__NOTOC__ California Shipbuilding Corporation built 467 Liberty and Victory ships during World War II, including Haskell-class attack transports. California Shipbuilding Corporation was often referred to as Calship.

History

In 1916 the California Shipbuilding Company built a few submarines in the Craig Shipbuilding Company yard in Long Beach. There is no relationship other than the name of the company.

The Calship shipyard was created at Terminal Island in Los Angeles, California, United States as part of America's massive shipbuilding effort of World War II. W. A. Bechtel Co. was given sponsorship and executive direction of Calship. As of 1940, Los Angeles shipyards had not built a large ship in 20 years. By late 1941 though, shipbuilding had become the second largest manufacturing industry in the Los Angeles area.Nugent, Walter; Ridge, Martin. The American West: The Reader, Indiana University Press, 1999."California Shipbuilding Corp., Los Angeles, California" Project Liberty Ship Web site (http://www.liberty-ship.com/html/yards/californiasb.html ), retrieved 8-25-2011."California Shipbuilding Corp., Los Angeles," Shipbuilding History Web site (http://shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/4emergencylarge/wwtwo/kcalifornia.htm ), Retrieved 8-25-2011.

Calship was created from scratch with ground broken on January 27, then for a planned 8-way yard. It began production of Liberty Ships in May 1941. In the early 1940s, contracts from the U.S. Department of Maritime Commission and a number of U.S. Navy contracts led to prosperity shipbuilding business in Los Angeles. The yard was located on 175 acres on the north side of Terminal Island, north of Dock Street, near present-day berths 210-213. It initially had 8 ways, and later increased this to 14. 40,000 men and women worked under the military contract to construction of 467 vessels over 5 years. The combination of these ships were known as the "Liberty Fleet". These cargo ships were designed for rapid construction with lower costs for them. Thirteen months after commencing production, the yard broke the record by delivering 15 Liberty Ships in June 1942. It delivered 111 ships in 1942, more than any other yard in the United States. In June 1943, it broke the record again by delivering 20 ships for the month, and yet again in December 1943, delivering 23 ships.

Large Navy contracts developed shipbuilding in California. As a result of that, many workers migrated to the work area. Many shipyards sprang up from San Francisco to San Diego. At the peak of shipbuilding in California were involved 282,000 persons. Shipbuilding became a highly efficient wartime industry. The building of vessels and the number of jobs in the shipbuilding peaked in mid-1943.Jaffee, Capt. Walter W., The Lane Victory: The Last Victory Ship in War and in Peace, 2nd ed., pp. 18, 24-25, The Glencannon Press, Palo Alto, CA, 1997.Nugent, Walter; Ridge, Martin. The American West: The Reader, Indiana University Press, 1999.Sawyer, L.A. and Mitchell, W.H., The Liberty Ships, 2nd Ed., pp. 20, 61-76, 183-88, 214, 216, Lloyd's of London Press Ltd., London, Eng, 1985."California Shipbuilding Corporation (Calship) Collection, 1941-1945," California State University, Northridge Web site (http://library.csun.edu/Collections/SCA/UAC/CALSHIP ), Retrieved 8-25-2011.Calship Log, Vol. 1, No. 4, October 15, 1941, California Shipbuilding Corporation, Wilmington, California (http://home.comcast.net/~cshortridge/NAVALART/CALSHIP_LOG_10_15_41.pdf), Retrieved 8-25-2011."California Shipbuilding Corp., Los Angeles," Shipbuilding History Web site (http://shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/4emergencylarge/wwtwo/kcalifornia.htm ), Retrieved 8-25-2011.Herman, Arthur. Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II, pp. 137, 178, 258, Random House, New York, NY. .

The Calship yard was known as "the city built on invisible stilts." It was situated on marshy ground, and was built on artificial earth supported by 57,000 piles driven into the mud. Shipbuilding commenced before the fitting-out docks were even completed. The yard's workers came from every region of the United States, reaching a force of 40,000 men and women, only 1% of whom had any shipbuilding experience whatsoever."California Shipbuilding Corporation (Calship) Collection, 1941-1945," California State University, Northridge Web site (http://library.csun.edu/Collections/SCA/UAC/CALSHIP ), Retrieved 8-25-2011."Shipbuilding: Speed on Terminal Island," Time magazine, July 13, 1942 (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,884558,00.html ), Retrieved 8-25-2011.

The Calship Log, aimed at "Calshippers" and "Calshipperettes", was published on the 1st and 15th of each month. The log covered the progress of working for the war effort, safety rules, policies and procedures, as well as leisure activities and information on public transport, gasoline rations, personal tax increases and war bonds. A Victory Edition was published on September 27, 1945.

After the war, the Maritime Commission and the Navy department cancelled their contracts with Calship. As the result of that, the level of shipbuilding began to decline. Calship closed in September 1945, after launching the last Victory ship, "four years to the minute after the first slid into the water.""California Shipbuilding Corporation (Calship) Collection, 1941-1945," California State University, Northridge Web site (http://library.csun.edu/Collections/SCA/UAC/CALSHIP ), Retrieved 8-25-2011. Calship ranked 49th among United States corporations in the value of World War II military production contracts.Peck, Merton J. & Scherer, Frederic M. The Weapons Acquisition Process: An Economic Analysis (1962) Harvard Business School p.619

In 1947 the Calship facility was taken over by National Metal & Steel Corporation which operated a scrap yard there. Ironically, 55 of the Liberty and Victory ships that were built at Calship were scrapped on the same site.Queenan, Charles F. The Port of Los Angeles: From Wilderness to World Port, pp. 84-89, Los Angeles Harbor Department, Los Angeles, CA, 1983.White, Michael D. The Port of Los Angeles, pp.78-79, 112, Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, SC, 2008.

+ Output of Calship Quantity Design Type Use 306 EC2-S-C1 Liberty ship cargo transport30 Z-ET1-S-C3 Liberty ship tanker32 VC2-S-AP3 Victory ship cargo transport, 8,500 hp30 VC2-S-AP5 USN attack transport69 VC2-S-AP2 Victory ship cargo transport, 6,000 hp

The surviving museum ships: SS American Victory and SS Lane Victory, were built in the Calship yard. The SS American Victory is in Tampa, Florida and the SS Lane Victory is in Los Angeles. They are open to the public for dockside tours and also sail periodically.Jaffee, Capt. Walter W., The Lane Victory: The Last Victory Ship in War and in Peace, 2nd ed., pp. 317-34, The Glencannon Press, Palo Alto, CA, 1997.

Notable ships

SS Oshkosh Victory SS Tufts Victory SS U.S.S.R. Victory SS Luray Victory USS Arenac SS Alamo Victory USS St. Mary's (APA-126) SS Carroll Victory SS Gainesville Victory SS Joplin Victory USNS Dalton Victory (T-AK-256) USS Attala SS Clara Barton USS Botetourt SS Colby Victory SS Mexico Victory USS Kenton (APA-122) SS Sharon Victory USS Hendry (APA-118) USS Lanier (APA-125) USS Hinsdale (APA-120) USS Kittson (APA-123) USS Don Marquis (IX-215) SS Carlos Carrillo USS Bosque (APA-135) SS Leland Stanford USS Betelgeuse (AK-260) SS Edward Eggleston

Details

First keels laid on slipways 1 through 14, marking the completion steps of the shipyard facilities

Way Keel laid 1 24 May 2 24 May 3 21 Jun 4 27 Jun 5 10 Jul 6 17 Jul 7 23 Jul 8 31 Jul 9 11 Sep 10 15 Sep 11 22 Sep 12 6 Oct 13 13 Oct 14 20 Oct+ Launchings Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total 1941 1 1 1 2 5 1942 3 5 4 7 7 11 10 11 12 13 13 15 111 1943 15 14 16 18 20 18 16 16 7 0 8 16 164 1944 14 10 8 8 6 8 7 5 7 6 7 9 95 1945 8 7 8 8 8 6 6 5 6 62

+ Liberty Totals Bethlehem Fairfield 385 Kaiser Richmond #2 348 California Shipbuilding 336 Oregon Shipbuilding 330 New England Shipbuilding 244 Todd Houston 208 10 others 863+ Victory Totals Oregon Shipbuilding 136 California Shipbuilding 131 Kaiser Richmond #2 105 Bethlehem Fairfield 94 Kaiser Richmond #1 53 Kaiser Vancouver 31

Launching of Liberty tankers, missing on shipbuildinghistory

Name Launched Notes 13 Sep 43 3rd L-tanker, 34 days on ways 15 Sep 43 4th L-tanker, 258th ship 17 Sep 43 5th tanker 18 Sep 43 6th/260th 21 Sep 43 7th tanker 34 days on ways 27 Sep 43 8th tanker 30 Sep 43 9th tanker 30 days on way 5 Oct 43 10th L-tanker, 266th ship 9 Oct 43 11th L-tanker

See also Emergency Shipbuilding Program California during World War II

References

Further reading Collins, James H. All Aboard! All Aboard! But Where Are the Passengers? Public Utilities Fortnightly, June 24, 1943. Herman, Arthur. Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II, Random House, New York, NY. . Nugent, Walter; Ridge, Martin. The American West: The Reader, Indiana University Press, 1999. Wallace, Jack W. Calship: An Industrial Achievement, 1941-1945, Jack W. Wallace & Associates, 1947. Our New West, Popular Mechanics, October 1944. Shipbuilding: Speed on Terminal Island, Time, July 13, 1942.

External links CSUN.edu: California Shipbuilding Corporation Collection Insidesocal.com: History of the California Shipbuilding Corp. S.S. American Victory website S.S. Lane Victory website