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 States Coast Guard, and other maritime concerns. At its peak during World War II, NYSB was the largest and most productive shipyard in the world. Its best-known vessels include the destroyer , the cruiser , the aircraft carrier , the nuclear-powered cargo ship , and a quartet of cargo-passenger liners nicknamed the '' Four Aces''.

History

It was founded in 1899 by Henry G. Morse (1850–2 June 1903),Not to be confused with architect Henry Grant Morse, Jr. (1884 – May 28, 1934). an engineer noted in connection with bridge design and construction and senior partner of

Morse Bridge Company Morse may refer to: People * Morse (surname) * Morse Goodman (1917-1993), Anglican Bishop of Calgary, Canada * Morse Robb (1902–1992), Canadian inventor and entrepreneur Geography Antarctica * Cape Morse, Wilkes Land * Mount Morse, Churchil ...

. The original plan was to build a shipyard on

Staten Island 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 an ...

, thus the name of the company. Plans to acquire a site failed and, after exploration as far south as Virginia with special attention being paid to the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...

area, a location in the southern part of

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 2020 ...

, was chosen instead. Site selection specifically considered the needs of the planned application of bridge building practices of prefabrication and assembly line production of ships in covered ways. Construction of the plant began in July 1899 and was so rapid that the keel of the first ship was laid November 1900. That ship, contract number 1, was ''M. S. Dollar'', later to be modified as an oil tanker and renamed ''J. M. Guffey''.U.S. Navy as USS ''J. M. Guffey'' (ID-1279) commissioned 14 October 1918 at Invergorden, Scotland, decommissioned Philadelphia 17 June 1919 (DANFS). Two of the first contracts were for passenger ships that were among the largest then being built in the United States: #5 for and #6 for . Morse died after securing contracts for 20 ships. He was followed as president by De Coursey May. On November 27, 1916, a special meeting of the company's stockholders ratified sale of the "fifteen million dollar plant" to a group of companies composed of

American International Corporation American International Corporation was an American investment trust founded in 1915 by Frank Vanderlip; Willard Straight was the key operational leader. Its board and stockholders included a wide range of leading American financiers and industrial ...

International Mercantile Marine Co. The International Mercantile Marine Company, originally the International Navigation Company, was a trust formed in the early twentieth century as an attempt by J.P. Morgan to monopolize the shipping trade. IMM was founded by shipping magnates ...

, W. R. Grace and Company and the Pacific Mail Steamship Company.On page 510 of the reference notes that American International Corporation holds interests in the International Mercantile Marine Company, Pacific Mail Steamship, Grace Lines and other ocean transportation companies. The same journal in the October issue, page 440, states American International Corporation had "control of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company." New York Ship's unusual covered ways produced everything from

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...

s, and luxury liners to barges and car floats. Air view, Yorkship Village ca 1920

During World War I, New York Ship expanded rapidly to fill orders from the U.S. Navy and the Emergency Fleet Corporation. A critical shortage of worker housing led to the construction of

Yorkship Village Fairview, originally named Yorkship Village, is a neighborhood located in southern Camden, New Jersey. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, Fairview Village has a population of 5,947. Much of the neighborhood is part of a historic district listed ...

, a planned community of 1,000 brick homes designed by Electus Darwin Litchfield and financed by the War Department. Yorkship Village is now the Fairview section of the City of Camden. New York Ship's World War II production included all nine light carriers (CVL), built on light cruiser hulls; the 35,000-ton

; and 98 LCTs ( Landing Craft, Tank), many of which took part in the D-Day landings at Normandy. After World War II, a much-diminished New York Ship subsisted on a trickle of contracts from the United States Maritime Administration and the U.S. Navy. In 1959 the yard launched the NS ''Savannah'', the world's first nuclear powered merchant ship. The yard launched its last civilian vessel () in 1960, and its last naval vessel, , was ordered in 1967. The company's final completed submarine was , which had been ordered in the early 1960s, but construction was halted from 1963 to 1965 because of the loss of the . ''Guardfish'' was commissioned in December 1967. In 1968, lacking new naval orders, NYS ceased operations. , then under construction, was towed to Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi, for completion. The yard's site is now part of the Port of Camden.

World War II Slipways

Ships built

Ships built by New York Ship include: *

Aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

s ** 1 of 2 *** , launched 7 April 1925 ** 9 of 9 light carriers *** *** , , , , , , *** ** 2 of 2 light carriers *** , ** 1 of 4 *** , launched 21 May 1960 *

Battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...

s ** 1 of 3 *** ** 1 of 3 ** 1 of 4 *** * Colliers ** SS ''Plymouth'' served as USS ''Plymouth'' from 1918 to 1919, as an auxiliary cargo ship, then returned to civilian service as SS ''Plymouth'' ** SS ''Fairmont'' served as USS ''Fairmont'' from 1918 to 1919, as an auxiliary cargo ship, then returned to civilian service again as the SS Fairmont. In 1922 she was renamed ''Nebraskan''. For World War II she was renamed SS ''Black Point'' and was the last ship sunk by a U-boat on May 5, 1945. ** SS ''Winding Gulf'' ** SS ''Tidewater'' did not serve in the US Navy. Renamed SS ''Isaac T. Mann'' in 1923 and was scrapped at Baltimore in 1954. ** SS ''Glen White'' served as USS ''Glen White'' from 1918 to 1919 then returned to civilian service as SS ''Glen White''. ** SS ''Sewalls Point'' did not serve in the US Navy. ** SS ''Franklin'' did not serve in the US Navy, became SS ''Nevadan'' in 1921, then SS ''Oakey L. Alexander'' in 1926. Was wrecked on the Maine coast on 3 March 1947. ** SS ''William N. Page'' *

Cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

s ** 1 of 2 heavy cruisers *** launched 7 November 1931 ** 3 of 9 light cruisers *** launched 8 May 1937 *** 2 October 1937 *** 19 March 1938 ** 4 of 14 heavy cruisers *** launched 2 July 1944 *** 13 August 1944 *** 15 October 1944 *** 6 May 1945 ** 3 of 3

large cruiser The ''Alaska'' class were six very large cruisers ordered before World War II for the United States Navy, of which only two were completed and saw service late in the war. The US Navy designation for the ships of this class was 'large cruis ...

*** , , ** 8 of 27 light cruisers * 4 of 8 s * Fast combat support ship ** *** * Oil tankers ** SS ''Gulfoil'' ** ''

Gulflight ''Gulflight'' was an American 5,189-ton tanker built by the New York Shipbuilding Co. of Camden, New Jersey for the Gulf Refining Company (a predecessor of Gulf Oil). It was launched on 8 August 1914. The ship became famous when it was torpedoe ...

'' launched 1914. Center of a diplomatic incident when torpedoed in World War I. ** SS ''Sylvan Arrow'', launched 1918 ** (1921) sunk by Japanese submarine ''I-25'' in 1942 ** SS ''Dixie Arrow'' ** launched 1922 ** *

Submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

** ''Thresher''/''Permit''-class fast attack submarine (nuclear) *** *** *** ** fast attack submarine (nuclear) *** (completed at Ingalls Shipbuilding) ** ''Barbel''-class fast attack submarine (diesel): *** * Nuclear-powered merchant ship ** * Passenger/cargo ship ** SS ''Panhandle State'': Also named: President Monroe, President Buchanan, (Iris), and Emily H. M. Weder.SS ''Panhandle State''
(pp. 61)- Retrieved 2019-07-22 ** SS ''Munargo'': Also named Arthur Murray (Army but never used), USS ''Munargo'' (Navy), USAT ''Thistle'', USAHS Thistle (Army hospital)

* Other ships and boats *** —the biggest passenger-carrying riverboat ( paddle steamer) ever built.

Footnotes

References

CV / CVL Class Carriers: Book; USS INDEPENDENCE CVL-22, A War Diary of the Nation's First Dedicated Night Carrier by: John G. Lambert

Bibliography

* * *

External links

New York Shipbuilding Company Historical SitesA Tribute to a Place Called Yorkship

A web exhibit of ship christening photos that includes twenty images of launching ceremonies at New York Shipbuilding
{{Authority control * Shipyards of the United States Defunct shipbuilding companies of the United States Companies based in Camden, New Jersey History of Camden, New Jersey Industrial buildings and structures in New Jersey Defunct manufacturing companies based in New Jersey Shipyards building World War II warships