The British Pacific and East Indies Fleets

A 2,750 tons lifting capacity Clark Stanfield design dock

Early history

Admiralty Floating Dock No. 18 was a Clark Stanfield design dock with a lifting capacity of 2750 tons, originally intended for the emergency docking of escort vessels and destroyers. She was built at Portsmouth Dockyard and was laid down on August 22nd 1941 and completed on October 28th 1942. By November 16th, the dock was on station at Corpach, in Loch Linnhe on the west coast of Scotland. Her stay in Scotland was a short one however; by June 12th 1943 she had been relocated to Oran, Algeria, having been towed there by the tug MARAUDER. While in the Mediterranean she was used by the US Navy and remained there until December 1944 when she was nominated for service with the British Pacific Fleet.

Allocated to the British Pacific Fleet

On departure from Oran her first port of call was Malta were she was prepared for her long tow to the Pacific, she departed Malta under the tow of HMT ENFORCER on January 25th 1945 bound for Port Said. On arrival at Port Said on February 5th she was taken in hand for repairs to damage sustained on passage, she entered the Suez Canal on February 16th and arrived at Aden on the 27th. On March 3rd she slipped her mooring in bad weather and ran aground in shallow waters at Elephants Bay. No serious damage was sustained.

The next leg Aden to Cochin started on March 10th; H.M.S. BANFF escorted AFD18 and ENFORCER to Cochin where they arrived on March 24th. AFD18 was to join up with a second Dock, AFD20, which was also bound for the same operational area in the Admiralty Islands, and which had arrived in Cochin on March 10th

AFD18 & AFD20 departed Cochin for Darwin in Convoy WO.4A on April 9th; AFD18 under tow from the tugs ADVANTAGE, and CHEERLY, and AFD20 under tow from the tugs EMINENT, and DESTINY, A fifth tug, the harbour tug EMPIRE SAM was in company towed astern of AFD20. Escort was provided by the frigates HELFORD and PLYM, both vessels were en-route for the British Pacific Fleet. On 14th April, EMINENT had a serious fire in her engine room and was towed back to Colombo by CHEERLY. In an odd coincidence, DESTINY also had a fire, but got it successfully under control without the need for dockyard assistance. A few days later, the tow line from DESTINY to AFD20 broke and she was adrift in the early hours of the morning; it was five hours before the tow was secured again. With the tug power halved progress was very slow but CHEERLY re-joined the convoy on April 18th and eased the situation for the other tugs. The convoy rendezvoused with the tanker EAGLES DALE on the 27th to replenish water and fuel supplies, which were running, low by this time, and supplied the vessels with other necessities. On nearing Australia, HMAS WARRNAMBOOL and HMAS INVERELL joined the convoy and these ships were ordered to escort AFD 20, and DESTINY, independently to Darwin, which was reached on May 22nd. AFD18 continued in company with HELFORD and PLYM, and arrived in Darwin on the 24th.

The two Docks resumed their journey to their operational areas on June 19th; AFD 18, now under the tow of the tug HMAS HEROS and the salvage vessel HMS SALVESTOR, was bound for Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea, escorted by the Australian Corvettes GOULBURN (S.O.) and TAMWORTH. AFD 20, with the harbour tug EMPIRE SAM towed astern, was towed by HMS DESTINY, and the rescue tug HMAS SPRIGHTLY, was bound for Manus in the Admiralty Islands under escort by the destroyer HMS BARLE.

AFD 18 and her escorts and tugs were codenamed "force ST,” and they made slow progress covering the first 800 miles due to poor weather; their rate of advance was only 3 knots, resulting in their late arrival at Thursday Island in the early hours of June 28th. Fores ST arrived off Booby Island at 04:00, and GOULBURN detached and proceeded into Fort Kennedy, securing alongside at 07:00, taking on fuel oil and water. However, it was found that victualling provisions were in short supply in Port Kennedy, which was awaiting resupply. Although generous in sharing these limited stocks, there was insufficient to meet the requirements of the whole of the Force. Lt. Cdr Sullivan decided that the available fresh provisions should be distributed between AFD 8 and the towing vessels; the two Corvettes would have to make do and hope for better luck later during the passage. The rescue tugs HMS LARIAT and HMAS CAMBRIAN SALVOR joined Force ST on this date. After passing Booby Island, the tug LARIAT relieved SALVESTOR, who proceeded into Thursday Island for replenishment. At 08:00 on June 29th, off Dalrymple Island, SALVESTOR relieved HEROS which was detached to return to Darwin after calling into Port Kennedy to resupply. GOULBURN left Port Kennedy at 12:00 to overtake force ST off Ince Point and instructed Tamworth to return to Port for fuel oil and water.

 AFD 18 in tow by SALVESTOR and LARIAT, with CAMBRIAN SALVOR standing by, now headed for Bramble Cay, 150 miles to the northeast, but the weather deteriorated again, force 6 with E.S.E. wind and very rough seas. At 16:00, LARIAT reported a defective steering gear, and she had to cast off from the tow, thus leaving SALVESTOR to single-handedly handle the dock. CAMBRIAN SALVOR made several unsuccessful attempts to get a tow line to the dock, with daylight failing fast and the risk of collision with the dock, the operation was abandoned until dawn, leaving SALVESTOR to hold the dock without overstraining the single towline, which was all that stood between the dock and probable disaster on Bramble Cay. The decision was taken to heave to and wait for dawn. GOULBURN took LARIAT in tow.

 Daylight dawned on the 30th with no improvement in the weather. At 11:00, LARIAT reported that her steering gear had been repaired, and she detached from GOULBURN. However, within 15 minutes, her port engine stopped due to a defective circulating pump, and it would take 24 hours to ship a spare pump; she continued on one engine in the meantime. Conditions still prevented CAMBRIAN SALVOR from getting a line to the dock. There was no alternative but for force ST to remain hove to, making 0.5 knots to windward until Sunday, 1st July, when at 11:00 LARIAT had affected repairs and by excellent seamanship secured a line to the dock and assisted SALVESTOR with the towing. The addition of a second tug increased the force's speed to 1.5 knots. At 12:00, TAMWORTH reported a suspected case of appendicitis. At 18:00, she was dispatched to Port Moresby to land the patient and take on fuel and water.

  TAMWORTH rejoined at 01:45 on the morning of July 3rd, but was almost immediately dispatched to search for a downed aircraft. Nothing was found and she rejoined at 10:00 on the 5th. At 09:00 on the 6th, LARIAT’s main engine broke down, and she cast off the tow. SALVESTOR and CAMBRIAN SALVOR took up the tow, making 4.5 knots. At 09:30, TAMWORTH took LARIAT in tow and detached to take her into Milne Bay independently. AFD 18 and force ST entered Milne Bay through the China Strait on July 8th. The dock began voyage repairs undertaken by the SALVESTOR.

Post War

AFD18 finally arrived on station at Manus on August 19th and remained there until November 1945, when she was relocated to Hong Kong, arriving there in December. She moved again, to Singapore Naval Base (Sembawang), in June 1955 when the RN decided to downsize Hong Kong naval base. In December 1968, when the British moved out, the dock was transferred to the custody of the Singapore Government. She was broken-up for scrap in June 1978.

Last modified: 31 December 2025

Additional sources:

AWM78-123/1 Reports of Proceedings, HMA Ships and Establishments HMAS GOULBURN (I) January 1942 - October 1945

Admiralty War Diaries February 1945 Electronically sourced via Fold3.com Accessed 02 January 2015
Admiralty War Diaries March 1945 Electronically sourced via Fold3.com  Accessed 02 January 2015
US Naval Base, Manus, War Diary, August 1945 Electronically sourced via Fold3.com  Accessed 02 January 2015