Bethlehem Steel Corporation Shipbuilding Division was created in 1905 when the

Bethlehem Steel The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For most of the 20th century, it was one of the world's largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its succe ...

Corporation of

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Bethlehem is a city in Northampton and Lehigh Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bethlehem had a total population of 75,781. Of this, 55,639 were in Northampton County and 19, ...

, acquired the

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

shipyard

Union Iron Works Union Iron Works, located in San Francisco, California, on the southeast waterfront, was a central business within the large industrial zone of Potrero Point, for four decades at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries ...

. In 1917 it was incorporated as Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, Limited. The division's headquarters were moved to Quincy, Massachusetts, after acquiring the

Fore River Shipyard Fore River Shipyard was a shipyard owned by General Dynamics Corporation located on Weymouth Fore River in Braintree and Quincy, Massachusetts. It began operations in 1883 in Braintree, and moved to its final location on Quincy Point in 1901. I ...

in 1913. In 1940, Bethlehem Shipbuilding was the largest of the "Big Three" U.S. shipbuilders that could build any ship, followed by Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock and

New York Shipbuilding The New York Shipbuilding Corporation (or New York Ship for short) was an American shipbuilding company that operated from 1899 to 1968, ultimately completing more than 500 vessels for the U.S. Navy, the United States Merchant Marine, the United ...

Corporation (New York Ship). It had four yards: Fore River,

Sparrows Point Sparrow's Point is an unincorporated community in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States, adjacent to Dundalk. Named after Thomas Sparrow, landowner, it was the site of a very large industrial complex owned by Bethlehem Steel, known for steelm ...

, and Staten Island. Bethlehem expanded during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

as a result of the

Emergency Shipbuilding program The Emergency Shipbuilding Program (late 1940 – September 1945) was a United States government effort to quickly build simple cargo ships to carry troops and materiel to allies and foreign theatres during World War II. Run by the U.S. Maritime ...

administered under the

United States Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 195 ...

. In 1964, the now-corporate headquarters moved to

Sparrows Point, Maryland Sparrow's Point is an unincorporated community in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States, adjacent to Dundalk. Named after Thomas Sparrow, landowner, it was the site of a very large industrial complex owned by Bethlehem Steel, known for steelm ...

, southeast of

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, whose shipyard had been acquired in 1916. The Quincy / Fore River yard was sold to

General Dynamics Corporation General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded, aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales, and 5th largest in the U ...

in the mid-1960s, and closed in 1986. The

Alameda Works Shipyard The Alameda Works Shipyard, in Alameda, California, United States, was one of the largest and best equipped shipyards in the country. The only building remaining from the yard is the Union Iron Works Powerhouse, which is listed on the National R ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

was closed by Bethlehem Steel in the early 1970s, while the

facility (former

) was sold to

British Aerospace British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. Formed in 1977, in 1999 it purchased Marcon ...

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 steelmaking operations.

Shipyards

Shipyards owned or operated by Bethlehem:

New York

* Became part of Bethlehem with the purchase of United Shipyards in 1938 **

Bethlehem Mariners Harbor USS ''Bache'', Bethlehem Staten Island first Fletcher-class destroyer built in 1942 Bethlehem Staten Island also called Bethlehem Mariners Harbor was a large shipyard in Mariners Harbor, Staten Island, New York. The shipyard started building ...

Staten Island, New York Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull and ...

(1938–1960). **

Bethlehem Brooklyn 56th Street The Morse Dry Dock and Repair Company was a major late 19th/early 20th century ship repair and conversion facility located in New York City. Begun in the 1880s as a small shipsmithing business known as the Morse Iron Works, the company grew to ...

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

(1938-1963). **

Bethlehem Brooklyn 27th Street James Shewan (6 January 1848 - 7 May 1914) was a Scottish-American businessman who made his fortune in real estate in the United States. He was the founder of the largest dry dock and ship repairing facility in the Port of New York. Early li ...

(1938-?). **

Hoboken Shipyard Hoboken Shipyard or Hoboken Yard or Beth Steel Hoboken (sometimes called The Plant) was a Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation shipyard that operated from 1938 to 1982 in Hoboken, New Jersey. Bethlehem Steel purchased the shipyard in 1938. The shipy ...

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 i ...

(1938–1984). * Bethlehem Elizabethport, Elizabethport, New Jersey (1916–1921). *

Bayonne Naval Drydock Military Ocean Terminal at Bayonne (MOTBY) was a U.S. Military Ocean Terminal, military ocean terminal located in the Port of New York and New Jersey which operated from 1967 to 1999. From 1942 to 1967 the site was the Bayonne Naval Drydock. The ...

, Bayonne, New Jersey. Bethlehem used this drydock for ship repairs. Most workers were from Hoboken Shipyard.

Boston

, Quincy, Massachusetts (1913–1964). Sold to

in 1964. *

Victory Plant Shipyard The Victory Destroyer Plant was a United States Naval Shipbuilding yard operational from 1918 to 1920 in Quincy, Massachusetts. It was then reused as a civil airport, and later Naval Air Station Squantum. It was owned by the Bethlehem Shipbuildi ...

, Quincy, Massachusetts (1917–1919). The "Victory Yard" was constructed to build destroyers and free up the Fore River Yard for other vessels including the battlecruiser-turned-aircraft carrier . *

Bethlehem Hingham Shipyard The Bethlehem Hingham Shipyard of Hingham, Massachusetts, was a shipyard in the United States from 1941 until 1945. Located on Weymouth Back River, it was owned by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Company and operated by the nearby Fore River Shipyard. ...

Hingham, Massachusetts Hingham ( ) is a town in metropolitan Greater Boston on the South Shore (Massachusetts), South Shore of the U.S. state of Massachusetts in northern Plymouth County, Massachusetts, Plymouth County. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, t ...

(1940–1945). * Bethlehem Atlantic Works,

East Boston, Massachusetts East Boston, nicknamed Eastie, is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts annexed by the city of Boston in 1637. Neighboring communities include Winthrop, Revere, and Chelsea. It is separated from the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown and d ...

(1853-1984).

Baltimore

* Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard,

(1914–1997). * Bethlehem Fairfield Shipyard,

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

(1940–1945). *

Bethlehem Key Highway Shipyard Bethlehem Key Highway Shipyard started as William Skinner & Sons in downtown Baltimore, Maryland in 1815. In 1899 the shipyard was renamed Skinner Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company. Also at the site was Malster & Reanie started in 1870 by William ...

, Baltimore, Maryland. The upper yard was sold to AME/Swirnow in 1983. The site now holds Ritz Carlton and Harborview communities next to Baltimore Museum of Industry. *

Bethlehem Fort McHenry Shipyard Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם ''Modern Hebrew phonology, '') is a city in the central West Bank, State of Palestine, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18. ...

, Baltimore, Maryland. The lower yard on Locust Point peninsula, it was sold to General Ship Repair in 1983. Now some

Port of Baltimore Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore is a shipping port along the tidal basins of the three branches of the Patapsco River in Baltimore, Maryland on the upper northwest shore of the Chesapeake Bay. It is the nation's largest port facilities fo ...

terminals.

San Francisco

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

(1917–1981). *

Hunters Point Drydocks Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

Hunters Point, San Francisco, California Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, ...

(1908–1920). Acquired by the US Navy *

Alameda, California Alameda ( ; ; Spanish for " tree-lined path") is a city in Alameda County, California, located in the East Bay region of the Bay Area. The city is primarily located on Alameda Island, but also spans Bay Farm Island and Coast Guard Island, as we ...

(1916–1956).

Los Angeles

* Bethlehem Shipbuilding San Pedro on

Terminal Island Terminal Island, historically known as Isla Raza de Buena Gente, is a largely artificial island located in Los Angeles County, California, between the neighborhoods of Wilmington and San Pedro in the city of Los Angeles, and the city of Long B ...

, formerly ''Southwestern Shipbuilding''.

Others

Bethlehem Steel Wilmington Harlan & Hollingsworth was a Wilmington, Delaware, firm that constructed ships and railroad cars during the 19th century and into the 20th century. Founding Mahlon Betts, a carpenter, arrived in Wilmington in 1812. After helping construct man ...

(aka Harlan and Hollingsworth),

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

(1904–1925, 1941–1945). *

Bethlehem Beaumont Shipyard Bethlehem Beaumont Shipyard was a shipyard in Beaumont, Texas that opened in 1948. The yard is located on an island in the Neches River and upstream of the Sabine Pass that grants access to the Gulf of Mexico. The deep-water port shipyard was fou ...

, Beaumont, Texas (1948–1989). A major U.S. manufacturer of offshore drilling rigs, it produced 72. * Bethlehem Sabine, Port Arthur, Texas, (1985-1995). Sold to Texas Drydock Inc. in 1995.Bethlehem Steel Dedicates Its New Sabine Yard In Port Arthur, Texas Maritime Reporter, Dec. 1985
/ref>

References

External links

Ship christening photos, including at the Wilmington Yard
- Maritime Business Strategies

- 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 {{Authority control * Bethlehem shipyards Defunct shipbuilding companies of the United States American companies established in 1905 Manufacturing companies established in 1905 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1997 1905 establishments in Maryland 1997 disestablishments in Delaware Defunct manufacturing companies based in Maryland Defunct manufacturing companies based in Delaware