The Defoe Shipbuilding Company was a small ship builder established in 1905 in

Bay City, Michigan Bay City is a city and county seat of Bay County in the U.S. state of Michigan, located near the base of the Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 34,932, and it is the principal city of the Bay City Metropol ...

, United States. It ceased to operate in 1976 after failing to renew its contracts with the

United States 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 ...

. The site of the former company is now being developed for business and housing on the bank of the

Saginaw River The Saginaw River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed November 7, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is formed by the confluence of the Tittabawassee and S ...

Founding

Harry J. Defoe organized the Defoe Boat and Motor Works in 1905 on the Saginaw River in Bay City, Michigan. At that time, the firm built "knock-down" boats and gasoline powered boats for business and pleasure. In 1917, the company got its first Navy contract for five Spent Torpedo Chasers. This order was followed in 1918 by an order for eight

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

Tumor Mine Planters. Defoe Shipbuilding Company 1944 4x5 color slide

Defoe Shipbuilding Company abandoned 1981

From 1920 to 1939, the company built various types of government and commercial vessels and private yachts, including three 165-ft patrol boats, thirteen 100-ft patrol boats, fifteen 75-foot patrol boats and two harbor tugs for the

U.S. Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mul ...

. In 1931, Defoe built the ''Lenore'', a yacht for

Montgomery Ward Montgomery Ward is the name of two successive U.S. retail corporations. The original Montgomery Ward & Co. was a world-pioneering mail-order business and later also a leading department store chain that operated between 1872 and 2001. The curren ...

Chairman

Sewell Avery Sewell Lee Avery (November 4, 1874 – October 31, 1960) was an American businessman who achieved early prominence in gypsum mining and became president of the United States Gypsum Company (1905–1936). At the beginning of the Depression, he ...

, who named it after his second

daughter A daughter is a female offspring; a girl or a woman in relation to her parents. Daughterhood is the state of being someone's daughter. The male counterpart is a son. Analogously the name is used in several areas to show relations between group ...

who died at the age of four; this yacht was taken by the U.S. Government in

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 ...

for coastal picket duty by the

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

, and in 1956 it was assigned as a Presidential

Yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

. It was called the ''Barbara Anne'' by President

Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

after his granddaughter, th
''Honey Fitz''
by President Kennedy in honor of his maternal grandfather John Francis Fitzgerald, and the ''Tricia'' by President

Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

after his daughter. In 1941, the name of the company was changed to Defoe Shipbuilding Company.

World War II

USS Weiss (APD-135) underway, circa in 1950s

During

, all production went to the war effort. From 1939 to 1945, the company built 154 ships, including four s, 17

destroyer escorts Destroyer escort (DE) was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships. Development of the destroyer escort was promoted by th ...

(of those 3 were converted to APDs after serving as DEs for some time), 11

High speed transport High-speed transports were converted destroyers and destroyer escorts used in US Navy amphibious operations in World War II and afterward. They received the US Hull classification symbol APD; "AP" for transport and "D" for destroyer. In 1969, the ...

s (APDs) (converted destroyer escorts, but launched as such),

patrol craft A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and the ...

, and numerous

landing craft Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force (infantry and vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. The term excludes landing ships, which are larger. Pr ...

of various types. The brand-new Defoe family yacht even served with the US Navy as a patrol vessel. Defoe developed a construction technique called the "upside-down and roll-over" method. This allowed most of the

welding Welding is a fabrication (metal), fabrication process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by using high heat to melt the parts together and allowing them to cool, causing Fusion welding, fusion. Welding is distinct from lower ...

of the hull to be done "hand down" which is much easier. After the hull was completely welded, it was rolled over by a set of large wheels fastened to each end of the hull. Work then continued on the ship right-side up. Faster welding allowed the company to build one 173-foot patrol craft every week. Of all of the major ships built there, the three that were lost in action during World War II were the destroyer escort , the

Cutter , and the patrol craft .

Submarine chaser A submarine chaser or subchaser is a small naval vessel that is specifically intended for anti-submarine warfare. Many of the American submarine chasers used in World War I found their way to Allied nations by way of Lend-Lease in World War II. ...

PC 482 was sunk by a

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

in 1945. Defoe Shipbuilding Company also built three Refrigerated Freight Barges : YFR-888, YFR-889 and YFR-890 in 1945, also called a reefer barge.

List of Ships

*13 of 148 s ** ... *4 of 22 s ** ... * 11 of 50 s ** ... * 4 of 95 s ** ... * 47 of 923

Landing Craft Infantry The Landing Craft Infantry (LCI) were several classes of landing craft used to land large numbers of infantry directly onto beaches during the Second World War. They were developed in response to a British request for seagoing amphibious assault ...

** LCI(L) 1052 ... LCI(L) 1098 * 56 of 343 s ** ... ** ... ** ... ** ... *ref:

After World War II

After World War II, this company built two large Great Lakes bulk carriers, and it did repair work on

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

ships including several repowerings, and self-unloading conversions. In later years, several ships were built for the

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 o ...

, including two s, four guided missile destroyers, and three ''Garcia''-class destroyer escorts (later re-classified as frigates) for the U.S. Navy, and three guided-missile

destroyers In navy, naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a Naval fleet, fleet, convoy or Carrier battle group, battle group and defend them against powerful short range attack ...

for the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

. Also built there were the research vessels and . This last was the ship that found the wreck of .

Great Lakes Bulk Freighters

In the early 1950s Defoe Shipbuilding constructed two large

Great Lakes freighter Lake freighters, or lakers, are bulk carrier vessels that operate on the Great Lakes of North America. These vessels are traditionally called boats, although classified as ships. Since the late 19th century, lakers have carried bulk cargoes of ma ...

s. They were both roughly based on

U.S. Steel United States Steel Corporation, more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an American integrated steel producer headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with production operations primarily in the United States of America and in severa ...

's Pittsburgh Steamship Company AA Class ship design and shared similar dimensions. As of April 2009, one of the two vessels is still in service on the Great Lakes. The only remaining large Great Lakes bulk freight vessel built by Defoe Shipbuilding still in service is the 642' 03" long, M/V ''Ojibway'' (Defoe hull #00422) operated by the Canadian firm Lower Lakes Towing, of Port Dover,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. The ''Ojibway'' was originally built as the steamer ''Charles L. Hutchinson'' (2) for the Pioneer Steamship Company of

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, and entered service on September 24, 1952. In 1961, the Hutchinson was sold to

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

Dearborn, Michigan Dearborn is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 109,976. Dearborn is the seventh most-populated city in Michigan and is home to the largest Muslim population in the United States pe ...

and was renamed ''Ernest M. Breech''. In 1988, Ford was in the process of eliminating its Great Lakes shipping fleet and sold the ''Breech'' to

George Steinbrenner George Michael Steinbrenner III (July 4, 1930July 13, 2010) was an American businessman who was the principal owner and managing partner of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees from 1973 until his death in 2010. He was the longest-serving own ...

's Kinsman Marine of Cleveland, Ohio. The Kinsman fleet in turn renamed the vessel ''Kinsman Independent'' (2). She sailed with Kinsman until 2002 when her main unloading dock in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

, updated its unloading equipment, allowing it to be serviced by newer more common self-unloading vessels. The vessel laid up in Buffalo for the last time under US flag on December 16, 2002. In the spring of 2004, McKeil Marine of

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...

, Canada purchased the ''Kinsman Independent''. The ship was refurbished and repowered with a

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...

, then sold to Voyageur Marine Transport LTD., of Ridgeville, Ontario, who returned her to service in late 2005 under the name ''Voyageur Independent''. Her current owner (Lower Lakes Towing) has operated the vessel since August 28, 2007, and renamed her ''Ojibway'' on February 29, 2008. The second

built by Defoe was the 644' long S/S ''Richard M. Marshall'' (Defoe hull #00424) which was constructed in 1953 for the Great Lakes Steamship Company, of Cleveland, Ohio. She was a near twin to her predecessor (''Charles L. Hutchinson'') in size and capacity both having approximate dimensions of 640' long, 67' wide, 35' deep, and a cargo capacity of approximately 18,500 tons. In December, 1956, Great Lakes Steamship started the process of selling off their fleet, and the ''Marshall'' was sold to The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company. Starting with the 1957 season, Northwestern Mutual chartered the ship to the Wilson Marine Transit Company of Cleveland, Ohio, who in turn renamed the vessel ''Joseph S. Wood''. In 1966, the charter agreement between Wilson and Northwestern Mutual was canceled, and the vessel was sold to the

of Dearborn, Michigan, for $4.3 million (US). Ford renamed the ship ''John Dykstra'' and she resumed trading on the Great Lakes on May 11, 1966. In 1983, Ford renamed the ship ''Benson Ford'' (2) after the retirement of the original S/S ''Benson Ford''. In 1985, the vessel was renamed ''US.265808'' (the name Benson Ford being passed on to a third vessel), and was withdrawn from service. The final voyage began when she cleared

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada in tow of the Polish tug ''Jantar'' on August 11, 1987 along with the former

US Steel United States Steel Corporation, more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an American integrated steel producer headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with production operations primarily in the United States of America and in several countries ...

freighter ''T. W. Robinson'' bound for

Recife, Brazil That it may shine on all (Matthew 5:15) , image_map = Brazil Pernambuco Recife location map.svg , mapsize = 250px , map_caption = Location in the state of Pernambuco , pushpin_map = Brazil#South Am ...

, for dismantling.

Closure

Defoe Shipbuilding abandoned buildings 1981

Defoe Shipbuilding Crane and Saginaw River 1981

Defoe Shipbuilding Crane and abandoned buildings 1981

Defoe Shipbuilding abandoned main gate 1981

The yard closed on 31 December 1976 after the Navy contracts expired. Along with its dwindling navy contracts in its final years, the yard was contracted for three larger Great Lakes Freighter projects. The first project was construction of the 68'x 104'7"x 46'6" bow section to the 1000' long integrated tug and barge ''Presque Isle''. The bow was launched July 27, 1972 and was towed to Erie by the tugs Maryland and Laurence C. Turner arriving October 6, 1972. There it was combined with the remainder of the barge which was under construction at Erie, PA. The combined tug and barge unit were the second 1000' vessel trading on the lakes. The second was the conversion of 690' S/S ''Herbert C. Jackson'' from a conventional style

to a self unloader. The final major project was the conversion of the 620' lake freighter ''Richard J. Reiss'' from steam to diesel power. All three vessels are still activity trading on the

, the latter sailing now as the M/V ''Manistee''. The site of the shipyard later became the location for H. H. Hirschfield & Sons scrap yard. Hirschfield was recently bought by OmniSource, Inc., another scrap company.

Ships built by the Defoe Shipbuilding Company

* (17 September 1932) * (2 August 1934) * (5 September 1934) * (23 March 1939) * (23 March 1939) * (18 January 1943) * (22 June 1943) * (21 July 1943) * (20 November 1943) * (15 February 1944) * (21 March 1944) * USS ''Cronin'' (DE/DEC-704) (5 May 1944) * (4 July 1944) * (26 August 1944) * (17 February 1945) * USS ''Kleinsmith'' (DE-718) (12 June 1945) * (2 November 1955) * (5 January 1956) * (28 July 1959) * (27 April 1960) * (4 August 1960) * HMAS ''Perth'' (D 38) (28 September 1963) * HMAS ''Hobart'' (D 39) (9 January 1964) * (4 February 1965) * (8 June 1965) * (20 October 1965) * HMAS ''Brisbane'' (D 41) (5 May 1966) * (31 July 1969) * (30 October 1969) * Presque Isle (27 July 1972)

References

External links

Information on the Defoe Shipbuilding Company on defoenet.com
{{Authority control History of Michigan United States home front during World War II Defunct shipbuilding companies of the United States Bay City, Michigan Saginaw River Defunct manufacturing companies based in Michigan