The Invergordon Archive
No: 1349 Contributor: Martin Briscoe Year: 1918
In the Floating Dock
See picture #1348 - this is the stern view.
Picture added on 06 July 2010 at 19:17
This picture is in the following groups
Floating Docks
Floating Docks
Great picture of a floating dock...Which one is it? According to reports I have read there were 3 floating docks in the Cromarty Firth during the first war..2 were capable of taking Super Dreadnought Battleships the 3rd took up to Cruiser size but mainly Submarines and Destroyers.
Added by Duncan Murray on 08 July 2010
Jon Summers has commented on picture #442 and mentions the three floating docks that were reported to be in the Firth.
At the following website:
WORLD WAR 1 at SEA
TRIBUTE to BRITISH SHIPBUILDING and REPAIR INDUSTRIES 1914-18, Part 3 of 3
including Royal Naval Dockyards and Research Establishments
by Gordon Smith
(www.naval-history.net/WW1NavyBritish-Shipbuild03.htm)
you can find by scrolling down the page an entry for Invergordon, thus:
INVERGORDON, by 1918 - dockyard, three floating docks - Number One, 680x113x36ft for 33,000 ton dreadnoughts, Number Two, also for dreadnoughts, Number Three, for light cruisers, TBD's, submarines
(TBD is Torpedo Boat Destroyer, and floating docks were referred to as AFD - Admiralty Floating Dock, i.e. AFD 11, etc.)
If the ship in the floating dock is indeed the USS San Francisco (C-5), the flagship of Mine Squadron One, then she had a Displacement of 4,088 tons and Length of 324 ft 6 in (98.91 m). I don’t know if this makes her a ‘light’ cruiser, but if so this may suggest that she could be accommodated on any of three aforementioned floating docks.
At the following website:
WORLD WAR 1 at SEA
TRIBUTE to BRITISH SHIPBUILDING and REPAIR INDUSTRIES 1914-18, Part 3 of 3
including Royal Naval Dockyards and Research Establishments
by Gordon Smith
(www.naval-history.net/WW1NavyBritish-Shipbuild03.htm)
you can find by scrolling down the page an entry for Invergordon, thus:
INVERGORDON, by 1918 - dockyard, three floating docks - Number One, 680x113x36ft for 33,000 ton dreadnoughts, Number Two, also for dreadnoughts, Number Three, for light cruisers, TBD's, submarines
(TBD is Torpedo Boat Destroyer, and floating docks were referred to as AFD - Admiralty Floating Dock, i.e. AFD 11, etc.)
If the ship in the floating dock is indeed the USS San Francisco (C-5), the flagship of Mine Squadron One, then she had a Displacement of 4,088 tons and Length of 324 ft 6 in (98.91 m). I don’t know if this makes her a ‘light’ cruiser, but if so this may suggest that she could be accommodated on any of three aforementioned floating docks.
Added by Malcolm McKean on 09 July 2010
If one compares the "Docks" shown in picture #1348 and picture #1349 against picture #1356 and picture #1357 you can see the differences in the "Docks" and ... other information on the site confirms that these 4 pictures are showing 2 of the reputed 3 Docks at Invergordon around 1916.
Added by Duncan Murray on 10 July 2010
Floating Docks
