IX-524 (MATSS-1) in Dry Dock
IX-524 is a Mobile Aerial Target Support System (MATSS) barge that is operated by the Pacific Missile Range Facility, which is located at Barking Sands, Kaua‘i. It is used as a platform for telemetry, tracking, and communications systems.
IX-524 hauled out on Pacific Shipyards International’s dry dock Ho‘ōla I Nā Moku at Pier 24, Honolulu Harbor. 7 September 2025.
The way you captured her is particularly poignant. This barge was originally part of a dry dock herself. During WWII the U. S. Navy had dry docks they could tow to advanced bases in the Pacific for repair of smaller vessels, but cruisers, battleships, aircraft carriers, and large troopships were out of luck, because it was impractical to build a drydock with both the strength to lift a huge vessel, and also survive an ocean tow through potentially stormy seas. .
A design was devised in which barges were built with drydock wingwalls, able to be towed across oceans, then assembled side-by-side to create a drydock. They were assembled with varying numbers of barges based upon need, but the largest, made of 10 of these “ABD” units, could lift any vessel in the U. S. Navy.
Much more information on them is available on line. A good initial source is http://pwencycl.kgbudge.com/F/l/Floating_Dry_Docks.htm
and then scroll down to ABSD: Advanced Base Sectional Docks.
The Navy disposed of these docks as they got old, but many of the sections are still in use as dry docks at commercial shipyards, and several others, like MATSS-1, had their wingwalls removed and the barges found further service.
Hi George,
Mahalo for the additional details.
I read that it was once a dry dock, but I was trying to wrap my head around that! I didn’t want to put out any wrong information.