port could be trusted with a ship. In fact, there were not enough capable men in all three units to make one qualified crew. As a result all crews were to be brought to the East Coast and complete training under the jurisdiction of the Chief of Engineers with critical positions filled with personnel from civilian life with shipboard experience. The crews were assembled in late November at Fort Belvoir in Virginia. The candidate specialists were then given specific training in schools on the East Coast with divers training on the salvage of the Normandie in New York. For a number of reasons the delivery of the converted ships was delayed and the crews could not combine training with actual shipboard experience. This was to cause difficulties until actual sailing for operations. Operations Only five of the ten ships, the Junior N. Van Noy, Madison Jordan Manchester, Glenn Gerald Griswold, Thomas F. Farrel and Robert M. Emery made it to Europe in time for significant work. The remaining ships were not operational until 1945. Some of the modifications turned out not to be as useful as anticipated. The distinctive forty ton capacity bow horn in particular was seldom used. Navy salvage units had been operational earlier for heavy lift and the most valuable function of the ships may have been to centralize support, heavy maintenance and facilities for Army Engineers conducting repairs. References United States Army in World War II - The Corps of Engineers: Troops and Equipment - Chapter XVII - Preparing to Reconstruct Ports External links United States Army in World War II - The Corps of Engineers: Troops and Equipment - Chapter XVII - Preparing to Reconstruct Ports The Corps of Engineers: The War Against Germany: CHAPTER XVI Developing Beaches and Reconstructing Ports Popular Science, October 1944: How Seagoing Shops Clear Captured Ports (illustrations) Ships of the United States Army Port repair ships of the United States Army United States Army Corps of Engineers