California Shipbuilding Corp.-- Part 4: End of War, End of Calship

The Calship yard had workers from every corner of the United States, lured by work and good wages.  Eventually the force here numbered some 40,000.  Only 1% had had any shipbuilding experience before they came.

After the war, the U.S. Navy and Maritime Commission cancelled their contracts with Calship and the level of shipbuilding decreased.  Calship closed in September 1945, after launching its last Victory Ship.  It was "four years to the minute after the first  slid into the water."

Calship ranks 49th  among U.S. corporations in the value of World War II military production contracts.

In 1947 the Calship facility was taken over by  National Metal & Steel Corporation which operated a scrap yard there.  Fifty-five of the Liberty and Victory Ships that were built there were also scrapped there.

The surviving museum Victory ships SS American Victory and SS Lane Victory were built  in the Calship yard.  The SS American Victory is in Tampa, Florida, and the SS Lane  Victory is in Los Angeles.  They both are open to the public and sail occasionally.

--GreGen

California Shipbuilding Corporation-- Part 3: "City Built On Invisible Stilts"

The huge Navy contracts also was a huge boost to California shipbuilding.    As a result, workers migrated to California in large numbers.  Shipyards sprang up from San Francisco to San Diego.  At its peak, shipbuilding in California involved 282,000 people.

Shipbuilding became a highly efficient industry.  The building of ships and workers peaked in 1943.

The Kaiser Steel plant in Fontana, California,  was completed in August 1943, which enabled further  production increases at Calship (California Shipbuilding Corp.).  Between September 27, 1941, and September  27, 1945, the shipyard launched 467 ships.

The Calship yard was known as "the city built on invisible stilts."  It was situated on marshy ground and was built on artificial earth supported by 57,000 piles driven into the mud.

--GreGen

California Shipbuilding Corporation-- Part 2: Very Fast Ship Production

Calship (California Shipbuilding Corporation) was created from scratch and began production of Liberty Ships in May 1941.  In the early 1940s, contracts from the U.S. Department of Maritime Commission and a number of U.S. Navy contracts led to great prosperity in L.A. shipbuilding businesses.

The Calship yard covered  175 acres on the  north side of Terminal Island.  It initially had eight ways which were later increased to fourteen.  Some 40,000 men and women  worked on the construction of the ships  Altogether, the ships that were produced here are referred to as the "Liberty Fleet."

The cargo ships were built with rapid construction with lower costs.    Just thirteen months after commencing production, the company broke the record by delivering 15 Liberty Ships in June 1942.  For the year, they delivered 111 Liberty Ships. more than any other yard in the United States.  In June the following year, they broke their own record by delivering twenty ships.  Then, again in December 1943, they delivered 23.

They Could Build Ships Very Fast.  --GreGen

California Shipbuilding Corporation-- Part 1: Built 467 Liberty and Victory Ships

Last week I wrote about the USS Jaguar and its service during World War II.

It was built by this company.

From Wikipedia.

And, I thought the North Carolina Shipbuilding Company built a lot of ships for WW II service, but this one built almost twice as many.

Built 467 Liberty and Victory ships during the war, including Haskell-class attack transports.  It was often referred to as Calship (California Shipbuilding).

The Calship shipyard was created  at Terminal Island, Los Angeles as part of the U.S.'s huge shipbuilding effort during the war.  W.A. Bechtel Co. was given sponsorship  and was in charge of executive direction.

As of the 1940, the Los Angeles shipyards had not built a large ship  in 20 years.  By  late 1941, though, shipbuilding had become the second largest  manufacturing industry  in the Los Angeles area.

--GreGen

USS Jaguar (IX-120)-- Part 1: Launched By the California Shipbuilding Corporation

In my last post, I talked with a WW II veteran who served on this ship.  I;d never heard of the hip, so good ol' Wikipedia.

Was an Armadillo-class  tanker designated an unclassified miscellaneous ship   She was the only ship in the U.S. Navy ever to have this name. The keel was laid down as the  Charles T. Yerkes under Maritime Commission contract by the California Shipbuilding Corporation in San Pedro, California.

She was launched  on 20 November 1943 and acquired by the Navy December 15 and commissioned that day with Lieutenant Commander T.E. Hammond in command.  It was 441 feet long with a 57-foot beam and a complement of 70 officers and enlisted.

After a shakedown cruise, it departed 19 January 1944  for duty as a floating storage ship in the Pacific Theater.

--GreGen