55-609: Todd Pacific Shipyards, Los Angeles Division was a shipyard in San Pedro, Los Angeles , California . Before applying its last corporate name, the shipyard had been called Los Angeles Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company and Todd Shipyards, Los Angeles Division . Under those three names, the San Pedro yard built at least 130 ships from 1917 to 1989. The yard opened during the World War I shipping boom, survived bankruptcy in
110-591: A DDG-51 contract. The former site was a container terminal in 2015. The Los Angeles Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company was founded in April 1917 for the purpose of establishing a shipbuilding and repair facility in Los Angeles Harbor during World War I with Fred L. Baker of Baker Iron Works as president. 69 acres (28 ha) of marsh land on Smiths Island were used for the original construction. The yard received 35 contracts to build cargo ships for
165-535: A Navy destroyer contract, but lost bids to east coast shipyards. Beginning 14 November 1936, there was an 87-day labor strike by 500 workers at several Los Angeles area yards, including Los Angeles SB&DDC. The strike ended 9 February 1937 with a $ .06 raise, making the top hourly rate $ 0.95 an hour. In 1939, the company submitted bids for C1-B cargo ships of the United States Maritime Commission 's Long Range Shipbuilding Program , but
220-451: A Supreme Court decision that gave precedence to bondholders over the shareholders. Los Angeles SB&DDC had become a wholly owned subsidiary of Los Angeles Lumber Products, which was a party in Case v. Los Angeles Lumber Products . That case was decided in 1939 and became a landmark decision in corporate bankruptcy law. In the 1930s, the yard made some attempts to get oil tanker contracts and
275-498: A large number built for lend-lease were also given two-word names, this time beginning with "Hickory". About 65 of this subtype were complete for the U.S. Navy , like the USS Gadsden built by Walter Butler Shipyard . Those ships were generally named after counties in the U.S. C1-M-AV1 ships are a Alamosa -class cargo ships . One C1-ME-AV6 (also called C1-M-AV7 ) subype was built, MS Coastal Liberator . Instead of
330-514: A large shipyard will contain many specialised cranes , dry docks , slipways , dust-free warehouses, painting facilities and extremely large areas for fabrication of the ships. After a ship's useful life is over, it makes its final voyage to a ship-breaking yard, often on a beach in South Asia . Historically ship-breaking was carried out in drydock in developed countries, but high wages and environmental regulations have resulted in movement of
385-849: A pleasure to operate and the workmanship outstanding. Converted to Troop Ships 4 Modified and redesignated (to United States Navy ) The Type C1-B ships were built in eight different yards, all but 15 in West Coast yards, all but 20 in California, the majority at Consolidated Steel Corporation in Wilmington, California . All but ten of the C1-B ships had steam turbine engines; the diesels were all built at Seattle-Tacoma SB Corp. , Tacoma, Washington and Western Pipe & Steel , San Francisco, California, with each producing five ships. The C1-B were full scantling ships with three decks in which
440-401: A reduction gear-box. They were manufactured by Nordberg Manufacturing Company . The engine speed was 220 rpm and the shaft 110 rpm. This configuration made maneuvering very easy when entering port, as one engine was run in reverse and the other ahead; change of direction was simply performed by energizing the appropriate magnetic coupling. All auxiliary equipment was electric. The engine room was
495-543: A significantly smaller and shallower draft vessel. This design evolved as an answer to the projected needs for military transport and supply of the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II . Type C1 ships under the control of the British Ministry of War Transport took an Empire name even if built with another name e.g. Cape Turner . The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an agency of
550-409: A single reduction gearset via magnetic couplings , in the same family as the system used on various C3 ships where four such engines were coupled to one gearset for a total of 8,000 hp. The C1-M variant used diesel propulsion exclusively, but only a single 2,000 hp range engine and without magnetic couplings. All turbines and diesel engines were sourced from a variety of manufacturers. With
605-473: A system set up to bill and receive funds from the Navy. There were no modern industrial lines to increase production efficiency. The committee found that between $ 5 and $ 7 million were unaccounted for on the repair ship Ajax which was under construction at the yard. They attributed it to "inefficient management and a poorly organized labor union" rather than fraud. The Navy made attempts to get management to correct
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#1732776671844660-492: A variable-pitch propeller. Only one ship was planned as this type, but five previously launched C1-M-AV1 ships were converted to this type for France. Modified and redesignated Many of these ships have been sold and scrapped but numerous examples are still in service with Non Governmental Organizations (NGO)s such as "Friend Ships". That organization used the ex " Pembina " built in Superior Wisconsin and renamed
715-455: A very light upper deck, the sides of which are open ports to the second or main deck. The first keels were laid in 1939. Two of the Pusey and Jones ships were converted to PT boat tenders before entering service, including USS Cyrene . Some of the diesel vessels were powered by 2, 6-cylinder Nordberg 2-stroke engines (Sulzer type) driving the single shaft via magnetic couplings and
770-541: A year longer to construct Ajax . During the war, the yard built three of the four Vulcan -class repair ships , three of the four Currituck -class seaplane tenders and all four Klondike -class destroyer tenders . According to The American West: The Reader , under Todd's management, the yard converted 2,376 ships in the final years of the war. Todd Shipyards purchased the Los Angeles SB&;DDC after World War II and began to operate this shipyard as
825-468: Is an example of a C1-M ship. The C1-M-AV1 subtype, a general cargo ship with one large diesel engine, was the most numerous. About 215 of this type were built in ten different shipyards. Consolidated Steel Corp., Ltd. of Wilmington, California built the largest number – about a quarter of all built. These ships were either named for knots , such as MS Acorn Knot , or with a two-word name beginning with "Coastal", such as MS Coastal Sentry ;
880-597: The Atomic Energy Commission ." They also did work fabricating test missiles for the Polaris missile program and a base for a tracking antenna used by NASA. In the early 1970s, the LA division built four handysize 25,000 DWT tankers for Marine Transport Lines and four 35,000 DWT tankers for Zapata Marine, but contracts for eight 90,000 DWT tankers were cancelled in 1975 during the 1970s energy crisis and in
935-774: The Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) of the United States Shipping Board . 30 of the ships were to be 8,800 DWT Design 1013 ships and 5 were 11,500 DWT. The first keel was laid 23 July 1917 for SS Accomac . Triple expansion steam engines of 3,500hp were produced on site, but hulls 1 through 8 were powered by Westinghouse steam turbines. By 1920, the yard had a 12,000 ton floating dry dock , which cost $ 1.25 million ($ 22 million today) to build. The first four freighters were delivered in July 1918 and another four were delivered before
990-894: The General Engineering & Dry Dock Company , the Tampa Shipbuilding and Engineering Company , the Newburgh Shipbuilding and Repair Company of New York, the Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company , the Los Angeles Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company . Bids (for either C1-A or C1-B in either steam of diesel variants) were opened on 11 July 1939. Pusey and Jones successfully bid on 2 C1-A ships. Contracts were awarded in September 1939. Two of these early-built ships joined
1045-475: The Great Depression and built Auxiliary ships during World War II . The yard was seized by the Navy in late 1943 and given to Todd Shipyards to manage for the remainder of the war. The yard struggled through the post war period and surged again with commercial work in the 1960s to mid-1970s. The yard peaked again in 1983 during a Navy frigate contract, but was closed in 1989 after failing to secure
1100-766: The Port of Los Angeles . As of 2015, it was known as Berth 100 / West Basin Container Terminal. 33°45′11″N 118°16′48″W / 33.753°N 118.280°W / 33.753; -118.280 Shipyard A shipyard , also called a dockyard or boatyard , is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts , military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes more involved with original construction, dockyards are sometimes more linked with maintenance and basing activities. The terms are routinely used interchangeably, in part because
1155-810: The United Arab Emirates , Ukraine , the United Kingdom , the United States and Vietnam . The shipbuilding industry is more fragmented in Europe than in Asia where countries tend to have fewer, larger companies. Many naval vessels are built or maintained in shipyards owned or operated by the national government or navy. Shipyards are constructed near the sea or tidal rivers to allow easy access for their ships. The United Kingdom , for example, has shipyards on many of its rivers. The site of
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#17327766718441210-524: The evolution of dockyards and shipyards has often caused them to change or merge roles. Countries with large shipbuilding industries include Australia , Brazil , China , Croatia , Denmark , Finland , France , Germany , India , Ireland , Italy , Japan , the Netherlands , Norway , the Philippines , Poland , Romania , Russia , Singapore , South Korea , Sweden , Taiwan , Turkey ,
1265-469: The 16th century the enterprise employed 16,000 people. Spain built component ships of the Great Armada of 1588 at ports such as Algeciras or Málaga . Type C1 ship#C1-B-early-years Type C1 was a designation for cargo ships built for the United States Maritime Commission before and during World War II . Total production was 493 ships built from 1940 to 1945. The first C1 types were
1320-432: The 1930s until the yard received Navy contracts for several auxiliary ships in the lead up to World War II. By the time the war broke out, management had changed a number of times at the yard. Los Angeles SB&DDC had entered bankruptcy during the Great Depression and several corporate reorganizations resulted in several changes in management. The original shareholders of Los Angeles SB&DDC were also frozen out by
1375-488: The 6,000 returned in the first days with about 1,500 back by the end of July 1919. For the remainder of the 1920s, after the US Shipping Board projects finished, Los Angeles SB&DDC built a number of tank barges . Additionally, the yard built SS Catalina in 1924 and in 1925, Los Angeles City #2 fireboat , which later was known as Ralph J. Scott . Los Angeles SB&DDC mainly did ship repairs in
1430-411: The LA division in the years following the 1958 tax changes and built a number of cargo ships for various companies. The LA division built two cruisers, England and Fox in the 1960s and seven Knox -class frigates in the late 1960s. It also converted USS Paul Revere (APA-248) and USS Ashtabula (AO-51) . The LA division manufactured "thousands of feet of special piping for
1485-581: The Liberty and Victory ships. The first C series vessels were designed prior to hostilities and were meant to be commercially viable ships to modernize the US Merchant Marine, and reduce the US reliance on foreign shipping. The Liberty ships were a throwback to late 19th century British designs with reciprocating steam engines, but were very cheap to build in large quantities; Victory ships evolved from
1540-412: The Liberty ships but used modern turbine engines. The C series ships were more expensive to produce, but their economic viability lasted well into the late 1960s and early 1970s in military and merchant fleets. Several ships are still in operation. The Type C1-A and C1-B ships were similar in design, All had a rated top speed of 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph). The primary difference between them
1595-612: The Maritime Commission. For Seattle-Tacoma , the C1-B contract prompted the reopening (and rebuilding) of the Tacoma yard. Consolidated Steel entered the shipbuilding business in 1939. Timing makes these ship constructions interesting, as they were on slipways when the U.S. shipbuilding industry was going through the transition of 1940/1941 towards war time production and many ships, whether afloat or building, were reassigned to fulfill new duties. Unsuccessful bids were made by
1650-515: The Navy until the war ended after which Todd purchased the yard outright. Admiral Bowen described the situation at the yard in detail in his 1954 memoir, Ships, Machinery and Mossbacks . According to Bowen, the seizure saved the government over $ 13 million. For example, USS Ajax (AR-6) , built in San Pedro, cost $ 24.8 million, but sister ship USS Vulcan (AR-5) , constructed in Camden, cost only $ 12.8 million. It also took nearly
1705-506: The Port of Los Angeles, at its close in 1989. Parent company Todd Shipyards entered Chapter 11 in August 1987. The LA division closed in 1989 following completion of its last Oliver Hazard Perry -class frigate , USS Ingraham . Todd had failed to win an Arleigh Burke -class destroyer contract. The property where at least 130 ships were built in just over 70 years was returned to
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1760-580: The Todd Shipyards, Los Angeles Division beginning in November 1946. Wartime labor at the LA division peaked at around 20,000 workers. After the war ended the LA division turned to ship repair and conversions, and to machine work and fabrication for other industries. Business volume declined until the Korean War , but then dropped even lower after it ended in 1953. The LA division had projects in
1815-617: The United States government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936 , passed by Congress on 29 June 1936 and replaced the U.S. Shipping Board which had existed since World War I . It was intended to formulate a merchant shipbuilding program to design and build five hundred modern merchant cargo ships to supplement and replace the World War I vintage vessels, including Hog Islander ships, that comprised
1870-524: The World War I shipbuilding boom for the United States Shipping Board . Around 5 May 1919, 6,000 workers at Los Angeles SB&DDC went on strike after demands for a closed shop were not met. On 31 May 1919, federal mediation was sought with mediator Captain Charles T. Connell listed as a potential mediator. The yard was reopened on 10 July 1919, without resolving the dispute, Many of the workers did not return and had found other work elsewhere. Around 70 of
1925-508: The ancient Greek city on the Gulf of Corinth, Naupactus , means "shipyard" (combination of the Greek words ναύς naus : "ship, boat"; and πήγνυμι pêgnumi , pegnymi : "builder, fixer"). Naupactus' reputation in this field extended back into legendary times – the site is traditionally identified by Greek authors such as Ephorus and Strabo as the place where a fleet was said to have been built by
1980-414: The bulk of the U.S. Merchant Marine . These old standardized ship designs ranged in size from 5,075dwt to 7,500dwt , 8,800dwt and 9,600dwt for the most common mass-produced types. They either had steam turbines or triple expansion engines, burning oil their boilers. None of the World War I standard designs had diesel engines. From 1939 through the end of World War II , MARCOM funded and administered
2035-623: The diesel engine direct drive of the AV1 subtypes, it used diesel-electric drive. The diesel engine powered a generator to produce electricity, and an electric motor with 2,200 horsepower (1,600 kW) actually powered the vessel. Four of the C1-MT-BU1 subtype were built as lumber carriers, with twin screws. The lumber carriers were given U.S. State-and-tree names, such as MS California Redwood . Built by Albina Engine & Machine Works , Portland, Oregon. The final subtype, C1-M-AV8 , had
2090-557: The early 1950s for Disneyland as well. They built the replica of the sternwheel riverboat Mark Twain . Todd's Hoboken , New Jersey , operation built two sternwheel riverboats for Freedomland U.S.A. , a theme park in New York City that existed from 1960 to 1964. Todd's contributions to the park and the sternwheelers are documented in Freedomland U.S.A.: The Definitive History published by Theme Park Press (2019). One boat
2145-688: The exception of ships built for specific shipping lines before the war, the majority of the C1-A and C1-B ships were given two-word names beginning with "Cape", such as SS Cape Hatteras . Forty-six Type C1-A ships were built at Pennsylvania Shipyards, Inc. in Beaumont, Texas , with another 19 being built by Pusey and Jones in Wilmington, Delaware (not to be confused with Consolidated Steel 's Wilmington, California location). The majority were built with diesel motors, though 19 were built with steam turbine engines. These were shelter deck ships, having
2200-617: The frames hold the same dimensions as the upper deck. Full scantling ships have deck gear sufficient to completely unload their cargoes. A C1-B example and perhaps the most well-known was the SS ; Flying Enterprise . In 1939, under the Long Range Shipbuilding Program , contracts for 38 ships in batches of 2 to 5 vessels were awarded after one round of competitive bidding. Bethlehem San Francisco and Bethlehem Staten Island only produced on this occasion for
2255-632: The industry to third-world regions. The oldest structure sometimes identified as a dockyard was built c. 2400 BC by the Indus Valley civilisation in the Harappan port city of Lothal (in present-day Gujarat, India ). Lothal's dockyards connected to an ancient course of the Sabarmati river on the trade route between Harappan cities in Sindh and the peninsula of Saurashtra when
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2310-473: The largest and most successful merchant shipbuilding effort in world history, producing thousands of ships, including Liberty ships , Victory ships , and others, notably type C1 ships, type C2 ships , type C3 ships , type C4 ships , T2 tankers , Landing Ship Tank (LST)s and patrol frigates . By the end of the war, U.S. shipyards working under MARCOM contracts had built a total of 5,777 oceangoing merchant and naval ships. The C series of ships differed from
2365-628: The legendary Heraclidae to invade the Peloponnesus . In the Spanish city of Barcelona , the Drassanes shipyards were active from at least the mid-13th century until the 18th century, although at times they served as a barracks for troops as well as an arsenal. During their time of operation the Drassanes were continuously changed, rebuilt and modified, but two original towers and part of
2420-650: The original eight construction-naves remain today. The site is currently a maritime museum. From the 14th century, several hundred years before the Industrial Revolution , ships were the first items to be manufactured in a factory – in the Venice Arsenal of the Venetian Republic in present-day Italy . The Arsenal apparently mass-produced nearly one ship every day using pre-manufactured parts and assembly lines . At its height in
2475-539: The present-day surrounding Kutch desert formed a part of the Arabian Sea . Lothal engineers accorded high priority to the creation of a dockyard and a warehouse to serve the purposes of maritime trade. The dock was built on the eastern flank of the town, and is regarded by archaeologists as an engineering feat of the highest order. It was located away from the main current of the river to avoid silting, but provided access to ships at high tide as well. The name of
2530-463: The problems, but negotiations failed. On 8 December 1943, the US Navy seized control of Los Angeles SB&DDC under an executive order signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt . Bowen found the yard to be in worse condition than the investigating board realized. Management was turned over to Todd Shipyards, which operated a number of other shipyards around the country. Todd would manage the yard for
2585-581: The ship launching parade of the Liberty Fleet Day on 27 September 1941. after the Emergency Shipbuilding Program picked up momentum, Consolidated Steel remained the only manufacturer of the C1-B type. Converted to Troop Ships (all steam turbine driven) 7 Modified and redesignated (to United States Navy ) (all steam turbine driven) The C1-S-AY1 subtype of thirteen ships built by Consolidated Steel Corporation
2640-577: The ships were launched as and by which name they were known to the Maritime Commission . The diesel (M for Motor) powered C1-M Type ships were a separate design from the C1-A and C1-B, meant for shorter runs and shallow harbors, either along the coasts, or for "island hopping" in the Pacific . These ships were shorter, narrower, and had less draft than the earlier C1 designs, and were rated at only 11 knots (20 km/h). USS Alamosa
2695-416: The smallest of the three original Maritime Commission designs, meant for shorter routes where high speed and capacity were less important. Only a handful were delivered prior to Pearl Harbor . But many C1-A and C1-B ships were already in the works and were delivered during 1942. Many were converted to military purposes including troop transports during the war. The Type C1-M ship was a separate design, for
2750-454: The wake of the 1973 oil crisis . On 1 October 1977, Todd Pacific Shipyards Corporation was formed as a wholly owned subsidiary of Todd Shipyards Corporation. Todd's Seattle and Los Angeles divisions were spun off into Todd Pacific Shipyards. Eighteen Oliver Hazard Perry -class frigates were built at the San Pedro yard. In 1983 the yard employed 5,600, by 1989 it employed only 400. The yard occupied 112 acres (45 ha) of land, leased from
2805-478: The war ended. Delivered in November 1921, SS West Chopaka was the 35th and final ship built for the US Shipping Board at San Pedro. In total, the contracts cost $ 72 million ($ 1.23 billion today) for around 320,000 DWT of cargo freighters. This made Los Angeles Shipbuilding the largest of the three steel shipyards in the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach , accounting for 55% of the tonnage built there during
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#17327766718442860-486: Was destroyed during 2005 and the other during 2018. The LA division also constructed eight 52-foot tourist submarines and the masts, rigging, spars and sails of Sailing Ship Columbia after the Korean War. According to their long range facilities plan, Todd reported that no major ships were built in California following World War II until the state property tax structure was changed in 1958. Todd invested heavily into
2915-537: Was modified from the C1-B design for use as troopships by Great Britain under lend-lease called Landing Ship Infantry, Large and they were originally ordered as troopships. These ships were all given two-word names beginning with "Empire", such as SS Empire Spearhead . Empire Broadsword was lost at the Normandy Invasion , to a mine. Empire Javelin was sunk by a torpedo from a German U-boat on 28 December 1944. The original Cape names are what
2970-681: Was that C1-A ships were shelter deck ships, while C1-B ships were full scantling ships. The C1-M was the type with the largest production; it was a significant variation from the original C1 design in size, performance and profile; these were shorter, narrower, slower and the superstructure was farther toward the stern. The C-1 (A and B variants) employed two kind of propulsion systems. One group comprising 19 C1-A, 85 C1-B and all 13 C1-S-AY1 used 4,000 hp compound turbines (one high pressure and one low pressure turbine) and turbo-electric generators for auxiliary power. The other group of 46 C1-A and 10 C1-B used two 2,000 hp diesel engines connected to
3025-419: Was unsuccessful. On 27 September 1943 a special Naval Board of Investigation was convened in San Pedro to look into the conditions at Los Angeles SB&DDC. The Navy had invested around $ 64 million in equipment and construction contracts at the company and had a number of concerns regarding management of those assets. According to Admiral Harold G. Bowen, Sr. the yard had no cost accounting system other than
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