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 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 ...

, the

United States Merchant Marine United States Merchant Marines are United States civilian mariners and U.S. civilian and federally owned merchant vessels. Both the civilian mariners and the merchant vessels are managed by a combination of the government and private sectors, an ...

, 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 ...

, 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. 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.,

W. R. Grace and Company W. R. Grace and Co. is an American chemical business based in Columbia, Maryland. It produces specialty chemicals and specialty materials in two divisions: Grace Catalysts Technologies, which makes catalysts and related products and technologies ...

and the

Pacific Mail Steamship Company The Pacific Mail Steamship Company was founded April 18, 1848, as a joint stock company under the laws of the State of New York by a group of New York City merchants. Incorporators included William H. Aspinwall, Edwin Bartlett (American consul ...

.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

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...

s and

car float A railroad car float or rail barge is a specialised form of lighter with railway tracks mounted on its deck used to move rolling stock across water obstacles, or to locations they could not otherwise go. An unpowered barge, it is towed by a tugb ...

During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, New York Ship expanded rapidly to fill orders from the U.S. Navy and the

Emergency Fleet Corporation The Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) was established by the United States Shipping Board, sometimes referred to as the War Shipping Board, on 16 April 1917 pursuant to the Shipping Act (39 Stat. 729) to acquire, maintain, and operate merchant shi ...

. A critical shortage of worker housing led to the construction of Yorkship Village, a planned community of 1,000 brick homes designed by

Electus Darwin Litchfield Electus Darwin Litchfield, FAIA (1872–1952) was an American architect and town planner, practicing in New York City.War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War (1789–1947) See also * War Office, a former department of the British Government * Ministry of defence * Ministry of War * Ministry of Defence * Dep ...

. Yorkship Village is now the Fairview section of the City of Camden. New York Ship's

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 ...

production included all nine light carriers (CVL), built on light cruiser hulls; the 35,000-ton

; and 98 LCTs (

Landing Craft, Tank The Landing Craft, Tank (LCT) (or Tank Landing Craft TLC) was an amphibious assault craft for landing tanks on beachheads. They were initially developed by the Royal Navy and later by the United States Navy during World War II in a series of ver ...

), 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 The United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) is an agency of the United States Department of Transportation. MARAD administers financial programs to develop, promote, and operate the U.S. Maritime Service and the U.S. Merchant Marine. Det ...

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 Ingalls Shipbuilding is a shipyard located in Pascagoula, Mississippi, United States, originally established in 1938, and now part of Huntington Ingalls Industries, HII. It is a leading producer of ships for the United States Navy, and at 12,500 ...

in Pascagoula, Mississippi, for completion. The yard's site is now part of the

Port of Camden The Port of Camden is situated on east bank of the Delaware River in Camden and Gloucester City in southern New Jersey. It is one of several ports in the Delaware Valley metro area port complex and is located near the mouth of Newtown Creek oppo ...

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

she was renamed SS ''Black Point'' and was the last ship 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 ...

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 cruiser ...

*** , , ** 8 of 27 light cruisers * 4 of 8 s *

Fast combat support ship The fast combat support ship (US Navy hull classification symbol: AOE) is the United States Navy's largest combat logistics ship, designed as an oiler, ammunition and supply ship. All fast combat support ships currently in service are operated ...

** *** *

Oil tanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crud ...

s ** SS ''Gulfoil'' ** '' Gulflight'' 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

) ** ''Barbel''-class fast attack submarine (diesel): *** *

Nuclear-powered Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...

merchant ship A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are u ...

** * 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 A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses wer ...

) 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