Hughes Mining Barge
HMB-1
1993
(Rhenania Junior RJN-119)
- Class: Hughes Mining Barge - 1 submersible barge of 1973
- Displacement: 5,800 tons light; 10,875 tons full load
- Dimensions: 324' x 106' x 13'
- Machinery: none
- Complement:
- Builder: Lockheed Martin and Space Co., Sunnyvale, CA
- Keel Laid: 1973
- Launched: 1974
- In service: 1975
- Out of service: 2006
- Notes: Built to support the secret recovery of Soviet missile submarine K-129 by the Hughes Glomar Explorer in Project Azorian. It was designed to allow the construction of the cradle for lifting the submarine in secret. The installation was done by towing HMB-1 to near Santa Catalina island and then submerging the barge, so the Glomar Explorer could maneuver overhead and lift the cradle into its moon pool. After conclusion of the operation, HMB-1 was mothballed until 1982, when it became a floating drydock for the construction and sea trials of the Sea Shadow. That program ended in 2006. In 2012 HMB-1 was sold to Bay Ship & Yacht Co of Alameda, CA where it continues to be used as a floating drydock.
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