ly this camp and

other units i n t h i s area with water. The pipe was brm&t by the d e t a ~ b e n t

for th i s purpose. A canplete water purification sysfe, power plant @d dia-

t r i h t i o n aysten and a smm-B system for Upida was install&. The galley

an& msss hall seati ty 290 wm ready for use on February 4.

S m ~ s s mas being made on the '2-6 and T-? pan t s a t tha titm of this rsport*

All concrete mrk w a ~ complete i n tie T-6 line and T-7 l ine wns mmpleted in

another week. Steel erection in the factories aas completed blarch 2.

Ti is i n i t i a l repart went on to point auti Wbe oompletion of the rearrange-

ment of tents. crnd grad* f co: sane, the showers and washroam for mn, snd

mcxeationd areas are being completed by w e crew not needed fo r the erection

of the plant* A narroa gauya railmad system i s bin& installed in both plants

a16 store& areas ss industrial Qve I;mck-s alld Huster trucks aare not shipped

with the unite

w*LZ j i ~ arrived s d e l y a3C haw teeil acssetilbled an3 are ready t o be riwved

';tito tl;e T-h buildiw t h i s mek, jib cranes are being fabricated and installation

i n i n progress in the T-( i~il&iwlll;r P11 w1Qinc z ~ c i : i m s have bicn wxai;ed,

tiizted arrJ. aervic@B ma w r rea3.r Tcr' !!~TliLiz;ti.::l:~ i6.L s'il;&lieb iiti~e i::aen :me

..,~n+.-.? :,.,; ,:.~: i~ ';.:.L-, jJi : : . ~ . i ~ ' : : < , ~ ; ~ , : , &, : . ? , .~", c ,

#:it .ji,toon wrts iisve ,:ecaiveh tc .late" 2%. Comdr. #is teeats Tfwt

r.ii.ork sixoirs. UC&ye;~n sllii.ped on the Obcsn ca~.l:. not ka unloaaed tlue t o local

conditions. l k ~ +ton 2ack ;LccI. tmck 1ef z b e i ? i ~ . i n iqerf o?.k m s llooo?ever taken

off before hatches .

Work om =f.acture sf T& pontmns protressed favorably olld on a n y cf the

oijerations the men t ~ ? m n e ~ l .it unit:: i n less t5.w than ? h ~ n e d , w+%.ia!i &e it

uppear that the produotion of .% T& pontoons and 7 T-7' pontoons per day cmld

be attained in a short while i;P tls hh~ockeddxisn s tee l plates are ~llsde available.

It ?r& re~iuested $;;at Chi; $iiultities cf $,?eldin, oIectr3des to be shigi;od ;lant production.

ds mas noted i n t h z report, t!?e quantity of electrodes delivered by the U S S

Floyd was 2,000 pounds less tl!an :imifest &iws t o have b e a shipped. The

writer of the report mkes the coiment that the npi&e&n vieldiw rod may be

k r d to locate. A l a g 6 amunt af 31'16 fnch electrojs wm taken, whioh etkts th6

number of pontoons that cculii be r ~ & t o 38, un t i l more aC t h i s size and type md

aes rseceiveb

* 8, 1943". (Date of report ooveriw April ard Mey)

No report laas made on 1 &y 1943. tb Bpril 1 report was mbmitfed, the

Yublic iiorks officer at Nauma instructed the OINC of tb Fentoon %smbly Detaohment

t~ m&t t10 m r c m t h l y repcrts t o the b a u of i'urdrr and k a k a unless requested.

Copies of future reports ware t o go tc tiio bixector of the Pacif :~ givision, m a u

of Yards a& Dooks instead by authority '* Eb c ~ l r * ~ t r . 4-43 dated I6 January 1943r

Toe l b c h allotment uf s tee l arrived (in %yj & the unloail* of the same pras . .

crrqrleted this dace ( X h n , e 3.(~!433), i:!?t? a!?ipr~?nl; was 'rell-bala~ced ci1d. 611 parts

P.Ec~';;' :9fy t o T:$).;!: 'i';. ::I.,: T-7 . ,n? .:>:?.- ;:c LI ,~-91315,jr,3~3. Ti]. I Z I C ~ D J : ~ 1.1: *:;;e&it~. unL;:?jkLt

. . . ~ . , ' - , , ; , - 0 4 ' c. : . . . , I :..i:.i.c; >+ .. . '..I.., -xtr 6 , ~ - ,I?,. + , . - ,..

. . . .. ,.. . . .. . . . . , , . . .,i ,it (,..---, , . , . I . . t . i ~ l ::*iii.,~~;a ~su-;..

1 ; . 3 r d o l e i 1. , . . : . 3 y ; s h i p

i.i tke .;,leg$ lyiw st anclmrage i n h e . lioune.2 Wbor :;it," fresh qater.

n seapime dryd~ck v i a cculiplcted ii& I'j* 2kis &jdod~: as constmcted u d e r the

supervision of Lieut. Soha I. %id, CXC, riSNR, ";;no xms ~rce red t~ tl:is p u t by

blr'i a&oc:;s for tiis ,aurpc;sar

r'ollowia& Gates &I& int'ornatiou froin the aa* *h,.$~ h e u I

Cb April 20, kontoon &sanbly Detacilment sent out Llobile Unit No. 1 (12 mn,

L chief, 1 officer) t o Sase *bLLcaw ((Uzadalcael) and lbb i le Unit No* 2 (12 nan, 1 chief,

1 oi'ficer) to Bsse ni%onfl (Bqpiritu banto, Iten Ikbrides). These mobile units, to be

i?:ention& la te r i n th i s historical record by a n t h s , were asuppseGly ordered out only

$0 aid. i n the assembly of barses, and zs a collateral duty t o %rain r e m a r assmbly

crem f m other battalions a l r e a a stationed at these bases. "hen they *re ori-

sinally l o m a , it was more or less understccd tla rnobile unitsu work m l d t&e

f ran si:c t o eight. weeks at t'he most, ;rs they ~m13. be needed vhen ti16 factory

s tee l came a d and production was resurnedr Cae of the mobile units (No. 2) was

cone for s i x montlis, and when the 1Vo. .Z unit &id retnrn t o :Jew Caledonia after '.

several months it was l a te r &gent tu the same bme.

Tllese mobile u n i ~ s asseabled pontmn drydocks, barges and bridges now being used

throughcut the uolamo~ an8 the %brides. ~ t * i3eih a f te r completing the seaplane

iyjdock a t Hew Wedonia, ai-;:ived a t kPirik.! &tutu v i k r e ile i ~ l g t ~ ~ t e d &bile Unit

210. 2 ~h insrcting tine second sucli &ydock*

A Large number or asismbled i~ontc~ous ;st;-c mloadet2 L, %he PbI) a t "sw Wedonla

W i n g +ri l and iilvjly la &ddit.:ion ic the !cnockr;d-dovru s.i;-cel xcceived. If these

asaeclEle6 pou.tcsw ha& been a!zigged :;,~rjc;:5d-3.:~~1, t 5 . i~ TR.::.I~J. Pme pmviitcj6 suificient

..* . .- .-.,.- - *. ;..* m,tar&fJ $3 t l i j ' C l f $-1Li2 :~ncf;.~

bd i t I l tii~t ~ r i ha-ps" >xd b l a t & i > t r m v k c~ T ~ L e ~ t ' - \ , - . ~ e a.,.,d the2 the

~ i m t TJOIJM : i ; l ~ e sit.:.)?icient silppliss t o nljerats u n t i i ae~~feuber (141;3). Ona. the

grevious run of 107 r,ontcci;s, t h i s un i t a? able t o l;roduc& at a r a t e af approx-

imately t m - t h i r a of tile designed caijacity. ~x i th an amole stock sf su-orjlies OL.

???~ l ld , fs;r ~ o n t ' k t ci' ~2:ltimnv.s cpr~.T?.o.c, t k i n s h ~ u l d ?ne.F.?e + h i s wif i;? stea6iPd,

be t t e r i t s l;roductiuib

The original complement fo r thj.s detachmot was ch51ned f a r the ooperation of t h i s

i 4 factory alone. ibis detachlent has in addition t o operation of t h i s plant been

unloading ships, assembl* s tmc tu res and shipping out f inished pontoons , and in ti d l t i o u ! ~ s i'urnished ,the a fo rwnen t io~d m b i l e un i t s to assemble s t ructures at

other locations.

Da June 8 the dctachmEnt was r s l s t e r i q ~ approximately 310 E n , 26 men were i n

mobile units(and exec tee to 1-e'a-m ";is :miith). %%is. u n i t , C F C ~ ~ wiCh the retam

a? 'ill& 1~7211~ unit:: is ti.crefore at i;hc pP):esml t t ize 25 .wn i:nder t he no& ccm-

lils;leoi; of 361 '"en. I t %;is s x ~ ~ c i e i l Chi:: x i th i;t.e ilorrnd compli%ent used f o r the

o?eratior_ cf tho p?.ant t h a t 32 ' 6 ' 4 ac8 4 T-7 :r~ntiiom nmW bc poducer! per day.

'1:-!e cami;inatiac of m u f a c t u r e , assemljly ,vld shippin; w6.s excellent as i ' c ~ c as

efficlenl; ~ p e r z t i o n of the setup m a cc~ncemed, pmviied t h a t W f i c t e n t nen %re

-. ~ i - m i L a I ~ L ~ :;c ktep tiinri all. i j : - ;~ - r r ;? l ixge ilta ?:!nit; needed .25 semen second cl-ass to

briw, L t up Lo s t r e n ~ t b and in o~-&r to cperata .;he rltrnt ae ;l.anned. k t e d nen

aeri; not requfted .?a replaeelntzs l'rjr th i s si:eaializsd job as d l m n had to be

t:i-aj.neCl !(eye Lz I;', 5,s ~ s ? . : r n ~ ~

2i;e i?. ,z~iw of ~ t . 5 ;3?1i l ;g i~; ,~ ~s~.&r crdj b:a;.& .- >::;j;z:!~- .-J=~L: ?quire&, ~ , ; i n L ~ ~ ~

9: ,:#:I ; ,E&*

. . . . -, - , , i,:$& :>x-hc

., L r l;i.:i'ei~~': , p,:k.::,.::.~ t:' :.:... :j .... -:t.,,,:.:r, ;2, .,:,.,:::., coutxfie ~ 6 t h r i b s 7;;Met t? .;;he cvmsc: rkate on%$- :*f s h i p ~ e a when

i,resr:~I; s t ck vith :-" ~ i b s weLded LO a j l plates %as &plt-tcar Tb& saved cora.derable

shilipia& s ~ c e ~ n d the jig3 vare alread.y mde f o r weldin;; rib8 t o s ide md end

plates.

July 1. L9iI:i

;,. A!?. l-?.rt..oon lissemi:ly Liets.ckient Yoot1-&.1 Ewjree &;port (ccsering J u e l5@) was

as fr.ll.sriss

q. *i:ic fietackmnt started ?rwJv.cZier~ of '24, wi. T-7 , , , ~ . ~ ~ b 1 . ~ ' 3 l l s on J u ~ e 3, 1943.

i'-y lm

. . -r 2, LF,ia- q . L h & uii,,r: :or .;;he F,;,o~stmction 02 :.~'or^s i&e.trti: L? gistan bail& 6qui:miit.

PLeoa *ill rira!re i t necessary t o reduce o:~emtiors, or ca:sc Q c q j l e t e

shutdown cf the plant, as the key laen in the facrory the only mn this u n i t

has trz&t cu, do t h i s ty&e 02 work, if it i s t o *be ipttw out in a reasomElc

" ?'.. $:LA.% *

rj_

'4. -l?e s%n?;c*~res bs& hilt me a I20 ton marine ra5lrw, e 9 ton marine

rail-tay an6 stand.&. part3 for a 255 ton pontcon clrydoclk This plai t is ?lot

equi~pped with shcms and punches, and a l l p la tes must be cut with the torch and

a l l holes, ~f vhich there a re 1600 i n the la rge railwey, mst bm; dr i l l ed viith an

air d r i l l . h y constmction bzt ta l ion i n t h i s aEa is as well eduipped ko do thic

~ C J I ", Y ~ i s s r i l d l uni-l;.

*5. ':here appears t o be a great deal cf uncerJ6;inbj i n t h i s ere& to the

jentooll s l l -~ct i l r tc r.ac~uirad. ds vias ~ o h t e d aiit i n tj26 J u l ~ report, a %reat

:?a= f i a i s b ~ d pon txns w e h e i ~ s!~i:.pea hers t h a t cou& be suy~pliei! by l o c l

~an~ .Lfsc t~ ; .x mi.

LEI.; f'iel_:.a ;x;.i.+s It,;\.:!i, j-i.23 j::lf; rmis o0tl~entr.t~- + l~ly await*

*"ipmer!t. '5 .mi% ';his w e w .il!i!lirh i s tw ined spec i f ica l ly for m-

. i,nrtron? f?.l' i"; p~s';noss >ti' l ; ~ ~ ~ ~ ? ~ ~ ? ; l ~ ~ i ~ CLIStcn! k u i l t 2:r;t

su& as mrine rail~:ws, 'ii?ic pmductior: can never L'E raised i x & h e m & 2 0

assemble t h i s material i n several ;;;eqru time

L t is r e q e s t e d t:,at na mrs lsockrlm~m x~te r ic i l be sent 'LO t h i s are:

u n t i l it is &fin i te ly rstiolisi led t:.ct th i s uni t n i l 1 have the opportunity

t o msenble it. :he soni;mn &ably k t a c i m n f w i l l gladly &I€ anythilg that

j.t is directed t o W~;L~!;S, but it cmAot ~ u a r a u t e e t o ;xiintoin pmiucfion mi

turn out custom buildt eiluipmeat in large waat i t ies . In the past, cur main-

tenance shop bui l t coasiderable eyuipuent f o r other units, but it h a .

been b u i l t i n mid tinaes vhen t h i s raaoufacture did not hamper tha rewlar mk.

* * * * 1 It is recomnended t h a t no more kits of assembly tools be s a t to t h i s

a rea as large s t o w of them a-8 r o w on :land due t o the faet tha t rmch of the

barge assemhly iwrk is concentrated i n a f s w point%

A t o t a l of 878 ~ - 6 and ah3 2'-7 pontoons weza ~ a c ~ r e d by t h i s unit

SurPn- Julv. -Tliere QW? .1 staaqj; increase 10 ~~~~r*ciuetiori uutll I;% ~ S d B l e

as&cd;ied into ~ f m c , & y e s fair l L ; c a ijro;ec-~+

'Fez iAc, f mi; .$;lree .;ice:is in J U ~ " . (i3&3jr ~ > ~ i p u e n t s of pontoon gebr

;;.misted only 65 ,T& dontcj~m & 26 'Ed,, '$& Yficrs. ,:a s; hre; l sc

5 . p i ~eques t s during tk pas: seeko 'i;gizit.y three jfl berges* seven tea

!,.:% ?IZC.LS: and t x ~ , 6x13 barges :A% vjith seventy p r o g ~ l s i o n units :,ere bein?

raaae& .thetl j u s t 2 ) foi' Ship&ir%. i il.~u;~& - - t3 these s i ~ % o b ~ ! i e s , ei&)~L

527 baqges, t~z: && ba-zes, 2ive 5 : a :.!-iames sa2 i'ift. ~ e i l . 2232 bridges $=re

iin oxLer a d wait* Tor sh i l ,pW iwtluotions.

Total payroll f o r the $Us includin& a l l dlorranees was then appromate ly

$-50,000 per alonth. Upon the basis of t o t a l p w m l l t h s labor cost -,er poatoco:

,.. 7 , , r : i l s month ~ 7 9 ~ . xi8;roxinately $1!8. -T&c! .bile pay of the various nmbers of tlx

crew %kit :sscubied otmcturcs at ~ t t i ~ ~ r b a s e , as xe11 as rliose rjllo did 1:min-

i;-rims cork ' 2 2 bag=, lmiicikd pmtooi: ;;&m ax mwtfactv.red Wjeock parts

..a& m i n e raail~a;.s, been dcductsd t . 2 ~ Isbar ccst wI.i.^r eac11 yonjison b u u t durin:

the past mntll would !lave been considerably less.

Sam consi&ra2ion was h e i x ~ i v m t o the gosalble movt!aent of this plant

t o a more e.av;ir:ce location. However, the CTS.:C kc? receire-2 no ~Zficial noticc,

o f ciefinita tieciaion oil the uett~r.

Cn %hiis +.?.t; t h e OBiC G? i;?e PAD m i ; e Captain Ti, o r C WT,

R . . . i l a n n i ~ . : J.TI.SI.OE, CamGo~ac, il':a >'ollovi,~-, k e e l :

"1. p.# .? f ;4y5;. , . - ' . . .:;r ~ . : . t,;j:.i,C.cr: n:::$~:>.,:.gr L~tac~:..ci?.; :!L.~-&-& t:h4, . . , .. , .. ~, .. . . ... L , , ,;,. , , , . , . : : . . ' t 7 : . ' - i Y F s : I - ' i - . . . . . . ~ . .: .. .~ .~ . ,... ' , , . ,..,

- . . .~, . . . , . . . - .~..."

- .. 82, Cc;,~$~ncJ.c;- -1. 1-L KV;~, CZC, I;ifu"J; ;r,peniG>p ci-zii :iri~ioecr at ;!m(ideanal,

7:c.e ,:.3r:tactf< f 'scn aj.-rir:-l c;!? 21 &,cu~!t I?.f:-yp '?:< nc-tf -7,:,;. 3:p.r. ,C:S< -::iYri

C::o::r?ander Fouk looking over available l o c a ' s i o ~ for :?. mi;: plant. h e to the

f a c t t ha t c;r@ i~ould be discf-iarged at Koli or h & ~ a io in t , ==as i o these

uh,uii, i ;u~fjye&. & i&&y,&,;ob & idlf, a; ;.a-c.x3-&tel;; t;rzee miics ?mr.;l

Lun&irn Eoint .i.Lici~ is sui table f o r the ersc t ior ai" a SacLory.

'I. - , T ~ . s s e l l &lands nei-e Yiisite(! on 4 ~ 1 & ~ * u 21-23 ' L n c l u l ~ j . ~h. nlcucer A,

Gcnbs, tile & w i g CfI?ice,3: of Glm l V a 1 C$e&*eting icrsc, ;ic??~wel QSL* G;IC -. , I A , : =id Lto GOiiddrr ell zf. .tiif arveS sip wl. c ,. ccttacted ii, ;.ega& LC. :;;&Sir< i:.lex ; 5 ~ ~&0%2j?t a~a i>r~t,&le i !~i i>t~

r-1 could use f o r disc lwgirg carco. 12e areas in the vidtni ty of &nard %in&

,;;! 2+1rtika isf ( t ~ ~ t e I ku?.d 'be &is-

. , xu =5;1a ;: LE,, ) ,~;L .>,,~l,;$!: :?)

-:~ol+& w i l l have -i.o hs clone t o i.reiai-e ,;.he pound icr a p l a i t Zrjcatlon. *xistin&

ccpra slieds an.3 am31 h~!.Tdinjr coul& be used to adva~tsg ,~ aria ri:;ouXi amount to

considerable sad% in mork and material* A natural harbor exists betwen the

i s l a d of UUf'a ari6 the adjaoent islaqd and it is ent i re ly possible that a ship

coulcl be aick~oc?d there. 130 rnater I: availa13le on this island lart d s ~ ve13.e

31.: p ~ s d u c i ~ yotab:- riater in i;' ,I-:- i a-ea axil a vell.Jriiii% rik is available

C. . . 2 .. Lkc writer coatacts?~ kuera l 1 i.en+roP u.t..ler fell; t h a t it ~:culr: be Llii- - -3 .i)ueeiLle to locate a suitai.le area f 'o: tt?:is & i t ~ t %his l o ~ b i 0 n bs tllwe

- . . *7. m i t e r obtained a smll seaplane a t :Halava beach and covered t1:e

'bx mall Loat, Tiis flat area on the . shnci c l i r;avutai is ocou~ied t y C ' E L P ~ ~ O U . ~ C ; E

.$ePo~?izg boat pcj& hcp.ipi .~nt for tila ceta j.5 idso storsrl rlr, t h i s

j, :.Jer;d c.& c:,al,2. ti.,*;.. .cj:c& $la i.viil i+.2c,~ is.; mqox%36 aicrw. tile skzcr.:liEe* %i

noulr: be second choice. In li:l~era &seell isla&? "c.bere a r e unambtedly EUki'oIi~

i-16ces t:iai; muld be suitable, but thesax were selected due t o the accetaiiilit:

- .. ... .. i :;c ,l,eaat uflo&-a pointr *?. ;L topomaphicel survey is be iw o i ioth the Ufa ana *he Henard khnd s i t e

and these sirmeys a a an sei7ial ph0to&r8'~& of Ufa shouJ.6 be available d u r i n ~ ; the

coming ;veek*

ikr5ag the m n t h a? 43st. 5.61 T-6 pontoons an3 190 2-7 pontoons were rnan:..factrtreiir I,. ; ... l r l ~ i represents 161 T-6 pontcons and 35 T-7 pontoons w r e than the monthly guota

cstablislied f o r the unit.

T h i s detachment now :IS a courpla~ent of _QY men. ' I s ~ n t y r f o w or' these m n a r c on

detilcted duty. Twelve of these w n have asaa~1Aed a seaplane drydock a t Nard

(&addcanal), $-ich is now campl.eted. CanSerorSoZac "as aiivisee t~h i s iletachisnt

&irzb C ; . E ~ G m e ~ioukl te r i k i r ~ ~ c d :o t h i s base '.;,on ca@let ion cf tiik duty aui; t !~h

mixso i s e q ~ e c t e d i n .{;he very n e a ath?-:.-. 'iihr. reiijairlin;: t m l v e m n arc i l s o a t

~:si~tj31C; t!;c ,$at s: ; ta1ion i n the 3a:;er.U~ 3~ i j o ~ . t ~ ~ n . SI;LI;C~U~~~.

Carpenter Hay .;[illiax rjiorm, W-V(S) , U&%, was ra ised ?ran G~(~LB) to .iblTaiit

. . _ 1 , _ 1 . . , . i d a . > detacbsicnt ::j$$ ts.s;;sfer, l~:! by crdarr, fraa t!li %,lr?*c c;: ? ' ~ v & ieyscyi2+l c

'. ;.p-ctli!c?; ii.sil ba';tnlr,:,!,* ie. A:,,;,: .. .. .>$:',cis.* (='I i - t , i ? ' : i 5 : ) , : ,-.i;e . ? . ,:,f t i - @ j;:.: - i" . . , : ; , ? < , ' , , y - . . - ,'.,.-. .. '. . 3 , , . ,>.,, . - . . ^ * . , :.A .b ., . * A , , ..-'. , ..*ia-&.L*, .-..*-. *, :.- ... .,,. ~ '~::*;i.r *.

*$&x*E"lT& ZGJz( A E**j&*

ira?en$s f o r ;, 20;: won & ~ e r ~ b l p detac:hment "ier t set for th on k p k i b ~ r

i, l9&, several months a f t e r the or iginel detacheri% had been success&lly

t:.;garaiing at Men Caledonia. %.his requiremats hooklet, l~repmei! by tile officers

;:,i this first detachment, intmdec? "; s e t f o r t h tihe e s ses t i a l moterial necessary

f a r the funcition of t h i s type un i t a t ca advanced base*

Since they were based upon several months of actual op ra t ion in the field.

these requirements were used in f orning the allowance list f o r 'additional

specialized units, and specifically in the case of dividing t lze o r i & i n d

2untoon *ssembly betaohment b t o the 3. and iio. 2 units.

%?ewe rscflirements, which may te used again in forming a cmpany or de-

tac!nnent of %his nature, =re l i s t e d i n thpz bmklet i9 an order similar t o

ex is t ing a l l o w c e lists for naval cons .imuct?.nn battalions, crd bssed upon

the condition that the unLt be s e t us i n a t r o p i c l , o r semi-tro2ical dimate.

'1'0 quote di rec t ly frrm the h t lm.~uc t ion *o *Remirauents of e Pontoon assem-

b l y Detaciment * a

l-isted jcrsouuel t l l e assurjcd t o have been e ~ u i l ~ p e d with the standard issue

oi' e g u i p n f sue?-. as clothing, l!edrclls, ztc. r '8

*rA,,, cor& ~ m c work at an ;.ivsnce& Lase i s hZc-nrred tc. be 5 . ~ ~ 6 ty "the

!Init i tself aince the layout os -chis QIye of :>lmi h S a &kii,rect beariw on its

-;'I i.;i-acj. ; , l ~ ~ t i o ~ Asis Ls(:c;c Gli sui,ple?c;!itax~ comtmcriou vm&,

such ss *;he meetion of sts-3. bui ld inp , couliZ be reixiered og other con-

i' . ..,c ., - ' ' ;> .~;y.liC % >~ct,?y :,.;am !.;,:lT!.e i j*SO, :f:>-fiit.l: i~.,;':fi.. : , c . c ,,,. .:*?G!

stock catalo; ru1-,!1c~ezg cmld have been aicc?ec lut for ti% Lack sd' w r e detaile6

iriPonmc:oli on certain mticles. iWiereever t ! ~ description c l nli i t a t iiii..bt L.

be a t i5zionne wi .Ch t . 1 ~ &escrk$tion iirder C>.E st.ock I N ~ ~ T shovm, $116 a r t i c l e

irle:~%ifj.ed F,y such stocl. msr is coosidered a suitkble substitute.

IThe em;!,uipnait l i s t e d c m be ;ztifize& t o mintz i r i a 3rd.rictioa of forty-

e igh t T&, and seven '1'-7 ;on.bcons dai ly vith the folloming ccmplamntr

Ci't'icfrs . . * . . . L1 cpc's . . . . . * 23 :isn * * . . r e 7P2

rm i ~ t o : Cuf~pleii~ent- . . el

--.-.a,-.-" .- - . . -- ---.- ~. .. .. -. - i:[6culu a&'.: k IL-S - --.-- && C o l l a t ~ . r & ~

I. (lSi ccr-in-Charge Lt. Co:niirr

7 . >&er: t ive CTficer Lisut . i'crsor.ml Wf ice r 14. rroducticn 0ffi.ccr

,>" . . < ! .. ...L t ..;TI; " f;r,rinCciidf cq.2 . . . iilui,piueo$ LL'c~air Lff?lc?.l-

:.,: c ~ ~ 3 ~ s ~ ~ r L ~ ~ . ~ ~ , ~ ~ ~ *pee is;2:,:.$,*

Ihecutive Officer:

Bqerienoe b general constmction and coordination d departments.

I r~duc t ion lin6 factcrj- experience wuld ie r~elplul bus not necessary.

t d u c t i o n 01 f i c e r ~

Should be welding an6 structural s t ~ e l engineer wlth production l ine

factory experieme.

Factom Superintendent

amid have thorn* icnowledge of wulding, expecially in tank work.

Mlculd be able to haxlle n e l d i n ~ inatwction and placin: of rnen i n factory.

Should have ewerience i n s tee l fabrication plant supemision.

m t Aecair Q ficerr

Should be experience in handling repair s ops fo r a l l types of

gasoline an2 diesel enlines, arc welding ruachines, crane, t n c k and tractor,etc.

Hew kwt ruc t ion and kbtenance Qficera

Shculd have experience in general building construction, including

excavation, c a c r e t e work, mod and s t t e l tuidlin;: erection and msintenance

of these.

and Care0 OffiOfiri

Should have exgerience in ri~~gb: and handliry~ of ce.r&~o to and frmn

&i.umarizing from ti= report, basic e q u i p n t f o r a PAD that is not stmdaju3.

so r a regular Seabee detachment o r bat ta l ion is as lollowst

Pauiamsnf &m.nti.t;v

#elding bcilines, 300 Amp. &solin+, engine driven:

Gaqjlete with ')pare re.rts f o r generator

m d cw-ine f o r extreme usage conditions. 80

,,elding Rod, from 1/8". 5/32'. 3/16" 7/32". 1/4'

and bronze, copper coated, etc. 5.030 1 k . e

(&& of t h i s 8 Tbetweld 1k. 5 - 3/32' - 1000 lbs. F lee twld No. 5 3/16# 1000 ibs.

Fleetweld No. 7 5/32' 1000 lbs.

r'leetweld No. 7 3/16' 1006 lbs.)

Hoistr thain, Uec t r i c , 3000 lbs* fiand Powered P

t ro l ley f o r 10 in. stardard 'I* beam-

60 cycle - 3 phase - 220 vo l t motor Hoist: Chain Uec t r i c , 4,000 lbs* Hand powered

t ro l ly f o r 10a Standard '1' beam, LO

cycle, 3 phase, 220 V motor

asd offf&wirenents For a PAD*.

* *

Lrotuction of 5'4 pontoons reached n new hi.& is. 3eptei;lber clue imrt ly t o

incrreaaed efficiency and par t ly t o the s h i f t i n g of mn f r o m the T-7 line. T-6

pr0ductionc 1,0@ pontoons. T-7: 130e

Only 1,567 tons of incaniw cargo aws handled t h i s month, but t ke s h i p n t

of out;oiw oargo mas much be t te r than previous lnonths and m n t e d t o 3,932

tons.

b i n g hPtember the following s t ruc tu res ware assembled by the PAW f o r

l o c d use:

one 2x7 b g a ; tw 6x18 barges; one 5x12 b a r s ; one 4232 barge; one 2x12

barge; one 5x12 barge; and one 2xl8 bridge.

Carpenter Aay lrilliam Starm, re fer rsd to i n tlle swmwy of last month's

operatiurn, was returned to t h i s un i t f o r duty*

1 Nweuber 1%

Dur- C c t o b r 1,005 T& and 130 T-7 pontoons wore manufactured i n the

, , A fuel barge ivns erected i n bpternber. 'he k i t f i rn i shed t o M i l d this

barge does not include baf f les f o r the tank. 'Chis un i t constructed baffles

f o r t h i s barge, :?itl.. the operation of the barge subcessflll. &pmxhte l ; r 590

m n hours were required to put i n the baffles. The e f fec t ar' the &version of

Ken im the g k n t to i n s t a l l these ta fles i n shov~n by the lartered ;pro&tct ion

,? - I$;~TB Skis ;:lonth over. i, nr;ut:i 'L , ' ; iuxa. - .. , .. 1.. .. a..+*w.-,~a ~~2 G I ~ J : ~ LL:;$LC;P .L;L;s..z~~G bLor, LO^ J;~!c 1 t2n~.

ÿ he foi lowing r e c o n ~ , e n d ~ t i o n ~ f o r f u t u r e or '3ere n f knocked-dawn

T-7 pontnon m a t e r i a l were m d e :

" ( a ) 3 i t h t h e except ion of t h e curved b 3 ~ p l a t e , a l l $ la te '

ctlouid be ordered withollt back-up % r i p " , b o i l e r f l a n g e s o r 'T- r ib"

weiied t o them.

" (b ) d i t h t h e p r e q e n t dee ign t h e manhole should be e n t i r e l y

omit ted i n t h e T-7 pontoon. hccecq i" gained t o t h e i n t e r i o r of

t h e pontoon through t h e l a r g e open f r o n t cornerq .

" ( c ) An a d d i t i o n a l 20 f e e t of 3/4" x 3/4" x 1/8" angle qhould

be shi7ped wi th each 1-7 pont3on f o r uqe a c back-up Ctripc.!I

1 D e ~ b e r - L w -- Pontoon Acsenbly Detachment Number 2 wa- commis?ioned by l u t h o i -

i t 7 of r e f e rence : Perc-1044a-CSii o f 29 Uctober, 1943, and Pontoon

~ ~ ~ e r n b l y aetachment waf redeqignated Pontoon aqqembly Detacnment No.

1 on 1 December 1943 under t h e -ame a u t h o r i t y .

Lt.Comdr. i t i f t e e n via' a"-'igned t h e new duty of cormanding t h e

No, 2 detachment, and L t . fiacley, former execut ive o f f i c e r ,.f t h e

o r i g i n a l Fn3, was a7pointed Co~lsander of t h e new PAT) KO. 1.

During No- ember, 1,017 T-b and 143 T-7 pontoon' were manufactured.

The drop i n product ion "uf fe red d u r i i ~ c ; t i le cecond and t h i r d week" of

t h e month was due t o t h e n e c e q @ i t y o f t a k i n g men from t h e f a c t o r y t o

ii-.?enible a 6x18 fael tank bar.;@ and tc7 a - " i P t w i t h t h e staini in;! ancl

p?ckSn? oP ma te r i a l an?. cqi~iprr~ent. f o r Pontoon ~".:ercbl!: i:let?chment tie,

... ., . . i?u.?lny yi-e mfjrli;t&, . t t i , y 1 .- r 9'tjy t~:,n*

. . , a %. , " , 2 ; , . .,%, ,. , , , rj,; ,,;;i ,*.:.f: y:;2 ,." 1~; ;< ! 3..: ' . . - ~ < ~ l ? ,,, ,.

.; , j ~ 3 , ? + 111 nqn-rntea nen wz- race ived .?roc: t h o - t a t@ N~vembar

16. 'Itleqe men were placed accord ing ly t o a b i l i t y , and a s man:? a s could be

accomodated were " t a r t e d i n welding i n ' t r u c t i o n c i acceq . The e f f e c t

if L i i i & d , i i t i ~ r , a i i j ~ ~ * " ~ ! l i i e l f ~ q r e r l a c t e d i n ti le f a c t o r y produc t ion f o r

the week ending Novenbar 2'7, dur ing which week a t o t a l of 313 pontoons

were man~ifacturell.

The pre-onnel , t o t a l i g g 200 men who w i l l form PAD No, 2 , were taken

from t h e i r r e g u l a r d u t i e c November 28 t o complete packing and load ing

of 1200 ton" o f m a t e r i a l and equipmerlt f o r t he new p lan t . l'hece men were

t r a n 0 f e r r s d t o t h e new un i t ' a@ of November 30 (a l though t o d a t e t h e

No. 2 detachment wa' 'till quar te red here , awa i t i ng o rde rc ) .

Uuring Eecember 683 T-6 and 132 T-7 pontoons were manufa c tu red .

Incoming cargo wac 3,724 t a n c and 3,109 tons of ou tgs ing cargo were

handled. Included i n t h i c cargo were 3,220 K. i). pontoon' rece ived

and 1,436 completed pontoons shipped.

On 6 December, Lt. Corndr. i i iq teen, wi th @ix o f f i d e r q and 201

s n l i - t e d merl, compriqing Pontoon hesamnly Detachment Nu. 2 , embarked

f o r Ouch €5 (5anik3 Ic l and , I:ue@ell'@ Group). 2-111 gear necee"arjr f o r

e r e c t i n g t h e caap an2 t h e fa .c tsry bu i ld ing - waq 'hipped wi th t h e p e r - .". : o n ! ~ ? i , he reminder or' i..ile e ~ l n i m e n t Scr I-:+ ;I No. 2 , c r . 1~ - l e t i ng of

??"i- , F - . [@ii.i:liffier;,, ha,? t ~ e ~ l ! . i ~ : i , * , > : l i l , r r ~ i ; ~ v .;pj-,;c.+=fl it?^ t ,bc e , :~e

'' February C----- - ~ n e ?ontoon .+*cembly Jetachment No. 1 f a c t o r y manufactured 654 T-5

ponto2n': and 49 T-: pontoone dur ing t h e month of January.

Drop i n prodnct ion for t h e week ending January 22 na* due t o

i n t e r r u p t e d operat ion ' caused b:r tile qtorm of January 18.

T h i r t y a d d i t i o n a l mean were ac'igned du ty w i t h t h i " detachment

January 27, and t h e m e men, mo't of ~ h o m a r e "earnen, were " t a s t e d i n

c l a e c e s f o r i n q t r u c t i o n i n welding. It wa@ eqtimatbd t h a t 20 of t h e s e

men r o ~ i l d be found " u i t e d f o r f a c t o r y work, and w i l l be aP ' igned t o

f a c t o r y duty w i t h i n one week.

;i c o n p l ~ t e qe t of T-7 pontclon j i g e waC being f a b r i c a t e d February

2 , t o be qilipped t o PAD Nunber Two upon completion.

T . c a A ~ m A c t i v i t j e -

' ~ i x t y men were a t t e n d i n g welding c l a s e e & t h r e e hour" ~reeKly. One

h~lndred men were ar , tanding t l o cLs"@eC a week i n navy regulat ion' : and

o t h e r gene ra l navy CuSjectq. Three were r e c e i v i n g i n q t r u c t i o n twice

weekly i n Yeoman school.

h x l n s ~ g i , Pontoon hcsembiy Detachmernt. No, 1 had on h:)ard -even o f f i c e r ' and

26.2 eriLiCted men, a C compared wi th an aut t ior izad complement; of 411

e n l i e t e d men and a n o r i q i n a l o f f i c e r complement o f 1 4 o f f i c e r " .

Ji th t h i e perconriel , . the detachment coulrl ,aroduce between 800 and

'ii!c:1 C S pon?tonn@ !,el- aon.i:.:!. ~l.th,o?l:-Ii 9 uicota -,f ir'?!)~! 1)01?tr:.i>n~ ? e r month

":!:";a.rl! ',:.ii,;r~c

o r i g i n s 1 Pontoon nqqecbly Detachment be fo re d i v i d i n g t o form t h e

nilmber one and two detachment". It wa" bel ieved t h a t a n a d d i t i o n a l

200 men wera baing procured f o r d i v i e i o n between t h e two u n i t c , which

would. g iva theqe u n i t - a ro ' ter of approximately ,330 men each. Thie

nua;her of men i@ apgroxircately that . c a r r i e d by Fontuon - ~ " ~ e r . b l y uetach-

nient i n uctober 1943, du r ing which month 1,135 ponttoone were produced.

During February 779 T-6 and 128 T-7 pontoonc r e r e nan i~fac tured .

Pa3-1 had on hand knocked-down n ~ a t e r i a l f o r 17d4 T-6 and 609 T-7

pontoon", which with t h e then p re sen t equipment and perasomel we?

- u f f i c i e n t f o r approximat,ely t h r e e mon'the' opera t ione . i3ecau'e of

c>r5erm rece ived by t h f @ uni t t o p repare f o r mowemeat t o a more forward

a r e a , i t warn reilornmended t h a t f u t u r e K 3 pontoo.nX m a t e r i a l 'be

d i r e c t l y t o t h e nJw l o c a t i o n i f poq- ib l e t o e l i m i n a t e e x t r a handl ing

or' t h i ' gear.

i juring the moath, one 6x18 wharf , t h r e e one by 12 - t r i n g c , one

1x5 " t r i n g , and one 3x7 barge were ac'-:embled on the F'AD-1. wa te r f ron t .

Per-onnel

In t h e monthly r e p o r t , t h e O I K C (Lt ,acley) of F;~i-7 . ;vrota tiie

fol iowing i n regard ts r o t a t i o n of h . i e men:

";:eferencc i c niade 1 ; ~ t h e &.or:thby F'rc>,i,e'" ,:i.:jijrr "I.:bmi-.te:l i-,,

Fon?,oo!l ..'**r;ihl~ ?~etnr!:iq?n!; i j ? ^ 2 *j"t,+) 1 ? S ~ ~ I J : ? . P ; - 7,i.l.L/?

. ~ . . ,t? .. i;:!:, : S ~ ' 1: : [ jlc -' ~:"~n;i;flrld c,;sf:.!lr ;+ q , i -. ;., ti-. i : s;', i , . . : s . I .. .. , , Iac: * p s i ~ T C 7: G

1' p r o b a b l y the DO-t canfiniog, sr:on.?toni;rii", "teadgr and ho t of that of

any (73 organ iza t ion , -'hat tile men have worked ' t e a d i l y and d i l i g e n t l y

and a r e cont inuing t o do ~o i@ evidende d by t h e record" of t h e o r i g i n a l

I;'unt.x,n ne"embly Cletacllcient and t h e yl'eqent Nurdoer 1 and 2 u n i t ? , which

who product ion ha" been con f ide rab ly above o r i g i n a l eqt imate" whi le t h e

number of perconnel hac alway- been wel.1 under t h e au thor ized complement.

~ l ' o t h e man hour- per pontoon ha' been app rea i ab ly l o a e r e t h a n those of

l a r g e companieq i n t h e United s t a t e s making t h e qame product . . .. ".,t t h e p r e 5 ~ n t t i n e , PA 9-1 tiac 160 men and " i x o f f i c e r s who have

" beeri on a c t i v e duty f o r approximately 19 monthe ar.4 nute i i le the U,-,

f o r l E ; months. 'he f i v e day l e a v e p r i o r t o embark-ati&n waC t o o "hnr t

s period fez xoct ,of t!ic !;ier: t o v i f i t t .ki~ir C O t h a t t h e l e a v e

,lid n o t a.ccornylieh t h e a n t i c i p a t e d efi^ect a t t h a t tlr!;e . . . . '"It i' reciinnierided t h a t f u r t h s r a d d i t l ~ ~ r ~ a l nien and o f f i c e r ' be

am"ignecl t o t h e number one and two :le:.schmen?;* a t t h i e t . i ~ e , t h a t by

t h e e x p i r a t i o n of t h e 1 6 month" overcea@ du ty , t h e o r j g i n a l pereonnel

can be cen t hack. t c t h e U. f o r r ecupe ra t ion and reaseigrmer,t e i t h e r

t o rid7 formed Pfl 9 9 oor t o thoye a l r e a d y i n t h e r i e l & .

"Pnntnon ncqercbly U e t a c h e n t KO, 1 ha@ rece ived order ' t o prepare

f o r a move~en t t o a more forward a rea . It ic recomrciericletl t h a t t h e

o r j g m i n a l P."! O ; -~ezecn r~s l of t h i ' un j t be r e tu rned tr, t h e TJ.5, f c r

redr:perbt.iorr a t t h e t ime t h i s mcvercent i9 mCc- a" t h e r e viou2.C be t h e

1t.c "& ir.i:erbergrlafi ;.rifh p rijiiuc t lo ! - uniler "uck~ a p~- -ograc~ , i~

9 f i P

r .L .? etacbj.ment. njarlufhctured 8':.*; T-6 a.rld 191 T-7 pontoonc ~ U T in&'

I;sre:,!, c.akin; a t o t a l product ion of l ,i:>57 pontoon".

. " o ; . ~ ~ ~ i n g tk.e prngrar.. Cet fcr t h e :Jienant;ling of t h e p l a n t f o r t h e

.sn exper ienca a t Koumea,

'i'wenty-five pontoon barge" of variou' " izea which had been i n use

i n i p i c (1Gew Caiedonia) dur ing t h e l a s t yea r were being di-mantled and

made ready f o r "hipment t c fcrward a r eac .

?ereonne1 --.,- . - -- --- I n acoordarrce w i t h Coc;PiavBa"e, Iiouniea l e t t a r ; ' lL \ - l / i~~-4 jL l . . , "eri.31

1122a, dated 24 Larch 1944, t h e d e l a c h e n t s u b u ~ i t t e d a r e c o ~ ~ ~ i e n d e d

complement f o r Pontoon i"qen1ilbly Detachment lu'o. 1, 'hiis complement

provided icbr s tot.31 of 5C.) r,~er, an4 13 o f f i c e r " ,

In view el' t h e f a c t t h a t i t w i l l . ii,?ve requi red "i:i month" t o o b t a i n

r k a d r i f t oi nen nn:y enrc11l:i: f rorr. t h e "t .?te." , i r : wa." rsc~r.~n;eride? t h a t

. .. Cora: es~l, -. ~ g - b ~ & & ~ L a i i .

Ifi no-t ca-e" t l ia e4uipzLsnt i : ~ 1 1 - 3 2 t thl.' time ;y i.i11!-17 tiad

See r q a t i - f a c t o r y , and requi red on ly n o r n a l r e p a i r , n po l i cy of

" t r i c t . oMcervance t o *e rv i c ing of a l l equipment a t r e g u l a r i n t e r v a l '

had kepr, t h e equipment i r ~ o p e s a t i n condit.ion 3 maximu& percentage

of t he tinm, an:l had. e l imina ted t h e p r o b a b i l i t y of t h e Eore 'eriou"

brea kdownc . The I n t e r n a t i o n a l 4x2 dunip t ruck" and t h e LD-7 t r a c t o r * o r i & i n a l l :

fu r"n iphed t h e Pn1) were too l i g h t f o r t h e work a t advanced ba'ev.

Utfter than theee two i t e n " , t h e r o l l i n g 'tock 0;' PAL)-1 waT ' a t i c f ac to .

f o r t h e work Leirig done.

( ~ t t h i " t ime, t h e detaci~ment had t h r e e 1nl ;ernat ional 1$-ton

dunp t r u c k e , t oo l i . g h t ; orie i k e v r o l e t t ank t r u c k , 7 % gall .on, f a i r

condigicn; two :-ton hack p l a t fo rm body t ruckq , f a i r cond i t i on ; two

L:.b,.C. convoy t i . ~ c k * , 2$~-ton, f a i r cond i t i on ; two 5-ton NorthwePt

crar ,eF, f a i r cotxi i t ion ; one 19-ton Nort,hwePt c r ane , f a i r cortclition;

one Ha-7 A l l i c Chalrner' t r a c t o r , f a i r cond i t i on but t oo l i g h t f o r

advance ba"e MOI-k; one 5-ton Lich igan h o t u r Crane, nevi; one Chevro-

l e t t ank t r u c k , 750 g a l l c n , new; and f o r new 2-,- t t c ; 3 yard Interr ia t ion.

a1 dump trucl:c. )

L i13~-_1244 ---- The u n i t manufactured 22G T-6 pontc*orib- f r c n .lpri3 1 t o -;>ril

6 inc lu- ive . ~ o l 3 w n l n < the prograr:: :'et. fc;r t h e (ii"~l;antling of th-. ! : - U ~ ~ t 'U ,> f:e: thri pendlcg ft:;::r.ra~*d r,i.i\irr..?nt., tnp?r.atir~n" :ir-I t r - ~ e 'i:-e

* . r . : j , : * --pi . j ~ ' . ~ ~ . s , y t 4 > n : - ?' ,~ . ~ . , t.?. f7,;-4..:-7 -'i::.?,f e ~ i

,. , , , I 1.1 -. -

of t h e plant and awaiting s'ripment, hut it would -rove * decided bandica~ i n construction and o--eration of the plant a t t h e new locstion.

In addition ta operating the factory, it had b-en nroposed t h a t P A D 4 wmld

handle -11 pon'oon structure assembly an3 811 structure and propulsion unit

repair work. It bad b en aa t imted t h a t '00 men would Fe repuired t o nccornplish

t h e w assignarents. A t t h i s time, PAD No 1 had onl-r '0 wr cent 03' +b*s nmh-r

of personnel, and of these, mora t h ~ n 60 per cent ware men who had b-en on foreign

duty over 16 manthe.

Fon 'oon "LsemhPr Detachment rmnber one was detached Brnm GomNavBaae, Aaurnea

on 30, and embsrked on Ju le 1, 1914. A l l off ice +enr9s end eouipnent were

packed an4 aboard ship a t t ha t tire, so t ha t , it w s not possible t o submit +I-e

monthly rroLTe,?s ?-port, es of J w a "I., Pa/&,

Ti a P4D Ws I t'a1~"~tory m s &:'4 Ifom? 5? r?prit 14:' -::3 .ql;smantlg.j fa)-p ~ f . j ~ n f n g

. , .--ig I " . . ., - t-. , sqa .. st&k,4 1 l.in- ti:.. s>i.:. F:: ~- ;>(:,' ... &l+ Fl., , ,v>~.@S,.#~ ;.,,"! , .- : ?;?~. . , (. ,

Duriny the time from 1 Idap t o 74 Map, a l l material and equipment of FAD NO 1

was werbauled and revairad. Structural cbanges were made t o t.ke fcctory and shoo

building t,o improve 'he plant and f a c i l i t a t e erection Sevpral iteyrn of new ecuip-

ment t o be't-r the ~ e w plant were a l so febrjcnted.

The personnel amharked 1 June ma. the ship arrived a t Moni~s, Admlralt,v Islands

on 19 June. Upon a-rival +%e detnrhment was air+-cted t o take over the acsambly

of pn+oon s t ructures which work had ~ v i o s l y been a m e +ha Lbth Construction

Battalion. On 22nd June a crPn of 35 men was a-signed t o t h i = work and on 25 June

the e n t i r e pontoon assembly structure work including the receiving and storing of

pontoon gear w s s assumed. Ninety men a re a t t ,h is time a=signad t o t h i s d e t a i l

A s unlaoding f a c i l i t i e s a t t h i s base (-4dmlcelty Islands) were v e w limited,

the personnel of PAD NO. 1 not assipned t o aontoon s t ructure nsseml-lv, crimp and

off ice de t a i l s , worked on the discharge of cargo from the ship. Help was r e c - l v ~ d

on t h i s work frais the 22nd Construction Bettalion wbirh was unloading +he ro l l ing

stock.

Discharge of cargo was slow Cor several reasons: the Am ~t Noumea would not

moke a top o r deck l a d of the cranes a s requested an8 over C O O tons of general

cargo had t o be discbarged before the cranes could be reached. Unlolding of ro l l ing

atock wss not s ta r ted unt i l 28 June pr ior t o which time only one t ruck bo~?oned from

an n r w unit w.-s available on shore. The areaassigned PkD No 1 wms not cleared pnd

there were no * O C ~ o r p i e r f q c i l l t i e o . watcr trancportot,ian was scarce and ' - n ~ ~ a s

brought w i t h t he unlt had t o be sssembled f o r t h l ~ purvose. With the un i t b e i q

s l i g h t l y above rO per cent of complement, only a few men wdre ~ v a i l s b l e for

discharging cargo.

n . e 2nd Construction Regiment was a:.sipn& t a erect e camp Par PAD NO 1 wki-h

included huts to13 wersonnel, a gailelj, ? . e v a ? ' a ~ wa(s~ strnn37 pnh f h o rlearlng ~ n d

grs:?fnp "Sm nnresser;. cam nnii Pn,??..arp srea vi;zrk stn;-+,*C? .m? r,d ?! n

, $7, 5 ':':ls 4 i?4nst,n,tn.bg~p &.6$-c i j q i ~ wj. ?:p ijn 9 Y ~ h m a mri,it-3.?.?3 bIr.W,; "t-+**.,i ~ 1 ~ 4 4 3

up t:o t h i s time with +he clea-ing of 'be camp area A smell temporam pier nos

being insts71ed by PAE No. 1 t o f a c i l i t a t e the Fandllng or ' he remainder of the

cargo

With w r Y O men a-signed t o pontoon s t ruc tur r assembly, unlo-ding cargo,

and camp de ta i l s , work on the pontoon factory was extremely slow.

The m b e r of mn on board during June 19U was 2571): the authorized complement:

W1. A pmduction quota of 1800 pontoons trer month Fad been s e t up hy t he bureau for

the PAD No. 1 factory, and knockdm material shipments f.-om the Unit.& Sta tes had

been scheduled accordingly.

It had been eatiaaated, based on operations of PAD No 1 a t Nonmea, tha t t h i s quota

ccald be met by maintaining the f u l l complement of men. It had been fur ther estiweted

t h a t a t.ota1 of 500 m n was needed t o operate the factory t o cepacity and i n additfon

t o handle a l l local pontoon s t ruc tura l assembly a d t h e mintenance of @ontoon barges.

A d r a f t of 200 men and f ive o f f i c e ~ s arrived a t Noumea, N P ~ Caledonk, i n April of

t ,his year (196~) nnd were t o have been divided het,wcen PAD No 1 and PAD No 2. Thia

wmild have givsn both un i t s the number o# men recuired by the or iginal Pontoon Assembly

Detachment whoae quota was 960 pontoons per month. Upon a ~ i v a l n t Noumea the en t i r e

d ra f t was reassigned t o PAD NO. 2. Included I n t h i s d r a f t were many men of specific

ra t ings who were requested t o strengthen the various deprtrnents of both uni t s which

were wehksned \y9 t,he di9lsion of the or iginal Pontoon bscmbly Det-chment. These men

were a l s o t o have f i l l e d the key positions of PAD No. 1, so t h a t when +he or iginal

crew i s returned t o the United S ta tes f o r recuoera+.ion, the orpanizstion wmld c o n t i m

t o funcit ion smoothly and without i n t empr t ions .

The s ta tus a t that, time was tha t a l l t he more import-nt p ~ s & t i o n s were held by men

who haA more tFan 1 8 M t h s con t im~ms civrrseas du* tins no man were ~.vs!lable to take

O Q m t.l;eae poait!on/aa. The s.rrtl.r) ~?xdStiana were t m e fo? the !XC offieere n? t h i s

, . ,Qf r . , ~ ! ~ CE; c:~,~j-i.cer;77 e%53Fil-,3 , f'nm. i e;: ':c:

it bad been orgsnized i n lQ/2 end bad ov-- 18 wnth- continuous oversea? duty. T'e

off icers ~f the other corps had Feen rrplaced.

BuDocks's letter IPU24/A9-4, B-6, S e r i a l 1350 dated 36 May 1914 advised tha t a

d r a f t of 200 men is being set up for t ransfer t o PAD No. 1 Arrivsl of these men

would bring the ros t e r t o arproximtely 450 enlisted ~ e r s o n n e l of which 160 had ov-r

18 months continurns overseas duty.

It was reruested tha t replacements be Pnrnished f o r t he 160 enlisted men and four

of f icers who had over 18 mmtha werseas duty so t h a t +hey might be returned t o the

United S ta tes for leave, and t h a t addftional nersonnel be assigned t o bring +he

t o t a l complemnt of the detachment up t a 500 man.

LETTER FROM .- -

A l e t t e r signed by Don Johnstone (B+T direct ion of Chief of Bureau) dated September

5, 19L.4 was received by the OIW of PAD No. 1.

The l e t t e r , RU 24/~9-b, ll-6, CC: DirPacDocks, San Francisco, and DirPacDocks,

Pearl IIPlrbm, read a s follorsr

"Subject: monthly Report t o me h e m

1. Receipt i s acknowledged of the report d a t ~ d 7 July 1914 covering a c t i v i t i e s c

Pontoon Assembly Detachment No 1 f o r +he months of Ylav and June 19L.L.

2 The Bureau appreciates t h i s type of co~lplete rsmrt It was well c o q ~ i l e d

and in2mrat i .e i n i t s presentation."

The work p e r f d during the preceding month consisted almost en t i re ly of pontoon

s t m i x r e sssemblp and cargo handling.

Wt.ilsoding of the units ' cargo, sonds t lng o r nr~~ro l r fmnt - l~ ?6M1 +on.;, wss com'leted

15 ?u3p. ?.."!:;, Of CnrgO, X,WO avo? +.he sh-7- i?awlted ,ealotv thf PAD-1

. . .,;-.+, . . rr-37 a3.4i~tlr" fism %a+h .+he aRhSp " F A ?yam 27i.r hqjpgir:~: fi fit^) +?an &ey&, -

Work got, undemay 19 July on the p ~ r m n e n t camp und factory site ~t htt

Point on Los legros Island. The camp area was cleared of overgrowth pnd conatruc-

t ion of huts for personnel s tar ted. Clearing of the factory area was 75 per cent

complete ~ugnst 1.

Clearing and-ding of the s i t e progressed slowly -- the PAD No. 1 eauiuumnt was not heavy enaugh fo r the rugped t e r r a in and the heavily wooded sections. Class

I t r a r t o r s and other earth mooiq: equipment a t t h i s base was not available f o r work

on the PAD no. 1 area due t o the low pr io r i ty given t h i s project.

During this comtruction 2871 tons of pontoon s tructure m t e r i a l w.rs received,

and 1686 pontoons were assembled in to various structures, a s fo l lors r

Two 2x7 burpns, three 3x7 barges, one L.7 barge, eight 1x12 b-rpes, four 5xl2

h a r ~ e s , one 2x6 wharf, two W 2 wharves, two 1x18 wl-arves, one 5x18 w h f l r f , two 6x18

wherves und ten 2xl2 bridges.

Also two 3xl2 bridges, one W2 bridge and one 2x18 bridge.

Orders, a s of t h i s time, remained on band fo r the asselably of the following:

% 3x7 barge; eleven W 2 barges, f&ve rx12 barges and one 6x18 wbarf.

The detachment was a l so ordered t o supply s i x men AS welders 011 the AWD-2

(floating drydock), then under construction, t o s t a r t work t h i s dute (August 1) .

Persot&

A s four off icers of the detachment had over 19 months overseas duty, hut were not

available f o r detachment a s there were no off icers aboard t o teke over t h e i r duties,

it was requested tha t t he following CEC off lcers be essipned t o PAD No. 1:

1 - Lieut (jg), CEC -- St-uctural Engineer. Should have experience i n s t rd t tu re l design.

1 - L i m t f jg), CEC -- F a ~ t a r y S;,perintc.nSsat. St-orlld have e~er3.enr.e :e nmdnctlon l ine nrgani.z8tio?l an4 ,ehm13,4 have e h r l . e d y e 04 erc-rrl+hp wnn+f.ctl*

a , . . 1 :&.g& t j g j , CEI? ,, M$p'r:i;le ';hip; :..-.lp" , ~ . > ~ q . l d k+:-e i:~e?4-c-cce %%, ~11g9r.k

werhaul op0r*t4 -5ns.

1 - Carp., CEC -- General Maintenance and Construction. Should h&ve eq.erfence i n general cons t rnc t lo~~ work.

1 - Carp., CEC -Waterfront. SFodld have experience i n rigpine and cargo handlirg .

LSwbrher=

Following etructures assembled during August@

One 2x7 barge, five 3x7 barges, eleven 1x12 barges, four W2 barges, two &l8

wharves, om 6x18 75-ton crane barge, and om 6xl8 seaplane sUp.

Construction of the plant and camp was a t the foillowing stages:

zrQ&& P ~ t - - Eat Date Colarilet+on cam, &O 1 OctoEer

Clearing 95 15 September

Grading la) Factory 95 5 Sept.ember

(b) Storage area 70 25 Sept-mb~r

Factory Erection 20 25 September

Two Shop Bulldings 100 - Ona Warehouse 80 5 September

Warf o r Dock 0 20 Septornber

Struct~ur~, Assembly Ways 0 1 October

Heavy equipement for completing %be clenring and greri.ing was braupht on t.he area

on 16 August. Sufficient vad ing had h m completed by 22 Aupust t.o start foundstions

f o r the factory building. Factory operations se r f estimated t o s t a r t between t h e 15th

and ?Cth of September.

Supplies on bend were ademate t o roml'letr t h e eur.s+,rr.c*,ian of ?he caw an3 factoq?,

,m: the su3lil:~iy jf Lo 9 . cor:+c'or.a rtr t r r d nor;. st:??j*'e~+ fw ?.he P l r s t moot,h of factory

i?p-r,::= 3.CDS.

October 191&

Factory operatiom in both the T-6 and T-7 plants were started the last

week af September*

The T-6B ard T-?A pontoons now mamfactured being of different design

thro the T-6 and T-7 pontoons previously made by th is d e t a c h t , changes to

jigs and changes i n wok procedure were mcess-m A t th is date it was anti-

cipated, however, that the production ra te d d increase steadily a8 these

changes developed and as men were trri ned fo r the factory wazk.

The camp was 90 per cent canpleted, with 1 November 1944 as the estimated

c m l e t i o n date, gradiw of the storege area lRBs 75 per cent completed d th

November 1 as estimated completion dater AJ.1 other clearing, grading, erection

of areh house and factory and Wi ld ing of a 6x36 pontoon aharf' had been completed

by t h i s date (1 October 194.4).

~e r sonne l

OFFICBSa The detachment had been below authorized officer oom@ement for

several months. In view of the fac t that a l l pontoon stmcture assembly WO& and

a l l propulsion unit repair work a t t h i s base was being handled, in addition to

the primery funation of W a c t u r i n g pontoons, f u l l authorimd officer complemnt

was believed necessary aria was requested a t t h i s t i m e

BlUWRI b ~ O P ~ : During t e past ferrmontks, man;. construction battalions

ha8 bcm returned to the Tjnited h a t e s , and other construction battalions bad

received definite or6ers to return. SoIue sf the b a t t e l i o r ~ l e f t the States a t

the sane tinf as a i d the orininal PoxSocn Bssezlbly ktocr-wnt, snS. some left tlh?

j t a tes EIJ) mb&edr 1.bnt of these i:a:talicrs >a

It was pointed at i n t 3 e monthly report t i s i the Eontoon k-embly Detachrnonts

110. 1 an8 i!c. 2 21576 vorked in the sene area and under the sexe conditions t h a t

m o s t of the keturning constmction battalions have encomtered, and no PAD NO* 1

or PAD Ito. 2 nan has had any k M of leave duriny the 22 months overseas.

5everd battalions ahd l e f t o r ware preparing to leave fa r t P z Unite& States

from this area. Eecause scane of these battaliom h a d no nlore, and a few cases

less, service overseas, had worked under no more i l iff iarl t conditions than PAD-No.

1 and PAD No. 2 and i n addition had a leave psriod in their t h e overseas, the

effect on the morale of the detachmsnt was decidedly negative.

The OINC wrote that tl%? feeling was growing the older msn that the work of the PAD was considered of very minor hportance as campared with tl?e wo& af

a battalion, and therefore. the personnel =re not being given the sarms consider-

ation. This a titude w a s gradually spreadine: a n & the men more recently attached

t o the unit. The effect was a definite continuing decrease i n m& cutput per

ma . l be parsanel office TE& also being flooded with requests for transfers to

other units; the only reason given fo r wanting a transfer was that the apgl ica t s

think the battaliom were receiving more consideration.

tol the first f u l l month of production i n the new factory on Los Negos, 818

T-6 and 158 T-7 pontoon3 were xmmfactureb Win@ th is month of October the

factory output increased steadily as more men were schooled i n arc welding and

a s the efficiency increased.

The fol lming pontoon structures were assembled durinF, October: % 3 4

t u s , om 2 s bridge, one 326 dj7harf; f a r 4x7 bmges, aud four lr12 briGe

s tringa.

The unit assumed the mrk of propulsion unit overhaul aad repair 1. October

1944, and d u r i q the month 21 units were reconditioned. ileven of these units

required cctnglete engine overhaul jobs, together with minor drive and st~eriw

repair to drives, zudder, hull* etc, Lack of spare parts ca sed th is repair

work to progress much slovier than desired.

xersonnel

I n &'-~8t of t h i s year (19.:#4) a draft of approximately 200 men vias received.

Of these men. 19 %ere m ' s , 91 were first class petty officers, 54 second class,

25 third class, lj were s e m f i r s t class and one seanan second class. Of the 164

men having a ratiw, of second class petty oSficer of higher, 100 held such rates

as Zbi, BIG SK, SC, Ptr., etc., of which a PAD'S needs are comparatively few.

h e r one lialf of lh& men on a .I-U' roster mst he capable of arc welding, ard.

as very few welders are mceivcd i n auy draft of men, 95 per ceut ~f those -used

f o r mlding o$frations rmst be trained i n the PAD scii001. &n having such rai;es

a s shipf i t ter or mtalsmitn a r e usually adaptabie t o weldirg, an6 seaan ivho

.usually have had not previous tsaae can be reaaily traioba i t1 arc weidiw.

7 - :.!Q-e?%r, rnen rihc, are e;qerie~caC. +.Joctricians, ce-:entess, storekkeisy.srs. mtor

. . mechanics, etc., do not r fa6i ly pick up welding technique. 'his is pa r t i a l ly

due t o t i lcir learning a new trade a f t e r years of work i n a former trade, and

p a r t i a l l y &e t o a f t e l i q that t h e i r past eqer ience and training is being

wasted by not being assigrled t o work in which they have considerable abil i ty.

;is a E m is a specialize& organiza.tion, the najoriOj of the personnel supplied

a s repAacements shar ld be such as can be most quickly t ra in@ in vielding.

I n reply t o a request from CoitSerFoNtbElt , dated 20 October 1944. a list of men i n ~zrr ious r a t e s and trade classif icat ions desired as replacements for rmo

on the present roster with 18 o r more months overseas duty was sulmitted.

!I'he r a t e s desired mere as follows:

Shilc (Dm) 1

sanc (IW 1

610 68

S c 75

SF2c (Welder) 10

S-c (yielder) 30

P t r 20 (%ray) 1

~ t r jc (spray) 1

hfoixii,Ec (Gee & Diesel) 3

hIoUL2c (Gas Ec Diesel)

BQc (Ammtura \'finder)

y3c

~m3c

SMc

S t l c

mc

s w c

WPc

The re la t ive ly largc m b e r of s e a e n desired ?!as due t o the necessity of

t ra ining new personnel m ma rrreldirq, and because the , revlcus draf t or' e n

more than f i l l e d the r e ~ u i r e n t s i n other deparhnenta.

Cora.lents on %te r i a l

The s!sck of KaDr fio~t.~31!s (2.7: ti-; .-ad 50:: .;-7) oii Faail was ?.degLat-e t o

2%:. - - ::.2re c T ~ r r c n t opxc :-i?m ? - : i n ccke&!.es -7s set up m j t I, 1 supy!ort ~'uhre

Hmrs due to mrn or clamged parts continusd to increase.

Prior ta moving frm N m a . New Caledonie, PAD 1 requieittioaed

materials anii spare parb anticipated Po be necessary for contimttsd operatiom

at a mw base* I n e m t i o n on hena indicated that a considerable clmcnmt aP

material reqpisitioned had been shipped L u t newr reached its d e s t i n a t i w By

PAD lh. 1 l e t t e r L84, PAD #1/1918 dated 6 %@ember 1944. t o DirPacDocks, a

list of 240 it- res was submitted as having been ordered Lut not received.

This list iacludea i t e m placed on regpisition frcan October 1943 t o March 194.4.

and which t o th is date had not bean received.

lack of spare parts for the r q a i r of propulsion units contimed to retard

the r e c o n r l i t i o ~ of ?;hese units* The Practxc. of robbing p a r t s from one unit

t o repair another ~7m very wasteful a d unsatisfactory, i n view OP the limited

nunbzr of units available. yet in me t cases TI= the only answer to the groblen.

A i617 SI)OTE ,= t s :lad recently been grovidea, kt uot in sufficient quantity o r

variety t o m e t the needs.

h i n g the preceding month (November). 1319 ~ - 6 and l.69 T-7 pontoons

were d a c t u r e d i n the PAD -1 factory. "he drop i n procluction the l a s t

half of the m a t h was caused by the necessity of using 18 mldirp. mad-iines

and 35 of the be t te r 'relders f ran the factory f o r other wo&.

Twelve 3Z7 barges and twelve 3x12 barges mrs assembled and equipped f o r

shipping during November.

The largest si gnle fac tor tending t o hold dovm p r o h c t i o n i n the pontoon

factory ~ias the l m k of sgare aparts f o r e q u i p i t . Crnly a fract ion of the

p a t s needed were available in t!le Southwest Pacific area. Orders f o r spare

parts, especially f o r t'le H O W melding mchines, during the past I 2 months

had met with very l i t t l e success. & most of the e ~ u i p a e n t i n use had over 'two

years of service, increased maintenance could be expected. Unless the spm

par t s and eguipmnt &ich had bign on order f o r from 3 to 12 months was suL.plied,

i t was e s t h t e d tha t within f a r months the s i f ic iency of the present equipment

tvould be down t o 50 2er cent.

Shipments of knockdown pontoon imter ial on hand and e m u t e is adequate for

continued operations. hdf up s t r i p s which had been ordered t o accompany each

shipinent of EL D. material had not been received and the stock on hand was alumst

exhausted. Failure to receive t h i s matwial ~ioi:lii resu l t i n a reduced factory

production,

1 ,. *quests f o r ~ c : i ibi l i ta t lon leave i n the United h a t e s and rotation

2. . t e r - Lt. C X , U r n J. p. Bmrme, - rn.%+s Cxs F. H. Verkon - Ch.Carp. s C g * m m

Officers required as r e l i e f f o r the above of f icers plus two afiditional

o. f icers t o fill authorized cample..:ents %?ere as follows:

2 - Lt ( jg) CEC, U S B 3 - Carpenters CBZ, U r n

BILlSTED EEWONlWa A furt e r request had been submitted t o h e a d e r , ~ e r v i c e

Force, 3eventh ?lee% fo r rehabi l i ta t ion leave in the United hates and ro*ation e

of duty f o r 153 enl is ted man of the d e t a c h n t who had been on continuous overseas

duty f o r over 23 mnt-hs*

Two off icers and 37 enlisted m n of Floatin& %munition Storage Units Nos, 3

and 4 were on temporam duty with PAD No. 1 i n connection with assembly and

stxi= of the i r units.

Three off icers an8 102 enl is ted naen of the 392 C. b. iktachnent were quartered

with FAD No. 1 from I2 oveklber 191 11. t o 1 December 1944 i n coilneczlon with a s e a b l y

of equipment f o r the i r unit.

Sevcnty-six enl is ted w n rrere absi,ned t o PAD Xo. One f o r permanent duty the

l a s t M f of November.

Unsatisf actom Eauiwne&&

A considerable amount of 1st operating t im by self-propelled barges was

b e i w caused by the break* o:T the cas t gropellor (#1068121) supplied with the

C . ? ~ s l e r t p b-C Wea li l le* gro#ulsion unit.

tiredcia;; 01' the propellor was o a ~ s a d i n nost c a e s by s t r ik ing a cora l head

or r.?el", or by ti16 bax;c :;?mnding as i t aj,:?r9ac!,sc: shore. Soulever, many cases

!la*; i;.-en imR:n' ~+,e= .the i;.i'o;,.^llor ":3d h-..s i;~-v!:~n ba si.ip:eot. .. ..

,The Lred:in~ ox' one blaSie of ?;he ~;ro_nellor h i i n ~wny instanbes caused

j.ar:l&e t o other >arts such as beariilcs, universal joints, etc., due t o the

unbalanced conditions. Photo #'PAD-1-412 (use photo here) shovs typica l cases

of broken propellors. Attempts a t rezpir by both PAD #l and t!te %ip %pair

Unit have SO f a r been unsuccessful*

110 spw6 propellors were ( a t that time) 121rnii;hed with t!;e uni t s received

L. and as : ~ e t it imd not been possible to obtain a Stock of spares. onsequently,

,. uany uni t s were opera t iw a t low e3iciency.

It was recoxmended tha t if continued m e v,ere nnGa of tile test propellor*

at 1ear ?; one :rare. a.nfi j ref mably tm .be sui,plie2 a i t h each nevf ijmpulsion

u n i t shipped*

L Jawlriry

Lk.iriw the nonth grecedin~, 1271 T-6 2nd 185 T-7 _rontoom were pmduced i n

the PBD-l factories. An increased aramnt of zontocn s t ructure a s s ~ x ~ b l y ~~arh.,

rrit!-i ~l considerable nuizber of sh ipf i t t* jobs in connection a i t h thosc: s t ruc t -

ur::s ha& prevented the iuaintainin!; of 9.111 c r e w in the tontooxi factories.

'i '!~ follorring pontcon s t ructures mere assembled duria; Decenber:

One b ~ l S barge d t h t v r o Fir12 s ide stringp, one 6xl.8 barge, f ive j x l 2 barges,

four 3x7 barges, t5-m 2x30 causeways, om 1x18 s t r i n g f o r barge repair, one 16

striq- f o r barge regair and one 1x7 s t r i n s f o r barge re;;~air.

Incomiw torx!qe w a s 5800 tom a d out.-oing carLo :;anfiled rms 1400 tons f o r

i'v~en.ty-five pontoon barje >ro17ulsion uni t s m r c given ilajor ove rhu l or

i - q a irs.

';t;o mergency projects, Lhs clacsif icnt ion of v,hich is sr;ci%t, ;;ere cora2leteii

duriw: the month. '0th projects yequired .the services of the be t te r vseldefs from

the factory and several vielding machines,

The i16t!i Constmction ia t ta l ion moved i n heavy squipment ard s t a r t ed t h e

developent of urgently needed naterf'ront nnd s t o r w e areas.

Increased inefficiency of m n who have served overseas f o r 25 months r i thnut

leave of any kind in an import.Int f ac to r tendiqc~ t o hold down production.

PJLD No. 1 lLad on and K, pontoon idaterial $9 supply the fac tor ies thxnr j l

February 194.jlj. i.lo infomation inas t i l a sn ! a d r e ~ a r d i n f : def ini te s h i p ~ x n t s of

addi6itonal K. D. m t c r i n l *

material be included ni th a l l shiylents of i;. 2. po11toons. &all quantit ies

05 s t rap bad been ~,;'ocured local ly from t ime t o tinie, but it w a s becomix

increasingly mors d i f f i cu l t t o obtain. Lack of the baclc up s t r i p s muld

c w i d e r a b l y increase the t ine necessary t o mid t'ne pontoons.

Copies of requisitions had been receivfa which indicated tha t the folloyring

st.mctures were to be shipped t o PAD Ib* 1 ear ly i n 1945:

B k h t 6x18 dn~docks, one 7x30 drydock, om 30x12 drydock, s ix 4x7 tender

barges, 373' machine shpp barges, four 5dx5 tugs, six 7rlaC7 tugs, seventeen

30 ton landin& ramps, s ix ty eight 60-ton lzndiug ramps(1ater cancelled) fifty-

t-?;o 3x7 barges, iifty-tmo 3x12 barges ?nd 20 -30 causenays.

The last three item mere t o be c-leted with fastening gear f o r ISp s id r , .

c a ~ ~ j . 'hc reqnistions did not specify cpecial f i t t ings , such as brackets, hinge

bars, U-Anchivs, etc. It ~ r a s recmmended that a stock of these f i t t i n g s be

supplied to a11 PAD'S to e l b i n e t e the necessity of fabrication i n the f ie ld .

(FAD FIo* 1 v;as l a t e r notificd by the '0. mnder, bemice Force, Seventh Fleet,

t h a t no special f i t t ias would have to be fabricated i n tile field. )

Although the above structures would give a variet , of s tn lc tures i n f a i r

quantity, tile list does not inclt~de .E aar3. 5:*% barges rrl~ich :sere i n coasiaerable

fieran6 a t nlost bases fo r c-ar~o iundlin& It ?:ms recomnded trat the more forvrard

PAD'S be stocked w i t h these s izes of barges,

Technical Coments

PAD 130. 1 assembled 2x30 causenays &ring Decelnber. &I the only space avail-

able Tor structure acs~x~llbly ;ii.roi-k na:s jn a ri7x36 pontoon ~?har-f it rizs necessWr t o

assemble e r~d l a u c h Px.3 s t r in , ; IrOi:i tilis E'k,~XctUr.ti.

For striws up t o eighteen pontoons in length, the pontoon wharf la& been

found sat isfactory f o r assembly a~cl side launchiw; but f o r longer striqs it

i ias recm~ended tha t the pontoon vd-iarf be used oat$ in cases 02 necessity.

1 E'ebluaw lqkli

Y wing the month of Jarnary 1416 Tl*j and 215 T-'7 aolitoow were prodaced

a

i n the PAD-1 facto~y. It as possible t o increase the factory personnel

durinfi the month and a coi.rcspondine: increase i n ?reduction resulteb

In a t i c ipa t ion er l e z ~ orders fo r the a r i g o a l crsri ,$ this unit, a l l

of those m n men were replaced i n the factory by nen with less oversea's

The following pontoon structutures were assembled during Jamaryr One 3x6

wharf, one 2x5 barge, four jd/ barges, three 1x3 camels, three @,I2 barges,

twenty-one 5xI.2 barges and t r . 0 6xl8 barges. blast of these structures e r e

assembled and f i ~ t e d for towing to a forinrd area.

Twenty pontoon barge propulsion units Irere &iven major overhaul or repair.

The lcnockdown pontoon material on hand a t th is time muld supply the

f actorg through Febmary only* Inforplation on hand indicated om? shipment of

1 00 T-6 and 160 T-7 pontoons were made f m the States the first half of

January and should arrive a t t h i s base in Febmary.

P ersom&

3Qiep L AO G o e t ~ Chief J. % Ke~nedy a& Chief Carp. V. V. Lenb

reported aboard dnring Jamary. Infomat ion on hana %bat& these afficers

were replacements fo r Lt. EO DO Baxter. ('hief 30 PO Browne and Chief Carp.

P. H. Verlcon, a l l of xhon~ have been oh contirmous overwas duty f o r 26 months.

Leave reguests were sub i t t ed fo r the lakter three officers.

Intormation had been received t i t one other Carpenter had been assigned to

~ 1 0 ~ 1. & aJeit ioml officer of $ 1 ~ ZI:~; 2:' J.,L(jL) C-C ims :.een rec,uested

. ., ;.; i ~ z f t zjie seed,; ~2 ir.'_-~i-aii:-,r..

Copies of t ransfer orders recently receivcd l i s t e d a t o t a l of 248 men t o

i ~ e t rarsferred t o PAD No. L0f t h i s number a p p r ~ x h a t e l y 200 had rckorted aboard

and the remainder were expected i n the near i ' u t ~ r e a

A request f o r lcavt orde-rs f a r the o r k i n d crevi Lad been s u b i t t e d in view

of a r r iva l of r e l acemnts .

1 Umch 19h5

&?.-ale of tila organizatioil reached a h k h f r leve l durint t he past month, due

ch ie f ly to tm reoans. &bving gictuzs grojectors were procured and miss

st;irted 3 L i l y ntn -- tk f ' imt m v i e s i n the IAD ib. 1 cw:p i n the 27 ~lonths t h i s un i t has been overseas.

The second reason f o r the L w t i n morde am the receipt of leave orders

f o r the iEn dlo l e f t the United S ta tes with the or in ina l E P D i n & c a b e r 1942.

It vas exgected tha t the ,rcgrai? then in effect mgarrling leave and ro ta t ion c6

duty a f t e r eighteen months overseas rrould increase efficiency a d lssep morale at

a high level.

One-hundrefi for ty-s ix men of t he or iginal PAD, who hafi been on continuous

overseas duty sincDecenber 19l+2, =re ordered t o the United S ta tes on this

rehabi l i ta t ion leave and ro ta t ion of uutyt "These nmn ce&orill~d duties over a

l o w period of time in a very co~mendable m w r , read the OIiJCcs corxdent i n

the monthly p ~ o ~ e s s report.

Sixty-eight add i t ioml enli:.l;ed Zen vwre received aboard during Febrdary

1c15 fro!. vaiov.s u n i t s i n ihe fDUth~iest kac i f i c a r e a

3lriw Febnory 1!,20 T-6 2nd 210 1-7 pontoons were producCdr I1he average

; hEt i' lri , ' , . ^ . 2.' iccurre.j J~.~yifi, 'j!:~ - . , bLli; :::,yL:t:: ii:.;- -lo 0 lo;. ci:o.:i.. oP M) :nttri.al.

P1:e f o l l o v i ~ :,ontoon s tmc tu r sc .:rs-e assembled during Zebmary: Si;: 1x3

carjels, one 3x7 garbage Large* seven j;rl;Z barges, two 6x18 b m g ~ s and six

6x18 viharves. A standard m c l m 75-ton crane mas assenbled on one of the 6~18

barges, and f i t t e d f o z towing t o a f o r m d base. "i'u~o 500 bbl. tanlcs with piping

,m?pnci pumps vrerc i m t n l l e l on the second 623.8 Large.

iiepair o r overhaul vras mde on 19 barge propulsion units. &even pontoon

bsrees were given major reconditioning jobs,

Nineteen-hundred short tons of material and equipment were received, and

900 shor t tons shipped.

A shipment of KD pontoon m t e r i a l w a s received the l a t t e r pa r t of February

and the amount on the 1 of' l k c h mould supply the factory f o r approximately

three weeks. Information then available indicated tm shipments of KD pontoons

wer6 inade ProPn the U. s. i n Janucrry so ar r iva ls a t t h i s base at an ea r ly date

i-ias anticipated.

Tradinc of 23 old ;-relain; mchines f o r new ec;uipment bad relieved the

,shortwe of nachines i n the factory t o sane exbent.

1 A p r i l 19h5

ik.rLq2 iuk~rclx, 967 T-6 3nd 252 T-7 pontoons m r e :,roauced in t h e IADIl

Ilo. I fac tor ies ( T 4 and T-7). 'ilxe stock of lcnockdomi '1% gontoon idater id w a s

de!leted 17 i.iarch, and i~roduction consequentlY stq:ped. T.E supply of hock.dom

T-7 aontoons ws depleted 31 ikmh. .4 s h i l m n t of X:~OO '$4 and 160 T-7 knockdown

pontoons had arrived at t h i s harbor and were then being off-loaded.

The z'ollowing pontoon s tmc tu res were assembled during h h h : Nineteen 2x30

causemjw, four 6x18 bmges, one 5x12 barge. and four 3x7 barges. 'ffe above

s t ruc tures recresent a tot& of 1716 2on.tsorG a s s u n ~ ~ l e d &iw the month.

For the assenl~ly and f i