Hughes Mining Barge

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HMB-1 in San Diego, June 2005.

The Hughes Mining Barge, or HMB-1, is a submersible barge about 99 m (324 ft) long, 32 m (106 ft) wide, and more than 27 m (90 ft) tall. The HMB-1 was originally developed as part of Project Azorian (more widely, but erroneously, known as Project Jennifer), the top-secret effort mounted by the Central Intelligence Agency to salvage the remains of the Soviet submarine K-129 from the ocean floor. The HMB-1 was designed to be submerged under the Glomar Explorer to conceal any salvaged remains from Soviet observers.[1]

After the conclusion of Project Azorian, the HMB-1 was mothballed at the Todd Shipyard in San Francisco, California until November, 1982. At that time, the United States Navy towed the huge barge to a Lockheed Martin facility in Redwood City, California, where it became a floating drydock for the construction and sea trials of the Sea Shadow, an experimental stealth ship being tested by the Navy. Sea trials of the Sea Shadow continued until 1986.[1]

Fate

The HMB-1 currently sits in the reserve fleet in Suisun Bay near San Francisco, not far from where the Glomar Explorer itself once sat. It is easily visible from the I-680 freeway.[1] 38° 4'9.82"N 122° 6'5.41"W [2]

External links

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Newman, Barry (February 24, 2009). "The Navy Has A Top-Secret Vessel It Wants To Put On Display; Sea Shadow and Its Satellite-Proof Barge Need a Home; Plotting in Providence". Wall Street Journal: p. 1. 
  2. http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=38.069407,-122.10153&spn=0.00095,0.001317&t=h&z=19
  • Roy Varner and Wayne Collier "A Matter of Risk: The Incredible Inside Story of the CIA's Hughes Glomar Explorer Mission to Raise a Russian Submarine", 1978


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