| New York Shipbuilding Corporation | |
| Fate: | Ceased operations in 1968 |
| Foundation: | 1899 |
| Defunct: | 1968 |
| Location: | Camden, New Jersey, U.S. |
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. Its best-known vessels include the destroyer, the cruiser, the aircraft carrier, the nuclear-powered cargo ship, and a quartet of cargo-passenger liners nicknamed the 4 Aces.
It was founded in 1899 by Henry G. Morse (1850–2 June 1903),[1] an engineer noted in connection with bridge design and construction and senior partner of Morse Bridge Company. The original plan was to build a shipyard on Staten Island, thus the name of the company, 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. Site selection considered the needs of the planned application of bridge-building practices of prefabrication and assembly-line production of ships in covered ways. Construction of the plant began in July 1899; the keel of the first ship was laid in November 1900. That ship, contract number 1, was M. S. Dollar, which was later modified as an oil tanker and renamed J. M. Guffey.[2] Two of the first contracts were for passenger ships that were among the largest then being built in the United States: #5 for and #6 for . Morse died after securing contracts for 20 ships. He was followed as president by De Coursey May.
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.[3] 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 carriers, battleships, and luxury liners to barges and car floats.
During World War I, New York Ship expanded rapidly to fill orders from the U.S. Navy and the 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 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 light carriers (CVL), built on light cruiser hulls; the 40,000-ton battleship ; all three of the six 30,000-ton Alaska-class cruisers that were built (and), four 15,000-ton Baltimore-class heavy cruisers, 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, the world's first nuclear-powered merchant ship. The yard launched its last civilian vessel in 1960, and its last naval vessel,, was ordered in 1967. The company's final completed submarine was, which had been ordered in the early 1960s, but construction was halted from 1963 to 1965 because of the loss of the . Guardfish was commissioned in December 1967.
In 1968, lacking new naval orders, NYS ceased operations., 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 previously used in NYS’s graving dock is still in use today in the former Philadelphia Navy Yard’s dry dock number 3.[4]
| Slipway | Width | Length | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| J | 110feet[5] | 840feet | 1900-41 | Length originally 600 ft, lengthened to 840 ft for construction of Alaska-class cruisers[6] |
| K | 110feet | 840feet | 1900-41 | |
| L | 110feet | 840feet | 1900-41 | |
| M | 110feet | 840feet | 1912-41 | Length originally 700 ft, lengthened to 840 ft for construction of Alaska-class cruisers |
| O | 112feet | 900feet[7] | 1915 | |
| T | 130feet[8] | 650feet | 1941 | |
| U1 | 180feet | 650feet | 1941 | Could be extended up to 1,000 ft |
| U2 | ||||
| U3 | 200feet | 650feet | 1941 | Could be extended up to 1,000 ft |
| U4 |
Ships built by New York Ship include:
An Athletic team for the 16,000 employees was created in the 1910s.[23]
CV / CVL Class Carriers: Book; USS INDEPENDENCE CVL-22, A War Diary of the Nation's First Dedicated Night Carrier by: John G. Lambert