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NavSource Online: Army Ship Photo Archive

Big Switch (BD-6700)

Non Self-propelled Derrick Barge:
  • Laid down in 1967 as US Army Derrick Barge BD-6700 at Wiley Manufacturing, Port Deposit, MD.
  • Launched, 1968
  • Delivered to the US Army Quartermasters Corps in March 1968
  • Assigned to the US Army Transportation Corp.
  • Placed in service as Big Switch (BD-6700) in 1968
  • Retired from US Army service, date unknown
  • Sold, date unknown, to Weeks Marine, renamed Weeks 569
  • Final Disposition, fate unknown
    Specifications:
    Displacement 1,630 t.
    Length 140'
    Beam 70'
    Draft 6'3" (loaded)
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    Big Switch
    3028670001    		 155k
    Namesake
    Bige Switch - Operation Big Switch was the repatriation of all remaining prisoners of the Korean War.
    Photo - North Korean POWs on US Army trucks, 12 August 1953, during Operation Big Switch. The POWs have ripped off their clothing and strewed it along the road. Some of the clothing is burning.
    U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, MD., Identifier 520998    		 Tommy Trampp
    There is no history available for Derrick Barge Big Switch (BD-6700) at NavSource
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    100 Ton Floating Crane (Design 264B) Specifications
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 16 June 2023