Bath Iron Works Explained

Bath Iron Works
Type:	Subsidiary
Motto:	Safely Execute High-Quality Work
Slogan:	Bath Built is Best Built
Founder:	Thomas W. Hyde
Location City:	Bath, Maine
Location Country:	U.S.
Locations:	1
Area Served:	United States
Industry:	Shipbuilding
Parent:	General Dynamics

Bath Iron Works (BIW) is a major United States shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine, founded in 1884 as Bath Iron Works, Limited. Since 1995, Bath Iron Works has been a subsidiary of General Dynamics, one of the world's largest defense companies. BIW has built private, commercial, and military vessels, most of which have been ordered by the United States Navy.

History

Bath Iron Works was incorporated in 1884 by General Thomas W. Hyde, a native of Bath who served in the American Civil War. After the war, he bought a shop that made windlasses and other iron hardware for the wooden ships built in Bath's many shipyards. He expanded the business by improving its practices, entering new markets, and acquiring other local businesses. By 1882, Hyde Windlass was eyeing the new and growing business of iron shipbuilding, and it incorporated as Bath Iron Works in 1884.

On February 28, 1890, BIW won its first contract for complete vessels: two iron gunboats for the Navy. One of these 190feet ships was the, the first ship launched by the company. In 1892, the yard won its first commercial contract for the 2,500-ton steel passenger steamer . In the 1890s, the company built several yachts for wealthy sailors.

In 1899, Hyde was suffering from Bright's Disease and resigned from management of the shipyard, leaving his sons Edward and John in charge. The shipyard began construction of that same year, the only battleship ever built in Bath. It dominated the yard for five years until its launching in 1904, and was at times the only ship under construction. The yard faced numerous challenges because of the weight of armor and weapons. In sea trials, Georgia averaged 19.26kn for four hours, making her the fastest ship in her class and the fastest battleship in the United States Navy at the time.^[1]

The company continued to rely on Navy contracts, which provided 86-percent of the value of new contracts between 1905 and 1917. The yard also produced fishing trawlers, freighters, and yachts throughout the first half of the century. These included Vanda, Hi-Esmaro, Aras I and Aras II, Caroline, and Corsair IV, which later served as a cruise ship before sinking off Acapulco, Mexico in 1949.^[1]

The shipyard was at peak production during World War II (1943–1944), launching a destroyer every 17 days. Bath Iron Works ranked 50th among United States corporations in the value of World War II military production contracts. In 1981, Falcon Transport ordered two tankers, the last commercial vessels built by BIW.

was commissioned at Bath in 1986. It survived a mine explosion which tore a hole in its engine room and flooded two compartments. Over the next two years, BIW repaired the ship in unique fashion. The guided missile frigate was towed to the company's dry dock in Portland, Maine, and put up on blocks, where the damaged engine room was cut out of the ship. Meanwhile, workers in Bath built a 315-ton replacement, and the module was floated south to Portland, placed on the dry dock, slid into place under the frigate, jacked up, and welded into place.^[2]

In 1995, Bath Iron Works was bought by General Dynamics. In 2001, the company wrapped up a four-year effort to build the Land Level Transfer Facility, an enormous concrete platform for final assembly of its ships, instead of building them on a sloping way so that they could slide into the Kennebec at launch. Hulls are now moved by rail from the platform horizontally onto a moveable dry dock, which greatly reduced the work involved in building and launching the ships.^[3] The 750feet, 28,000-ton dry dock was built by China's Jiangdu Yuchai Shipbuilding Company for $27 million.^[4]

In 2015, Bath Iron Works signed contracts with US Navy to build new Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, as well as to conduct maintenance sustainment support of Independence-class littoral combat ships built by competitor Austal USA.^[5] The shipyard delivered and and is working on and . The DDG block buy for Bath also includes,, and . On March 27, Bath received a $610.4 million contract modification to build John Basilone. This ship was funded in the 2015 defense appropriations act.^[6]

In 2016, Dirk Lesko became president of Bath Iron Works.

In 2020, 4,300 workers, all members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, voted to go on strike after the company and the union failed to agree to new labor contracts. The shipbuilders eventually agreed to a 3-year pact and returned to work after 63 days of strike.^[7]

Lesko resigned unexpectedly on April 7, 2022, the same day the union local announced that it had come to an agreement with the shipyard.^[8] On May 5, 2022, Charles F. Krugh was appointed president.^[9]

Offsite facilities

Bath Iron Works operates several offsite facilities in the surrounding mid-coast Maine region, their purposes range from administration to structural fabrication.

West Bath

• West Bath Warehouse • The facility closest to the main yard, located on 76 New Meadows Road, West Bath. Its primary responsibilities are storage and distribution of materials to other BIW facilities, primarily the main yard.

Brunswick

The neighboring city of Brunswick, Maine, Contains the most Bath Iron Works offsite facilities of any single municipality.

• Structural Fabrication • Built in 1940 under the name "Harding's Plant", the Structural Fabrication facility is among the largest outside of the main yard.

• Outfit Fabrication • Previously known as "East Brunswick Manufacturing Facility (EBMF)", the Outfit Fabrication facility is responsible for the production of non-structural parts and assemblies more efficient to build on the shop floor, and later ship into the main yard.

Notable ships built

• Yachts
  • Aphrodite completed for Oliver Hazard Payne 1899, the largest American built steam yacht at the time
  • Ranger, successful America's Cup defender
  • Aras II, Presidential Yacht known as USS Williamsburg
  • Corsair IV, large yacht built for J. P. Morgan Jr.
• Lightvessels
  • Diamond Shoal Lightship No. 71 (LV-71)
  • Nantucket Lightship 66
  • Nantucket Lightship 106
• Gunboat
  • USS Machias, Spanish–American War and World War I
• Naval ram
  • • Monitor
  • ^[10]
• protected cruiser
  • World War I
    • , launched in 1904

• • • World War I
• s
  • World War I
  • World War I
• 5 of 21 s
  • World War I – Rum Patrol
  • World War I
  • World War I – Rum Patrol
  • World War I – Rum Patrol
  • World War I
• 2 of 4 s
  • World War I – Rum Patrol
  • World War I – Rum Patrol
• 1 of 6
  • World War I – Rum Patrol
• 1 of 6
  • World War I
• 2 of 6 s
  • World War I – Rum Patrol
  • ^[11] World War I – Attack on Pearl Harbor
• 1 of 6
  • ^[12] World War I – Guadalcanal Campaign – Operation Flintlock – Battle of Saipan – Philippines campaign (1944–45)

• 8 of 111 s
  • ^[13] World War I – Destroyers for Bases Agreement
  • World War I – Destroyers for Bases Agreement
  • World War I
  • Destroyers for Bases Agreement
  • Destroyers for Bases Agreement – St. Nazaire Raid
  • Destroyers for Bases Agreement
  • Destroyers for Bases Agreement
  • Destroyers for Bases Agreement

• 3 of 156 s
  • ^[14] Attack on Pearl Harbor – Guadalcanal Campaign
  • Attack on Pearl Harbor – Battle of Empress Augusta Bay
  • Attack on Pearl Harbor

• • • ^[15]
      • ^[16]
      • sank U-352
      • sank U-157
• 1 of 8 Farragut-class destroyers (1934)
  • ^[17] Attack on Pearl Harbor – Battle of the Coral Sea^[18] – Battle of Midway – Guadalcanal Campaign – Battle of the Eastern Solomons – Battle of the Philippine Sea^[19]
• The J-class yacht Ranger, 1936
• 2 of 18 s
  • ^[20] Battle of Tassafaronga^[21] Philippines campaign (1944–45)
  • Battle of Tassafaronga – Philippines campaign (1944–45) – sunk in test Able of Operation Crossroads
• 3 of 6 s
  • • • • • Invasion of Normandy
• 2 of 12 s
  • ^[22] Battle of the Coral Sea^[23]
  • Battle of Midway^[24] – Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands^[25] – Naval Battle of Guadalcanal^[26] – Philippines campaign (1944–45)
• 8 of 66 s
  • invasions of Sicily, Italy and Southern France
  • invasions of Sicily, Italy and Southern France
  • ^[27] invasions of North Africa and Southern France
  • invasions of North Africa and Southern France
  • invasions of North Africa, Sicily and Italy
  • invasions of North Africa, Sicily, Italy and Southern France
  • ^[28] invasions of North Africa, Normandy, Southern France and Okinawa
  • invasions of North Africa, Southern France and Okinawa

• 31 of 175
  • ^[29] Guadalcanal campaign – Philippines campaign (1944–45) – Korean War – Vietnam War
  • Naval Battle of Guadalcanal^[30] Guadalcanal campaign – Naval Battle of Vella Lavella^[31] – Philippines campaign (1944–45) – Korean War – Vietnam War
  • Guadalcanal campaign – Naval Battle of Vella Lavella
  • Guadalcanal campaign
  • Guadalcanal campaign – Philippines campaign (1944–45) – Korean War – Vietnam War
  • Guadalcanal campaign
  • ^[32] Guadalcanal campaign – Philippines campaign (1944–45) – Korean War
  • Guadalcanal campaign – Philippines campaign (1944–45) – Battle of Surigao Strait – Korean War
  • Guadalcanal campaign – Battle of Empress Augusta Bay^[33] Battle of Cape St. George^[34] – Battle of the Philippine Sea – Philippines campaign (1944–45)
  • Guadalcanal campaign – Philippines campaign (1944–45)
  • Guadalcanal campaign – Battle of Empress Augusta Bay – Philippines campaign (1944–45) – Battle of Okinawa
  • Guadalcanal campaign – Battle of Empress Augusta Bay – Battle of Cape St. George – Battle of the Philippine Sea – Philippines campaign (1944–45)
  • Guadalcanal campaign – Battle of the Philippine Sea – Battle of Iwo Jima
  • Guadalcanal campaign – Battle of Empress Augusta Bay – Battle of the Philippine Sea – Philippines campaign (1944–45) – Battle of Okinawa
  • Guadalcanal campaign – Battle of the Philippine Sea – Battle of Okinawa
  • Guadalcanal campaign – Battle of the Philippine Sea – Philippines campaign (1944–45) – Battle of Okinawa
  • Philippines campaign (1944–45) – Battle of Okinawa – Korean War – Vietnam War
  • ^[35] Philippines campaign (1944–45)
  • Battle of the Philippine Sea – Philippines campaign (1944–45) – Battle of Okinawa
  • Philippines campaign (1944–45) – Battle of Okinawa – Korean War
  • Philippines campaign (1944–45) – Battle of Okinawa
  • Guadalcanal campaign – Philippines campaign (1944–45) – Battle of Surigao Strait
  • Philippines campaign (1944–45) – Battle of Okinawa – Korean War
  • Battle of the Philippine Sea – Philippines campaign (1944–45)
  • Battle of the Philippine Sea – Philippines campaign (1944–45) – Vietnam War
  • Mariana and Palau Islands Campaign – Philippines campaign (1944–45) – Battle of Okinawa – Vietnam War
  • Battle of the Philippine Sea – Philippines campaign (1944–45)
  • ^[36] Battle of Saipan – Philippines campaign (1944–45) – Battle of Surigao Strait – Battle of Okinawa
  • Battle of Saipan
  • Battle of Saipan
  • Philippines campaign (1944–45)

• 14 of 58 s
  • ^[37] Invasion of Normandy – Philippines campaign (1944–45) – Korean War
  • Invasion of Normandy – Philippines campaign (1944–45) – Battle of Okinawa – Korean War – Vietnam War
  • Invasion of Normandy – Philippines campaign (1944–45) – Battle of Okinawa – Korean War – preserved National Historic Landmark in Charleston, South Carolina
  • Invasion of Normandy – Philippines campaign (1944–45) – Korean War – Vietnam War
  • Invasion of Normandy
  • Philippines campaign (1944–45) – Battle of Okinawa – Korean War
  • Philippines campaign (1944–45) – Korean War – Vietnam War
  • Philippines campaign (1944–45) – Battle of Okinawa – Korean War – Vietnam War
  • Philippines campaign (1944–45) – Korean War
  • Battle of Okinawa – Korean War – Gulf of Tonkin Incident – Vietnam War
  • Battle of Okinawa – Korean War
  • Battle of Okinawa
  • Battle of Okinawa – Korean War
  • Battle of Okinawa

• 6 of 12 s
  • Battle of Okinawa
  • Battle of Okinawa
  • Battle of Okinawa
  • Battle of Okinawa
  • Battle of Okinawa
  • Battle of Okinawa
• 30 of 98 s
  • ^[38] World War II – Korean War – Vietnam War
  • World War II – Korean War – Vietnam War
  • ^[39] Korean War
  • World War II – Korean War – Vietnam War – Battle of Dong Hoi
  • World War II – Vietnam War
  • Vietnam War
  • Korean War – Vietnam War
    • • (Experimental ship completed with aluminum superstructure and high-horsepower engines)
  • Vietnam War
  • Vietnam War
    • • Korean War – Vietnam War
  • Korean War – Vietnam War
    • • Vietnam War
  • Korean War – Vietnam War
  • Vietnam War
  • Korean War
  • Vietnam War
    • • Recovered astronaut John Glenn in Friendship 7 on 20 February 1962
  • Korean War – Vietnam War
    • • Vietnam War
  • Korean War – Vietnam War
  • Korean War – Vietnam War
  • Vietnam War
  • ^[40] (no overseas deployments – used exclusively for ASW research)
  • Vietnam War
• 3 of 13 s
  • ^[41]

• 2 of 4 s
  • ^[42]
  • Vietnam War
• 9 of 18 s
  • ^[43]
    • • Vietnam War
  • Vietnam War
    • • Vietnam War
  • Vietnam War
  • Vietnam War
  • Vietnam War
• 4 of 23 s
  • ^[44]
    • • • • • • D185
  • D186
  • D187
• 2 of 10 Farragut-class destroyers (1958)
  • ^[45]
  • Vietnam War
• 3 of 9 s
  • ^[46]
    • • Vietnam War
• 5 of 9 s
  • ^[47]
    • • Vietnam War
  • Vietnam War
  • Vietnam War
• 1 of 11 s
  • ^[48]
• 3 of 6 s
  • ^[49]
    • • • 24 of 71 s
  • ^[50]
    • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • , launched in 1984 and repaired after being punctured by a mine in 1988
    • 8 of 27 s
      • • • • • • • • • • • • • , 21 Feb 2008 shot down the errant USA 193 satellite with a modified SM3 missile.
• s
  • , commissioned July 4, 1991.
    • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • , launched in 2005
      • , launched in 2006
        • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • USS Daniel Inouye (DDG-118)
  • USS Carl M. Levin (DDG-120)
  • USS John Basilone (DDG-122)
  • USS Harvey C. Barnum Jr. (DDG-124)
  • USS Louis H. Wilson Jr. (DDG-126)
  • USS Patrick Gallagher (DDG-127)
  • USS William Charette (DDG-130)
• s

Further reading

• Book: Eskew, Garnett Laidlaw. Cradle of Ships . New York . Putnam. 1958. ASIN B0007E5VY4. (First general history of BIW.)
• Book: Peniston, Bradley. No Higher Honor: Saving the USS Samuel B. Roberts in the Persian Gulf. Annapolis. Naval Institute Press. 2006. 1-59114-661-5. 2006-03-08. https://web.archive.org/web/20060712122740/http://www.navybook.com/nohigherhonor/. 2006-07-12. dead. (Describes the construction of a Perry-class guided missile frigate, the training of its precommissioning crew at BIW, and the complex repair job that returned it to duty.)
• Book: Sanders, Michael S.. The Yard: Building a Destroyer at the Bath Iron Works. New York. HarperCollins. 1999. 0-06-019246-1. registration. (Describes the construction of at BIW.)
• Book: Snow, Ralph L.. Bath Iron Works: The First Hundred Years . Bath, Maine . Maine Maritime Museum. 1987. 0-9619449-0-0. 87060259 . 4 January 2021. (The definitive work on BIW from 1884 to 1987.)
• Book: Toppan, Andrew. Bath Iron Works (Images of America: Maine) . South Carolina . Arcadia Publishing. 2002. 0-7385-1059-9. (Historic and contemporary photos of BIW.)

External links

• Bath Iron Works website
• USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58) under repair at BIW's Portland dry dock

Notes and References

1. Web site: End Games – PORTLAND MAGAZINE. www.portlandmonthly.com. 28 September 2017.
2. Web site: FFG 58: Repair at Bath Iron Works. 5 February 2013. navybook.com.
3. http://www.gdbiw.com/company_overview/history/default.htm GDBIW.com
4. News: Bath Iron Works picks Chinese firm . United Press International . 1998-09-14 . 2008-10-18.
5. Web site: 2015-05-21. Bath Iron Works gets $11 million LCS modification. 2021-02-25. Professional Mariner. en-US.
6. Web site: Flurry of Contracts Spark US Navy Shipbuilding. 3 April 2015 . 9 August 2016.
7. Web site: O'Brien. Kathleen. Overton. Penelope. Wolfe. Rob. June 22, 2020. Bath Iron Works' largest union votes to strike. July 2, 2020. Portland Press Herald. MaineToday Media.
8. Web site: Writer . Hannah LaClaireStaff . 2022-04-22 . Two weeks after president's departure, Bath Iron Works remains silent . 2022-05-09 . Press Herald.
9. Web site: staff . John TerhuneTimes Record . 2022-05-05 . Aerospace executive takes over as Bath Iron Works president . 2022-05-09 . Press Herald.
10. Web site: Nevada . https://web.archive.org/web/20040314004749/http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/n4/nevada-i.htm . dead . 14 March 2004 . . . 12 December 2013.
11. Silverstone, Paul H. U.S. Warships of World War II Doubleday & Company (1968) p.103
12. Silverstone, Paul H. U.S. Warships of World War II Doubleday & Company (1968) p.276
13. [James Charles Fahey|Fahey, James C.]
14. Silverstone, Paul H. U.S. Warships of World War II Doubleday & Company (1968) p.212
15. Silverstone, Paul H. U.S. Warships of World War II Doubleday & Company (1968) p.380
16. Silverstone, Paul H. U.S. Warships of World War II Doubleday & Company (1968) p.383
17. Silverstone, Paul H. U.S. Warships of World War II Doubleday & Company (1968) p.114
18. Oftsie, R.A., RADM USN The Campaigns of the Pacific War United States Government Printing Office (1946) p.55
19. Tillman, Barrett Clash of the Carriers (2005) pp.301-306
20. Silverstone, Paul H. U.S. Warships of World War II Doubleday & Company (1968) p.118
21. Oftsie, R.A., RADM USN The Campaigns of the Pacific War United States Government Printing Office (1946) p.140
22. Silverstone, Paul H. U.S. Warships of World War II Doubleday & Company (1968) p.126
23. Oftsie, R.A., RADM USN The Campaigns of the Pacific War United States Government Printing Office (1946) p.54
24. Oftsie, R.A., RADM USN The Campaigns of the Pacific War United States Government Printing Office (1946) p.74
25. Oftsie, R.A., RADM USN The Campaigns of the Pacific War United States Government Printing Office (1946) p.122
26. Oftsie, R.A., RADM USN The Campaigns of the Pacific War United States Government Printing Office (1946) p.128
27. Silverstone, Paul H. U.S. Warships of World War II Doubleday & Company (1968) p.129
28. Silverstone, Paul H. U.S. Warships of World War II Doubleday & Company (1968) p.132
29. Silverstone, Paul H. U.S. Warships of World War II Doubleday & Company (1968) p.135
30. Oftsie, R.A., RADM USN The Campaigns of the Pacific War United States Government Printing Office (1946) p.127
31. Oftsie, R.A., RADM USN The Campaigns of the Pacific War United States Government Printing Office (1946) p.148
32. Silverstone, Paul H. U.S. Warships of World War II Doubleday & Company (1968) p.138
33. Oftsie, R.A., RADM USN The Campaigns of the Pacific War United States Government Printing Office (1946) p.153
34. Oftsie, R.A., RADM USN The Campaigns of the Pacific War United States Government Printing Office (1946) p.159
35. Silverstone, Paul H. U.S. Warships of World War II Doubleday & Company (1968) p.141
36. Silverstone, Paul H. U.S. Warships of World War II Doubleday & Company (1968) p.143
37. Silverstone, Paul H. U.S. Warships of World War II Doubleday & Company (1968) pp.146-7
38. Silverstone, Paul H. U.S. Warships of World War II Doubleday & Company (1968) p.148
39. Silverstone, Paul H. U.S. Warships of World War II Doubleday & Company (1968) p.150
40. Silverstone, Paul H. U.S. Warships of World War II Doubleday & Company (1968) p.152
41. Blackman, Raymond V. B. Jane's Fighting Ships (1970/71) p.458
42. Blackman, Raymond V. B. Jane's Fighting Ships (1970/71) p.435
43. Blackman, Raymond V. B. Jane's Fighting Ships (1970/71) p.439
44. Blackman, Raymond V. B. Jane's Fighting Ships (1970/71) p.437
45. Blackman, Raymond V. B. Jane's Fighting Ships (1970/71) p.432
46. Blackman, Raymond V. B. Jane's Fighting Ships (1970/71) p.431
47. Blackman, Raymond V. B. Jane's Fighting Ships (1970/71) p.429
48. Blackman, Raymond V. B. Jane's Fighting Ships (1970/71) p.456
49. Blackman, Raymond V. B. Jane's Fighting Ships (1970/71) p.452
50. Clement, Janet Ann, LT USNR "The FFG-7 Program: A Shipbuilding Status Report" United States Naval Institute Proceedings (June 1981) p.109