Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation
,_on_20_January_1943_(BS_85616).jpg) HMS Calder (K349) under construction as USS Formoe (DE-58), with USS Foss (DE-59) on the right at the Hingham shipyard on the Weymouth Back River in Massachusetts | |
| Formerly | Bethlehem Steel Corporation |
|---|---|
| Company type | Corporation |
| Industry | Shipbuilding |
| Founded | 1905 in Quincy, United States |
| Defunct | 1997 |
| Headquarters | Quincy, Massachusetts , USA |
Area served | USA |
Bethlehem Steel Corporation Shipbuilding Division was created in 1905 when the Bethlehem Steel Corporation of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, acquired the San Francisco shipyard Union Iron Works.[1] In 1917 it was incorporated as Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, Limited.
Headquarters were in Quincy, Massachusetts, after acquiring the Fore River Shipyard in 1913, and later in Sparrows Point, Maryland, southeast of Baltimore, Maryland, in formerly rural/now suburban Baltimore County, (acquired 1916), in 1964.
In 1940, it was number 1 of the "Big Three" U.S. shipbuilders who could build any ship.[2] Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock and New York Shipbuilding Corporation (New York Ship) were #2 and #3. Bethlehem had 4 yards in early 1940: Fore River, Sparrows Point, San Francisco, and Staten Island. Bethlehem expanded during World War II as a result of the Emergency Shipbuilding program administered under the United States Maritime Commission.
The Quincy / Fore River yard was later sold to General Dynamics Corporation in the mid-1960s, and closed in 1986. The Alameda Works Shipyard in California was closed by Bethlehem Steel in the early 1970s, while the San Francisco facility (former Union Iron Works) was sold to British Aerospace in the mid-1990s and survives today as BAE Systems San Francisco Ship Repair.
Bethlehem Steel ceased shipbuilding activities in 1997 in an attempt to preserve its core steel making operations.
Shipyards
The following shipyards were owned by Bethlehem. They are listed in order of acquisition.
- Bethlehem Wilmington, Wilmington, Delaware (1904–1925, 1941–1945)[3]
- Union Iron Works, San Francisco, California (1905–1941)
- Hunters Point Drydocks, Hunters Point, San Francisco, California (1908–1920) – Acquired by the US Navy
- Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts (1913–1964) Sold to General Dynamics Corporation in 1964.
- Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard, Sparrows Point, Maryland (1914–1997)[4]
- Bethlehem Elizabethport, Elizabethport, New Jersey (1916–1921)[5]
- Alameda Works Shipyard, Alameda, California (1916–1956)
- Victory Plant Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts (1917–1919) The "Victory Yard" was constructed specifically for the building of destroyers for the war effort, to free up the Fore River Yard for other vessels including the aircraft carrier (originally laid down as a battlecruiser) USS Lexington (CV-2).
- Bethlehem Mariners Harbor, Staten Island, New York (1938–1960)[6]
- Bethlehem Shipyard (Southwest Marine Terminal at Berth 240), San Pedro, California (1940–1981)[7]
- Bethlehem Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland (1940–1945)[8][9]
- Bethlehem Hingham Shipyard, Hingham, Massachusetts (1940–1945)[10]
- Bethlehem Atlantic Works, East Boston, Massachusetts
- Bethlehem Brooklyn 56th Street, Brooklyn, New York [11]
- Hoboken Shipyard, Hoboken, New Jersey (1890–1984)[12][13]
- Bayonne Naval Drydock, Bayonne, New Jersey ?
- Bethlehem Pennsylvania Shipyards, Inc., Beaumont, Texas (1948–1989) The Beaumont Yard was one of the major sources of offshore drilling rigs built in the United States with seventy–two (72) offshore rigs built at the yard.[14] Seventy-one Type C1 ships were built during World War II by Pennsylvania Shipyards, Inc.[15][16][17][18]
References
- ^ Bethlehem Steel Company Shipbuilding Division. A century of progress, 1849-1949: San Francisco Yard. San Francisco, 1949?
- ^ "Billion-Dollar Feast", TIME Magazine. May 20, 1940. Accessed August 20, 2007.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-08-23.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ John Pike. "Bethlehem Shipbuilding, Sparrows Point MD". globalsecurity.org.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-08-28.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ John Pike. "Mariners Harbor, Staten Island". globalsecurity.org.
- ^ John Pike. "Southwest Marine, San Pedro CA". globalsecurity.org.
- ^ John Pike. "Fairfield Shipyard". globalsecurity.org.
- ^ http://www.marylandsilver.com/books.htm
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-08-23.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/abbreviations.htm Archived August 24, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Richard L. Porter, et al., Historic American Engineering Record No. NJ-95, "Bethlehem Steel Company Shipyard Archived January 7, 2014, at the Wayback Machine," 1994
- ^ John Pike. "Hoboken Shipyards". globalsecurity.org.
- ^ "Drilling Rigs Built in U.S. Shipyards". ShipbuildingHistory.com. Archived from the original on November 10, 2015. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
- ^ "Bethlehem Steel Company, Beaumont, TX". Shipbuilding.com. Archived from the original on January 2, 2016. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-08-15. Retrieved 2007-08-28.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-08-23. Retrieved 2007-08-28.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-08-28.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
External links
- Ship christening photos, including at the Wilmington Yard
- US Shipbuilding History - Maritime Business Strategies
- US Navy Shipyards - globalsecurity.org
- Bethlehem Steel Corporation and Bethlehem Ship Corporation photograph collection at Hagley Museum and Library
- Bethlehem Steel Corporation. Shipbuilding Division Photographs, circa 1900-1945 at San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
- Bethlehem Steel
- Defunct shipbuilding companies of the United States
- Manufacturing companies based in Delaware
- Manufacturing companies based in Maryland
- American companies established in 1905
- Manufacturing companies established in 1905
- Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1997
- 1905 establishments in Maryland
- 1997 disestablishments in Delaware