View source for New York Shipbuilding Corporation

{{Short description|US shipbuilding company}}
{{Infobox company
| name = New York Shipbuilding Corporation
| logo = [[File:NYSB logo Merritt-Chapman.JPG|150px|Logo during ownership by Merritt-Chapman & Scott]]
| fate = Ceased operations in 1968
| foundation = 1899
| defunct = 1968
| location = [[Camden, New Jersey]], U.S.
| successor = 
}}

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.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}} Its best-known vessels include the destroyer {{USS|Reuben James|DD-245}}, the cruiser {{USS|Indianapolis|CA-35}}, the aircraft carrier {{USS|Kitty Hawk|CV-63}}, the nuclear-powered cargo ship {{ship|NS|Savannah}}, and a quartet of cargo-passenger liners nicknamed the ''[[Four Aces (passenger liners)|4 Aces]]''.

==History==
It was founded in 1899 by Henry G. Morse (1850–2 June 1903),<ref group=note>Not to be confused with architect Henry Grant Morse, Jr. (1884 – May 28, 1934).</ref> an engineer noted in connection with bridge design and construction and senior partner of [[Morse Bridge Company]].{{sfn|''Marine Engineering''|1903}} The original plan was to build a shipyard on [[Staten Island]], thus the name of the company,{{sfn|''Bulletin of American International Corporation''|1920|p=9}} but plans to acquire a site there failed. The company then explored other potential sites as far south as Virginia, particularly in the [[Delaware River]] area, and ultimately chose a location in the southern part of [[Camden, New Jersey]].{{sfn|''Bulletin of American International Corporation''|1920|pp=9–10}} Site selection considered the needs of the planned application of bridge-building practices of prefabrication and assembly-line production of ships in covered ways.{{sfn|''Bulletin of American International Corporation''|1920|pp=10–11}} Construction of the plant began in July 1899; the keel of the first ship was laid in November 1900.{{sfn|''Marine Engineering''|1903}} That ship, contract number 1, was ''M. S. Dollar'', which was later modified as an oil tanker and renamed ''J. M. Guffey''.{{sfn|''Bulletin of American International Corporation''|1920|p=17}}<ref group=note>U.S. Navy as USS ''J. M. Guffey'' (ID-1279) commissioned 14 October 1918 at Invergorden, Scotland, decommissioned  Philadelphia 17 June 1919 (DANFS).</ref> Two of the first contracts were for passenger ships that were among the largest then being built in the United States: #5 for {{SS|Mongolia|1903|2}} and #6 for {{SS|Manchuria|1903|2}}.{{sfn|''Bulletin of American International Corporation''|1920|p=19}} Morse died after securing contracts for 20 ships. He was followed as president by De Coursey May.{{sfn|''Marine Engineering''|1903}}

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]], [[International Mercantile Marine Co.]], [[W. R. Grace and Company]] and the [[Pacific Mail Steamship Company]].{{sfn|''Marine Engineering''|1916}}<ref group=note>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."</ref> From about 1933 to 1937 the shipyard was part of [[Errett Lobban Cord]]'s business empire.

New York Ship's unusual covered ways produced everything from [[aircraft carrier]]s, [[battleship]]s, and [[ocean liner|luxury liners]] to [[barge]]s and [[car float]]s.

[[File:Air view, Yorkship Village ca 1920.png|thumb|Air view of [[Fairview, Camden|Yorkship Village]]]]
[[File:Camden Shipyard 1919.jpg|thumb|Eight destroyers of the {{sclass|Wickes|destroyer|4}}, New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey, 1919]] 

During [[World War I]], New York Ship expanded rapidly to fill orders from the U.S. Navy and the [[United States Shipping Board Merchant Fleet Corporation|Emergency Fleet Corporation]]. 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]] and financed by the [[United States Department of War|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 {{Sclass|Independence|aircraft carrier|0}} [[light aircraft carrier|light carriers]] (CVL), built on {{Sclass|Cleveland|cruiser|0}} light cruiser hulls; the 40,000-ton [[battleship]] {{USS|South Dakota|BB-57}}; all three of the six 30,000-ton [[Alaska-class cruiser]]s that were built ({{USS|Alaska|CB-1|2}}, {{USS|Guam|CB-2|2}}, and {{USS|Hawaii|CB-3|2}}), four 15,000-ton [[Baltimore-class cruiser|Baltimore-class]] [[heavy cruiser]]s, 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|NS ''Savannah'']], the world's first nuclear-powered merchant ship. The yard launched its last civilian vessel ({{SS|Export Adventurer}}) in 1960, and its last naval vessel, {{USS|Camden|AOE-2|6}}, was ordered in 1967. The company's final completed submarine was {{USS|Guardfish|SSN-612}}, which had been ordered in the early 1960s, but construction was halted from 1963 to 1965 because of the loss of the {{USS|Thresher|SSN-593|6}}. ''Guardfish'' was commissioned in December 1967.

In 1968, lacking new naval orders, NYS ceased operations. {{USS|Pogy|SSN-647}}, 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]]. The [[Caisson (engineering)|caisson]] previously used in NYS's [[Dry dock|graving dock]] is still in use today in the former [[Philadelphia Naval Shipyard|Philadelphia Navy Yard's]] dry dock number 3.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOXDkdEOS7E |title=How We Keep The Water On The Outside of the Drydock |date=2024-05-27 |last=Battleship New Jersey |access-date=2024-08-01 |via=YouTube}}</ref>

==World War II Slipways==

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!  style="text-align: center;" | Slipway
! Width !! Length !! Date !! Notes
|-
! style="text-align: center;" | J
| {{convert|110|ft|m}}<ref name="Hearings_Before_Committee_on_Naval_Affai">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pkRYAAAAYAAJ|title=Hearings Before Committee on Naval Affairs of the House of Representatives, on Estimates Submitted by the Secretary of the Navy, 1919|year=1919|page=333|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|access-date=2023-03-19|archive-date=2023-04-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407163027/https://books.google.com/books?id=pkRYAAAAYAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>
| {{convert|840|ft|m}}<ref name=Fassett/>
| 1900-41
|rowspan=3|Length originally 600 ft,<ref name="Hearings_Before_Committee_on_Naval_Affai"/> lengthened to 840 ft<ref name=Fassett/> for construction of [[Alaska-class cruiser]]s<ref name="A_Place_Called">{{cite web|url=http://yorkship.org/HTML/NYSB_then.htm|title=A Place Called YORKSHIP: The Facilities|access-date=2021-11-12|archive-date=2021-11-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211112202851/http://yorkship.org/HTML/NYSB_then.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
! style="text-align: center;" | K
| {{convert|110|ft|m}}<ref name="Hearings_Before_Committee_on_Naval_Affai"/>
| {{convert|840|ft|m}}<ref name=Fassett/>
| 1900-41
|-
! style="text-align: center;" | L
| {{convert|110|ft|m}}<ref name="Hearings_Before_Committee_on_Naval_Affai"/>
| {{convert|840|ft|m}}<ref name=Fassett/>
| 1900-41
|-
! style="text-align: center;" | M
| {{convert|110|ft|m}}<ref name="Hearings_Before_Committee_on_Naval_Affai"/>
| {{convert|840|ft|m}}<ref name=Fassett/>
| 1912<ref name="A_Place_Called"/>-41
|Length originally 700 ft,<ref name="Hearings_Before_Committee_on_Naval_Affai"/> lengthened to 840 ft<ref name=Fassett/> for construction of [[Alaska-class cruiser|Alaska-class cruisers]]<ref name="A_Place_Called"/>
|-
! style="text-align: center;" | O
| {{convert|112|ft|m}}<ref name="Hearings_Before_Committee_on_Naval_Affai"/>
| {{convert|900|ft|m}}<ref name=Fassett>{{cite book|last1=Gardiner Fassett|first1=Frederick|title=The Shipbuilding Business in the United States of America|date=1948|publisher=[[Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers]]|page=208}}</ref>
| 1915<ref name="A_Place_Called"/>
|-
! style="text-align: center;" | T
| {{convert|130|ft|m}}<ref group="note" name="Slipway_remains.">Based upon measurements made with [[Google Earth]] of slipway remains.</ref>
| {{convert|650|ft|m}}<ref name=Fassett/>
| 1941
|-
! style="text-align: center;" | U1
| scope="row" rowspan=2| {{convert|180|ft|m}}<ref group="note" name="Slipway_remains."/>
| scope="row" rowspan=2| {{convert|650|ft|m}}<ref name=Fassett/>
| scope="row" rowspan=2| 1941
| scope="row" rowspan=2| Could be extended up to 1,000 ft<ref name=Fassett/>
|-
! style="text-align: center;" | U2
|-
! style="text-align: center;" | U3
| scope="row" rowspan=2| {{convert|200|ft|m}}<ref group="note" name="Slipway_remains."/>
| scope="row" rowspan=2| {{convert|650|ft|m}}<ref name=Fassett/>
| scope="row" rowspan=2| 1941
| scope="row" rowspan=2| Could be extended up to 1,000 ft<ref name=Fassett/>
|-
! style="text-align: center;" | U4
|}

== Ships built ==

Ships built by New York Ship include:
* [[Aircraft carrier]]s
** 1 of 2 {{sclass|Lexington|aircraft carrier|1}}
*** {{USS|Saratoga|CV-3}}, launched 7 April 1925
** 9 of 9 {{sclass|Independence|aircraft carrier|0}} light carriers
*** {{USS|Independence|CVL-22|3}}
*** {{USS|Princeton|CVL-23|2}}, {{USS|Belleau Wood|CVL-24|2}}, {{USS|Cowpens|CVL-25|2}}, {{USS|Monterey|CVL-26|2}}, {{USS|Langley|CVL-27|2}}, {{USS|Cabot|CVL-28|2}}, {{USS|Bataan|CVL-29|2}}
*** {{USS|San Jacinto|CVL-30|3}}
** 2 of 2 {{sclass|Saipan|aircraft carrier|0}} light carriers
*** {{USS|Saipan|CVL-48|3}}, {{USS|Wright|CVL-49|3}}
** 1 of 4 {{sclass|Kitty Hawk|aircraft carrier|1}}
*** {{USS|Kitty Hawk|CV-63}}, launched 21 May 1960
* [[Battleship]]s
** 1 of 3 {{sclass|New Mexico|battleship|0}} 
*** {{USS|Idaho|BB-42}}
** 1 of 3 {{sclass|Colorado|battleship|0}}
*** {{USS|Colorado|BB-45}}
** 1 of 2 {{sclass|Nevada|battleship|0}}
*** {{USS|Oklahoma|BB-37}}
** 1 of 4 {{sclass|South Dakota|battleship|0||1939}}
*** {{USS|South Dakota|BB-57}} 
* [[Collier (ship)|Collier]]s 
** SS ''Plymouth'' served as USS ''Plymouth'' from 1918 to 1919, as an auxiliary cargo ship, then returned to civilian service as SS ''Plymouth''<ref>[http://www.shipscribe.com/usnaux/ww1/ships/id3308.htm Shipscribe: SS Plymouth] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818144901/http://www.shipscribe.com/usnaux/ww1/ships/id3308.htm |date=2017-08-18 }}- Retrieved 2017-08-15</ref>
** [[SS Fairmont|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.<ref>[http://www.shipscribe.com/usnaux/ww1/ships/id2429.htm Shipscribe: SS Fairmont] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818145025/http://www.shipscribe.com/usnaux/ww1/ships/id2429.htm |date=2017-08-18 }}- Retrieved 2017-08-15</ref><ref>[https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?18631  wrecksite SS ''Black Point'']</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.navsource.net/archives/12/172429.htm |website=NavSource |title=Fairmont (ID 2429) |access-date=2019-12-25}}</ref>
** SS ''Winding Gulf''<ref>[http://www.shipscribe.com/usnaux/ww1/ships/wng-gulf.htm Shipscribe: SS Winding Gulf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818144934/http://www.shipscribe.com/usnaux/ww1/ships/wng-gulf.htm |date=2017-08-18 }}- Retrieved 2017-08-15</ref>
** SS ''Tidewater'' did not serve in the US Navy. Renamed SS ''Isaac T. Mann'' in 1923 and was scrapped at Baltimore in 1954.<ref>[http://www.shipscribe.com/usnaux/ww1/ships/tidewatr.htm Shipscribe: ''SS Tidewater''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818144916/http://www.shipscribe.com/usnaux/ww1/ships/tidewatr.htm |date=2017-08-18 }}- Retrieved 2017-08-15</ref>
** SS ''Glen White'' served as USS ''Glen White'' from 1918 to 1919 then returned to civilian service as SS ''Glen White''.<ref>[http://www.shipscribe.com/usnaux/ww1/ships/glenwhit.htm Shipscribe: SS Glen White] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818141917/http://www.shipscribe.com/usnaux/ww1/ships/glenwhit.htm |date=2017-08-18 }}- Retrieved 2017-08-15</ref>
** SS ''Sewalls Point'' did not serve in the US Navy.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=Z7M6AAAAMAAJ&dq=Collier+Sewalls+Point&pg=PA233 Google books: ''The Rudder; ''SS Sewalls Point''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230421201316/https://books.google.com/books?id=Z7M6AAAAMAAJ&dq=Collier+Sewalls+Point&pg=PA233 |date=2023-04-21 }}(Thomas Fleming Day, Fawcett Publications, 1919, pp. 233)</ref>
** 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.<ref>[http://www.shipscribe.com/usnaux/ww1/ships/franklin.htm Shipscribe: ''SS Franklin''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818145020/http://www.shipscribe.com/usnaux/ww1/ships/franklin.htm |date=2017-08-18 }}- Retrieved 2017-08-15</ref>
** SS ''William N. Page'' <ref>[http://www.shipscribe.com/usnaux/ww1/ships/wn-page.htm Shipscribe: ''SS William N. Page''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818145041/http://www.shipscribe.com/usnaux/ww1/ships/wn-page.htm |date=2017-08-18 }}- Retrieved 2017-08-15</ref>
* [[Cruiser]]s
** 1 of 2 {{sclass|Portland|cruiser|0}} heavy cruisers
*** {{USS|Indianapolis|CA-35|3}} launched 7 November 1931
** 3 of 9 {{sclass|Brooklyn|cruiser|0}} light cruisers
*** {{USS|Savannah|CL-42}} launched 8 May 1937
*** {{USS|Nashville|CL-43}} 2 October 1937
*** {{USS|Phoenix|CL-46}} 19 March 1938
** 4 of 14 {{sclass|Baltimore|cruiser|0}} heavy cruisers
***{{USS|Bremerton|CA-130|3}} launched 2 July 1944
***{{USS|Fall River|CA-131|3}} 13 August 1944
***{{USS|Macon|CA-132|3}} 15 October 1944
***{{USS|Toledo|CA-133|3}} 6 May 1945
** 3 of 3 {{sclass|Alaska|cruiser|0}} [[battlecruiser|large cruiser]]
*** {{USS|Alaska|CB-1|3}}, {{USS|Guam|CB-2|3}}, {{USS|Hawaii|CB-3|3}}
** 8 of 27 {{sclass|Cleveland|cruiser|0}} light cruisers
** 1 of 1 {{sclass|Truxtun|cruiser|0}} nuclear-powered guided missile cruisers
***{{USS|Truxtun|CGN-35|3}} launched 23 June 1962
* 4 of 8 {{sclass|Porter|destroyer}}s
* [[Fast combat support ship]]
** {{Sclass|Sacramento|fast combat support ship|1}}
***{{USS|Camden|AOE-2}}
* [[Oil tanker]]s
** SS ''Gulfoil''<ref>{{cite web|publisher=uboat.net|title=Gulfoil|url=https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/1665.html|access-date=11 April 2022|archive-date=2 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211202074815/https://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/1665.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
** ''[[Gulflight]]'' launched 1914. Center of a diplomatic incident when torpedoed in World War I.
** SS ''Sylvan Arrow'', launched 1918<ref>{{cite web|publisher=uboat.net|title=Sylvan Arrow|url=https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/1681.html|access-date=14 April 2022|archive-date=27 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127062649/https://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/1681.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
**{{SS|Camden}} (1921) sunk by [[Japanese submarine I-25|Japanese submarine ''I-25'']] in 1942
** [[SS Dixie Arrow|SS ''Dixie Arrow'']]<ref>{{cite web|publisher=uboat.net|title=Dixie Arrow|url=https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/1475.html|access-date=2 February 2022|archive-date=26 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220326124134/https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/1475.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
** {{ship|Japanese seaplane tender|Kamoi}} launched 1922
** {{SS|Empire Arrow}}
* [[Submarine]]
** [[Thresher/Permit-class submarine|''Thresher''/''Permit''-class]] [[SSN (hull classification symbol)|fast attack submarine (nuclear)]]
*** {{USS|Pollack|SSN-603}}
*** {{USS|Haddo|SSN-604}}
*** {{USS|Guardfish|SSN-612}}
** {{sclass|Sturgeon|submarine|0}} [[SSN (hull classification symbol)|fast attack submarine (nuclear)]] 
*** {{USS|Pogy|SSN-647}} (completed at [[Ingalls Shipbuilding]])
** [[Barbel-class submarine|''Barbel''-class fast attack submarine (diesel)]]:
*** {{USS|Bonefish|SS-582}}
* [[Nuclear marine propulsion|Nuclear-powered]] [[merchant ship]]
** {{ship|NS|Savannah}}
* Passenger/cargo ship
** SS ''Panhandle State'': Also named: President Monroe, President Buchanan, (Iris), and Emily H. M. Weder.<ref>[https://history.army.mil/documents/WWII/wwii_Troopships.pdf SS ''Panhandle State''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407034541/https://history.army.mil/documents/WWII/wwii_Troopships.pdf |date=2023-04-07 }} (pp. 61)- Retrieved 2019-07-22</ref>
** SS ''Munargo'': Also named Arthur Murray (Army but never used), USS ''Munargo'' (Navy), USAT ''Thistle'', USAHS Thistle (Army hospital). [https://web.archive.org/web/20150402123952/http://www.history.army.mil/documents/WWII/wwii_Troopships.pdf]
* Other ships and boats
*** {{ship||Washington Irving|sidewheeler|2}}—the biggest passenger-carrying riverboat ([[Paddle steamer#Sidewheeler|paddle steamer]]) ever built.

== Athletic ==
An athletic team for the 16,000 employees was created in the 1910s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jul 03, 1919, page 4 - Evening Public Ledger at Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/87195214/?terms=New%20York%20%22New%20York%20Shipbuilding%22%20Athletics%20new%20Track%20Field&match=1// |access-date=2024-11-04 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[New York Shipbuilding strike]]

== Footnotes ==
{{Reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite periodical |periodical=Bulletin of American International Corporation |title=History and development of New York Shipbuilding Corporation |date=June 1920 |volume=III |issue=1 |url=https://archive.org/stream/historydevelopme00amerrich#page/1/mode/1up |ref={{sfnref|''Bulletin of American International Corporation''|1920}}}}
*{{cite periodical |date=July 1903 |title=Death of Henry G. Morse, President New York Shipbuilding Company |periodical=Marine Engineering |volume=8 |number=7 |page=376 |location=New York |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4NJLAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA376 |access-date=6 March 2015 |ref={{sfnref|''Marine Engineering''|1903}}}}
*{{cite periodical |date=December 1916 |title=Shipbuilding and General Marine News |periodical=Marine Engineering |volume=21 |number=12 |pages=510, 557 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h4pIAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA557 |access-date=4 March 2015 |ref={{sfnref|''Marine Engineering''|1916}}}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|New York Shipbuilding Company}}
*[http://members.aol.com/nyship/home.html New York Shipbuilding Company Historical Sites]
*[http://www.yorkship.us/ A Tribute to a Place Called Yorkship]
*[http://www.shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/2large/inactive/newyorkship.htm New York Shipbuilding, Camden NJ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151001062358/http://www.shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/2large/inactive/newyorkship.htm |date=2015-10-01 }}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120722082216/http://www.phillyseaport.org/LWL A web exhibit of ship christening photos that includes twenty images of launching ceremonies at New York Shipbuilding]

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[[Category:New York Shipbuilding Corporation| ]]
[[Category:Shipyards of the United States]]
[[Category:Defunct shipbuilding companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Companies based in Camden, New Jersey]]
[[Category:History of Camden, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Industrial buildings and structures in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Defunct manufacturing companies based in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Shipyards building World War II warships]]