The Kaiser Shipyards were seven major shipbuilding yards located on the
United States west coast
The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.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 opposing ...
. Kaiser ranked 20th among U.S. corporations in the value of wartime production contracts. The shipyards were owned by the Kaiser Shipbuilding Company, a creation of American industrialist
Henry J. Kaiser (1882–1967), who established the shipbuilding company around 1939 in order to help meet the construction goals set by the United States Maritime Commission for merchant shipping.
Four of the Kaiser Shipyards were located in
Richmond, California, and were called the
Richmond Shipyards
The four Richmond Shipyards, in the city of Richmond, California, United States, were run by Permanente Metals and part of the Kaiser Shipyards. In World War II, Richmond built more ships than any other shipyard, turning out as many as three shi ...
. Three other shipyards were located in the Pacific Northwest along the
Columbia and
Willamette rivers: the
Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation
Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation was a World War II emergency shipyard located along the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, United States. The shipyard built nearly 600 Liberty and Victory ships between 1941 and 1945 under the Emergency Ship ...
and the
Swan Island Shipyard in
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...
, and the
Vancouver Shipyard in
Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, located in Clark County. Incorporated in 1857, Vancouver has a population of 190,915 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Was ...
.
Henry Kaiser was known for developing new methods of shipbuilding, which allowed his yards to outproduce other similar facilities and build 1,490 ships, 27 percent of the total Maritime Commission construction. Kaiser's ships were completed in two-thirds the time and a quarter the cost of the average of all other shipyards.
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. Ma ...
s were typically assembled in a little over two weeks, and one in less than five days.
Kaiser Shipyards shut down at the end of the war. The
was dedicated October 25, 2000 on the site of one of the shipyards in Richmond.
History
Henry Kaiser had been building cargo ships for 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 ...
in the 1930s, partnering with
Todd Pacific Shipyards
Vigor Shipyards is the current entity operating the former Todd Shipyards after its acquisition in 2011. Todd Shipyards was founded in 1916, which owned and operated shipyards on the West Coast of the United States, East Coast of the United S ...
and the
Bath Iron Works
Bath Iron Works (BIW) is a major United States shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine, founded in 1884 as Bath Iron Works, Limited. Since 1995, Bath Iron Works has been a subsidiary of General Dynamics. It is the fifth-largest ...
. When orders for ships from the British government, already at war with Germany, allowed for growth, Kaiser established his first Richmond shipyard begun in December 1940.
In April 1941 the Maritime Commission requested an additional Kaiser yard, to be used for
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. Ma ...
construction, and after the
attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...
, Kaiser started third and fourth yards, building
troop transport
A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...
s and
tank landing ship
Landing Ship, Tank (LST), or tank landing ship, is the naval designation for ships first developed during World War II (1939–1945) to support amphibious operations by carrying tanks, vehicles, cargo, and landing troops directly onto shore with ...
s (LSTs), respectively. His son,
Edgar Kaiser, Sr
Edgar Fosburgh Kaiser Sr. (July 29, 1908 – December 7, 1981) was an American industrialist, who was Chairman of Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation, the Kaiser Cement Corporation and the Kaiser Steel Corporation.
Edgar was born in Seattle ...
, was appointed Vice-President and General Manager of the shipyards.
Together, these four Kaiser Shipyards produced 747 ships, including many of the famous
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. Ma ...
s 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 sli ...
sfor carrying general cargo and military munitions, armaments and supplies, more than any other complex in the United States. Only one of these ships, , survives. Two other Liberty ships built in other American yards also exist as working museum exhibits: moored in
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 ...
and in
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 ...
. An additional Victory cargo ship also survives: .
Through 1943 The Kaiser shipyards produced s. While promising 16 carriers by 1944, Kaiser encouraged employees to go above and beyond and make 18 instead, with the slogan "18 or more by 44".
Other details
* Kaiser set several records:
** The
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. Ma ...
SS ''Robert E. Peary'' was assembled in less than five days as a part of a special competition among shipyards.
** At the Oregon Shipbuilding Yard on the Columbia River, near Portland, the
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 sli ...
SS ''Joseph N. Teal'' was built in ten days in fall 1942.
* The Oregon Shipbuilding Yards were responsible for 455 ships.
* Kaiser recruited from across the United States to work in his yards, hiring women and minorities.
*
Fields Point
Fields Point (also known as Field's Point) is a historic park in the Washington Park, Providence, Rhode Island, Washington Park neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island jutting into Narragansett Bay right near the Providence River and Interstate 9 ...
in Providence, Rhode Island, had a shipyard temporarily run by Kaiser-Walsh when the former management ran into difficulties. The shipyard was closed and sold after the war to a Swedish shipowner who dismantled the shipyard and later erected it in the city of Uddevalla on the west coast of Sweden.
See also
*
Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente (; KP), commonly known simply as Kaiser, is an American integrated managed care consortium, based in Oakland, California, United States, founded in 1945 by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and physician Sidney Garfield. Kaiser ...
, an
HMO
In the United States, a health maintenance organization (HMO) is a medical insurance group that provides health services for a fixed annual fee. It is an organization that provides or arranges managed care for health insurance, self-funded heal ...
founded by
Henry J. Kaiser
*
Marinship
Marinship Corporation was a shipbuilding company of the United States during World War II, created to build the shipping required for the war effort. Founded in 1942, the shipyard built 93 cargo ships and oil tankers, before ending operations 1 ...
*
Shipyard Railway
The Shipyard Railway was an electric commuter rail/interurban line that served workers at the Richmond Shipyards in Richmond, California, United States, during World War II. It was funded by the United States Maritime Commission and was built an ...
, which transported workers to the Kaiser Shipyards in Richmond, California
*
Vanport, Oregon
Vanport, sometimes referred to as Vanport City or Kaiserville, was a city of wartime public housing in Multnomah County, Oregon, United States, between the contemporary Portland city boundary and the Columbia River. It was destroyed in the 194 ...
Notes
References
* Herman, Arthur. ''Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II'' (New York: Random House, 2012).
Further reading
*
*
External links
History.com
Kaiser Vancouver (WA) & Portland (OR) Yards
Rosie the Riveter TrustA guide to the Permanente Metals Corporation photograph album, 1941-1945
{{authority control
Defunct shipbuilding companies of the United States
Henry J. Kaiser
United States home front during World War II
.
American companies established in 1940
Manufacturing companies established in 1940
Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1946
American women civilians in World War II