Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation
Encyclopedia
Bethlehem Steel
The Bethlehem Steel Corporation , based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was once the second-largest steel producer in the United States, after Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based U.S. Steel. After a decline in the U.S...
Corporation acquired the San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
shipyard Union Iron Works
Union Iron Works
Union Iron Works, located in San Francisco, California, on the southeast waterfront, was a central business within the large industrial zone of Potrero Point, for four decades at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries.-History:...
in 1905. In 1917 it was incorporated as Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, Limited; otherwise known as BethShip.
Headquarters were in Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream". As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council...
after acquiring Fore River Shipyard
Fore River Shipyard
The Fore River Shipyard of Quincy, Massachusetts, more formally known as the Fore River Ship and Engine Building Company, was a shipyard in the United States from 1883 until 1986. Located on the Weymouth Fore River, the yard began operations in 1883 in Braintree, Massachusetts before being moved...
in 1913 and later in Sparrows Point, Maryland in 1964.
In 1940, it was number 1 of the Big 3 U.S. shipbuilders who could build any ship. Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock and New York Shipbuilding
New York Shipbuilding
The New York Shipbuilding Corporation was founded in 1899 and opened its first shipyard in 1900. Located in Camden, New Jersey on the east shore of the Delaware River, New York Ship built more than 500 vessels for the U.S...
Corporation (New York Ship) were #2 and #3. Bethlehem had 4 yards in early 1940: Fore River, Sparrows Point, San Francisco, and Staten Island. Bethlehem expanded during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
as a result of the Emergency Shipbuilding program
Emergency Shipbuilding program
The Emergency Shipbuilding Program was a United States government effort to quickly build simple cargo ships to carry troops and materiel to allies and foreign theatres during World War II. Run by the U.S...
administered under the United States Maritime Commission
United States Maritime Commission
The United States Maritime Commission was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and replaced the U.S. Shipping Board which had existed since World War I...
.
The Quincy yard was sold to General Dynamics Corporation in the mid 1960s, and closed in 1986. The Alameda yard was closed by Bethlehem Steel in the early 1970s, while the San Francisco facility was sold to British Aerospace
British Aerospace
British Aerospace plc was a UK aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was in the Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire...
in the mid 1990s and survives as BAE Systems
BAE Systems
BAE Systems plc is a British multinational defence, security and aerospace company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that has global interests, particularly in North America through its subsidiary BAE Systems Inc. BAE is among the world's largest military contractors; in 2009 it was the...
San Francisco Ship Repair.
Bethlehem Steel ceased shipbuilding activities in 1997 in an attempt to preserve its core steel making operations.
Shipyards
The following shipyards were owned by Bethlehem. They are listed in order of acquisition.- Bethlehem Wilmington, Wilmington, DelawareWilmington, DelawareWilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
(1904–1925, 1941–1945) - Union Iron WorksUnion Iron WorksUnion Iron Works, located in San Francisco, California, on the southeast waterfront, was a central business within the large industrial zone of Potrero Point, for four decades at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries.-History:...
, San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
(1905–1941) - Hunters Point Drydocks, Hunters Point, San Francisco, CaliforniaHunters Point, San Francisco, CaliforniaBayview-Hunters Point or The Bayview, is a neighborhood in the southeastern corner of San Francisco, California, United States. The decommissioned Hunters Point Naval Shipyard is located within its boundaries and Candlestick Park is on the southern edge....
(1908–1920) — Acquired by the US Navy - Fore River ShipyardFore River ShipyardThe Fore River Shipyard of Quincy, Massachusetts, more formally known as the Fore River Ship and Engine Building Company, was a shipyard in the United States from 1883 until 1986. Located on the Weymouth Fore River, the yard began operations in 1883 in Braintree, Massachusetts before being moved...
, Quincy, MassachusettsQuincy, MassachusettsQuincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream". As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council...
(1913–1964) Sold to General Dynamics Corporation in 1964. - Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard, Sparrows Point, Maryland (1914–1997)
- Bethlehem Elizabethport, Elizabethport, New JerseyElizabethport, New JerseyA neighborhood in the City of Elizabeth, New Jersey. Formerly home of the Singer Manufacturing Company, makers of Singer Sewing Machines....
(1916–1921) - Alameda Works ShipyardAlameda Works ShipyardThe Alameda Works Shipyard, in Alameda, California, United States, was one of the largest and best equipped shipyards in the country. The only building remaining from the yard is the Union Iron Works Powerhouse, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.-History:Established in the...
, Alameda, CaliforniaAlameda, CaliforniaAlameda is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located on Alameda Island and Bay Farm Island, and is adjacent to Oakland in the San Francisco Bay. The Bay Farm Island portion of the city is adjacent to the Oakland International Airport. At the 2010 census, the city had a...
(1916–1956) - Squantum Victory YardSquantum Victory YardSquantum Victory Yard was a United States Naval Shipbuilding yard operational from the early 1900s to the 1920s in Quincy, Massachusetts. It was then reused as a civil airport, and later Naval Air Station Squantum.-Ships Constructed:...
, Quincy, MassachusettsQuincy, MassachusettsQuincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream". As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council...
(1917–1919) The "Victory Yard" was constructed specifically for the building of destroyers for the war effort, to free up the Fore River Yard for other vessels including the battlecruiser . - Bethlehem Mariners Harbor, Staten Island, New York (1938–1960)
- Bethlehem Shipyard (Southwest Marine Terminal at Berth 240), San Pedro, California (1940–1981)
- Bethlehem Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland (1940–1945)
- Bethlehem Hingham Shipyard, Hingham, MassachusettsHingham, MassachusettsHingham is a town in northern Plymouth County on the South Shore of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and suburb in Greater Boston. The United States Census Bureau 2008 estimated population was 22,561...
(1940–1945) - Bethlehem Atlantic Works, East Boston, Massachusetts
- Bethlehem Brooklyn 56th Street, Brooklyn, New York
- Hoboken Shipyard, Hoboken, New JerseyHoboken, New JerseyHoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 50,005. The city is part of the New York metropolitan area and contains Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region...
(?–1982) - Bayonne Naval Drydock, Bayonne, New JerseyBayonne, New JerseyBayonne is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Located in the Gateway Region, Bayonne is a peninsula that is situated between Newark Bay to the west, the Kill van Kull to the south, and New York Bay to the east...
? - Bethlehem Pennsylvania Shipyards, Inc., Beaumont, TexasBeaumont, TexasBeaumont is a city in and county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, United States, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 118,296 at the 2010 census. With Port Arthur and Orange, it forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the...
(1948–1989)
External links
- Ship christening photos, including at the Wilmington Yard
- US Shipbuilding History - Maritime Business Strategies
- US Navy Shipyards - globalsecurity.org