__NOTOC__ California Shipbuilding Corporation built 467

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

and

Victory ship The Victory ship was a class of cargo ship produced in large numbers by North American shipyards during World War II to replace losses caused by German submarines. They were a more modern design compared to the earlier Liberty ship, were slight ...

s 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 opposin ...

, including ''Haskell''-class

attack transport Attack transport is a United States Navy ship classification for a variant of ocean-going troopship adapted to transporting invasion forces ashore. Unlike standard troopships – often drafted from the merchant fleet – that rely on ...

s. California Shipbuilding Corporation was often referred to as Calship. The ''

Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships The ''Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships'' (''DANFS'') is the official reference work for the basic facts about ships used by the United States Navy. When the writing project was developed the parameters for this series were designed to ...

'' sometimes refers to this shipyard as California Shipbuilding Co., but Company appears to be an error.

History

The Calship

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...

was created at

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 Be ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, United States as part of America's massive shipbuilding effort of World War II. W. A. Bechtel Co. was given sponsorship and executive direction of Calship. As of 1940, 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. Calship was created from scratch and began production of

Liberty Ship Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Mass ...

s in May 1941. In the early 1940s, contracts from the U.S.Department of Maritime Commission and a number of

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

contracts led to prosperity shipbuilding business in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. The yard was located on 175 acres on the north side of Terminal Island, north of Dock Street, near present-day berths 210-213. It initially had 8 ways, and later increased this to 14. 40,000 men and women worked under the military contract to construction of 467 vessels over 5 years. The combination of these ships were known as the "Liberty Fleet". These cargo ships were designed for rapid construction with lower costs for them. Thirteen months after commencing production, the yard broke the record by delivering 15 Liberty Ships in June 1942. It delivered 111 ships in 1942, more than any other yard in the United States. In June 1943, it broke the record again by delivering 20 ships for the month, and yet again in December 1943, delivering 23 ships. Large Navy contracts developed shipbuilding in California. As a result of that, many workers migrated to the work area. Many shipyards sprang up from

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, 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 List of Ca ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

. At the peak of shipbuilding in California were involved 282 000 persons. Shipbuilding became a highly efficient wartime industry. The building of vessels and the number of jobs in the shipbuilding peaked in mid-1943. The

Kaiser Steel Kaiser Steel was a steel mill near Fontana, California, founded by Henry J. Kaiser on December 1, 1941. The plant's first blast furnace, "Bess No. 1" (named after Kaiser's wife) was fired up on December 30, 1942, and the first steel plate was pr ...

plant in Fontana, California was completed in August 1943, which enabled further production increases at Calship. Between September 27, 1941 and September 27, 1945, the yard 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. Shipbuilding commenced before the fitting-out docks were even completed. The yard's workers came from every region of the United States, reaching a force of 40,000 men and women, only 1% of whom had any shipbuilding experience whatsoever. The Calship Log, aimed at "Calshippers" and "Calshipperettes", was published on the 1st and 15th of each month. The log covered the progress of working for the war effort, safety rules, policies and procedures, as well as leisure activities and information on public transport, gasoline rations, personal tax increases and war bonds. A Victory Edition was published on September 27th, 1945. After the war, the

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 ...

and the Navy department cancelled their contracts with Calship. As the result of that, the level of shipbuilding began to decline. Calship closed in September 1945, after launching the last Victory ship, "four years to the minute after the first slid into the water." Calship ranked 49th among United States 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. Ironically, 55 of the Liberty and Victory ships that were built at Calship were scrapped on the same site. The surviving

museum ship A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small numb ...

s: 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 are open to the public for dockside tours and also sail periodically.Jaffee, Capt. Walter W., ''The Lane Victory: The Last Victory Ship in War and in Peace,'' 2nd ed., pp. 317-34, The Glencannon Press, Palo Alto, CA, 1997. Liberty ship construction 12 SS Muhlenberg stern

Liberty ship construction 12 SS Muhlenberg stern

Notable ships

SS Oshkosh Victory ''SS Oshkosh Victory'' was a United States Victory ship which entered service in the Pacific Ocean shortly after the end of World War II. The ship's US Maritime Commission designation was VC2-S-AP3, hull number 808 (V-808). The ship was b ...

* SS Tufts Victory * SS U.S.S.R. Victory * SS Luray Victory *

USS Arenac USS ''Arenac'' (APA-128) was a in service with the United States Navy from 1945 to 1946. She was scrapped in 1974. History ''Arenac'' was of the VC2-S-AP5 Victory ship design type and was named for Arenac County, Michigan. She was laid down ...

* SS Alamo Victory * USS St. Mary's (APA-126) * SS Carroll Victory * SS Gainesville Victory * SS Joplin Victory * USNS Dalton Victory (T-AK-256) *

USS Attala USS ''Attala'' (APA-130) was a ''Haskell''-class attack transport in service with the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946. She was scrapped in 1974. History ''Attala'' was of the VC2-S-AP5 Victory ship design type was named for Attala Coun ...

* SS Clara Barton *

USS Botetourt USS ''Botetourt'' (APA-136) was a ''Haskell''-class attack transport in service with the United States Navy from 1945 to 1946 and fron 1950 to 1956. She was scrapped in 1974. History World War II service ''Botetourt'' was a Victory ship desig ...

* SS Colby Victory * SS Mexico Victory * USS Kenton (APA-122) * SS Sharon Victory * USS Hendry (APA-118) * USS Lanier (APA-125) * USS Hinsdale (APA-120) *

USS Kittson (APA-123) USS ''Kittson'' (APA-123) was a ''Haskell''-class attack transport in service with the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946. She was scrpped in 1973. History ''Kittson'' was of the VC2-S-AP5 Victory ship design type and was named for Kittson C ...

* USS Don Marquis (IX-215) * SS Carlos Carrillo * USS Bosque (APA-135) * SS Leland Stanford *

USS Betelgeuse (AK-260) USS ''Betelgeuse'' (AK-260) was the last of the cargo ships in service in the United States Navy. On 10 April 1944, it was renamed the SS ''Colombia Victory'' after being launched as a Victory ship to carry cargo during World War II. She was tr ...

* SS Edward Eggleston

References

External links

CSUN.edu: California Shipbuilding Corporation Collection
* ttp://www.americanvictory.org S.S. ''American Victory'' websitebr>S.S. ''Lane Victory'' website
{{Liberty ships Shipbuilding companies of California Defunct shipbuilding companies of the United States Manufacturing companies based in Los Angeles Terminal Island History of Los Angeles Los Angeles Harbor Region Maritime history of California United States home front during World War II 1940s in California Bechtel Henry J. Kaiser American companies established in 1941 Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1941 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1945 1941 establishments in California 1945 disestablishments in California 20th century in Los Angeles Defunct manufacturing companies based in Greater Los Angeles Shipyards in California Vigor Shipyards

History

Notable ships

See also

References

Further reading

External links