General Engineering & Dry Dock Company was a shipbuilding and ship repair company in

Alameda, California Alameda ( ; ; Spanish for "Avenue (landscape), tree-lined path") is a city in Alameda County, California, located in the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), East Bay region of the Bay Area. The city is primarily located on Alameda (island), Alam ...

that was active from the 1920s through the 1940s. The company built ships for the

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

and the

United States 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, mult ...

in the late 1920s and early 1930s and took part in the World War II shipbuilding boom, making diesel-propelled steel hulled auxiliaries for 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 ...

, primarily oceangoing minesweepers.

History

At the beginning of

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 ...

, 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 of ...

started the program for expand the navy. The U.S.Navy used two separate shipbuilding and shiprepair sites to create the Naval Industrial Reserve Shipyard (NIRS) Alameda. The first was the General Engineering and Dry Dock Company. The company worked under contract NObs-344 and built small warships for the U.S. Navy. The shipyard had four shipbuilding ways, which were designed for the simultaneous construction of several ships. In 1946, the U.S. Navy ceased contract with company. The second portion of the Site was to the east of the shipbuilding company. It was purchased from March 24 to July 7, 1942. General Engineering & Dry Dock Company

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...

company started in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

. To support the

demand for ships General Engineering built:

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

s and

Net laying ship A net laying ship, also known as a net layer, net tender, gate ship or boom defence vessel was a type of naval auxiliary ship. A net layer's primary function was to lay and maintain steel anti-torpedo or anti-submarine nets. Nets could be laid ...

s. General Engineering was opened in 1919 as Barnes & Tibbitts shipyard by J. D. Barnes and W. G. Tibbitts. Mr. Barnes sold his interest to Tibbitts in 1922 and changed the company name to General Engineering & Dry Dock Company. Tibbitts purchased Hanlon Dry Dock and Shipbuilding in Oakland in 1928. By 1940 the site of the old Hanlon yard (foot of 5th Ave) was occupied by Hurley Marine Shipyard, but in 1933 it had still belonged to General Engineering. After World War II, the shipyards closed in 1948. The shipyard was located at 1805 Clement Ave, Alameda, California. The site is now the Alameda Marina and Island Yacht Club. Office, machine shop and general repairs at 1100 Sansome Street, San Francisco. On 14 March 1918 the ''Barnes and Tibbitts Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co.'' was incorporated in California. On 1 November 1922 the ''General Engineering and Dry Dock Company'' was incorporated in California. On 11 March 1946 the ''General Engineering and Dry Dock Corporation'' was incorporated in Delaware.

Notable ships built

;1920s * Five ferries for the

Golden Gate Ferry Company Golden Gate Ferry Company was a private company which operated automobile ferries between San Francisco, Berkeley and Sausalito before the opening of the Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge. The company was incorporated in November 1920. The ...

** ''Golden State'' Yard#1 ** ''Golden Bear'' #3, launched 2 February 1927 ** ''Golden Poppy'' #4, diesel-electric ferry launched 2 April 1927 ** ''Golden Shore'' #5. diesel-electric ferry launched 30 April 1927 ** ''Golden Age'' #12 diesel-electric ferry launched 21 January 1928 * 1 of 6 ferries ** #6 for

Northwestern Pacific Railroad The Northwestern Pacific Railroad is a regional shortline railroad utilizing a stretch of the 271 mile mainline between Schellville and Windsor with freight and Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) commuter trains. Formerly, it was a regi ...

, launched 17 March 1927 * ''Catherine Paladini'', 78ft, 200hp

Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geographic ...

diesel wooden trawler delivered August 1928 ;1930s * s (Oakland yard, contract ca. April 1929) ** ** ** ** ;1940s (World War II) * General Engineering placed unsuccessful bids on C1 cargo ships in 1939 * 4 of 32 s (Yard #39 ... #42) ** , , , * 16 of 95 s (#43 .. #58) ** , , , ** , , , ** , , , , , , ** * 7 of 123 s (#59 ... #65) ** , , , , , ,

In the press

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:General Engineering and Dry Dock Company Defunct shipbuilding companies of the United States Companies based in Alameda, California

History

Notable ships built

In the press

See also

References