Kaiser Shipyards: Difference between revisions

[[File:Pointpotrero.jpg|thumb|Shipyard number 3]]

The '''Kaiser Shipyards''' were seven major shipbuilding yards located on the [[West Coast of the United States|United States west coast]] during [[World War II]]. Kaiser ranked 20th among U.S. corporations in the value of wartime production contracts.<ref>[[Whiz Kids (Department of Defense)|Peck, Merton J.]] & [[Frederic M. Scherer|Scherer, Frederic M.]] ''The Weapons Acquisition Process: An Economic Analysis'' (1962) [[Harvard Business School]] p.619</ref> The shipyards were owned by the Kaiser Shipbuilding Company, a creation of [[United States|American]] industrialist [[Henry J. Kaiser]], (1882-1967), who established the shipbuilding company around 1939 in order to help meet the construction goals set by the United States Maritime Commission for merchant shipping.

Four of the Kaiser Shipyards were located in [[Richmond, California|Richmond]] and were called the [[Richmond Shipyards]]. Together, these four Kaiser Shipyards produced 747 ships, including many of the famous [[Liberty ship]]s and [[Victory ship]]s{{nsmdns}} for carrying general cargo and military munitions, armaments and supplies, more than any other complex in the United States. Only one of these ships, the [[SS Red Oak Victory|SS ''Red Oak Victory'']], survives. Two other Liberty ships built in other American yards also exist as working museum exhibits - the [[SS Jeremiah O'Brien|SS ''Jeremiah O'Brien'']] moored in [[San Francisco]] and the [[SS John W. Brown|SS ''John W. Brown'']] in [[Baltimore]]. An additional Victory cargo ship also survives - the [[SS Lane Victory|SS ''Lane Victory'']]. Kaiser also produced the {{sclass|Casablanca|escort aircraft carrier}}s.

Three other shipyards were located across the [[Columbia River]] from each other at Ryan Pointin[[Vancouver, Washington]] and in the [[St. Johns, Portland, Oregon|St. Johns]] area of [[Portland, Oregon]] as part of the [[Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation]] group, and at [[Swan Island (Oregon)|Swan Island]] in Portland.

A total of 18 wartime shipyards were established by Kaiser on all three American coasts. Additional construction shipyards were located on the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]] along the [[Atlantic Ocean]], notably [[Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard]] in [[Baltimore]], [[Maryland]], and the [[Gulf of Mexico]] southern coast.<ref>Herman, Arthur. ''Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II,'' pp. 209, 269, 271, 275, Random House, New York, New York, 2012. {{ISBN|978-1-4000-6964-4}}.</ref>

Henry Kaiser was known for developing new methods of ship building, which allowed his yards to outproduce other similar facilities and build 1,490 ships, 27 percent of the total Maritime Commission construction. Kaiser's ships were completed in two-thirds the time and a quarter the cost of the average of all other shipyards. Liberty ships were typically assembled in a little over two weeks, and one in less than five days.<ref>Herman, Arthur. ''Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II,'' pp. 176-91, Random House, New York, New York, 2012. {{ISBN|978-1-4000-6964-4}}.</ref>

Kaiser Shipyards shut down at the end of the war. The [[Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park]] was dedicated October 25, 2000 on the site of one of the shipyards in Point Richmond.

Henry Kaiser had been building cargo ships for the [[United States Maritime Commission|Maritime Commission]] in the 1930s, partnering with [[Todd Pacific Shipyards]] and the [[Bath Iron Works]]. When orders for ships from the British government, already at war with Germany, allowed for growth, Kaiser established his first Richmond shipyard begun in December 1940.<ref>Herman, Arthur. ''Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II,'' pp. 22, 123-4, 130-7, Random House, New York, New York, 2012. {{ISBN|978-1-4000-6964-4}}.</ref>

In April 1941 the Maritime Commission requested an additional Kaiser yard, to be used for [[Liberty ship]] construction, and after the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]], Kaiser started third and fourth yards, building [[troop transport]]s and [[tank landing ship]]s (LSTs), respectively. His son, [[Edgar Kaiser, Sr]] was appointed Vice-President and General Manager of the shipyards.<ref name=Kennedy>{{cite journal|last=Kennedy|first=Shawn G.|title=Edgar F. Kaiser dies at age 73; headed vast family corporation|journal=New York Times|date=December 13, 1981|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/12/13/obituaries/edgar-f-kaiser-dies-at-age-73-headed-vast-family-corporation.html}}</ref><ref>Herman, Arthur. ''Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II,'' pp. 132-4, 137, 178-89, 1914, 269, 271, Random House, New York, New York, 2012. {{ISBN|978-1-4000-6964-4}}.</ref>

* [[Fields Point]] in Providence, Rhode Island, had a shipyard temporarily run by Kaiser-Walsh when the former management ran into difficulties. The shipyard was closed and sold after the war to a Swedish shipowner who dismantled the shipyard and later erected it in the city of Uddevalla on the west coast of Sweden.<ref>{{cite web

| url = http://www.shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/4emergency/wwtwo/kwalsh.htm

| title = Walsh-Kaiser Company, Inc., Providence RI

| publisher = ShipBuildingHistory.com

| accessdate = May 16, 2010

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905163305/http://www.shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/4emergency/wwtwo/kwalsh.htm

|archive-date=September 5, 2008

}}</ref>

== References ==

{{Reflist}}

== External links == <!-- these need to be converted into specific references -->

* [http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/wwIIbayarea/shipbuilding.htm NPS article on Bay Area shipbuilding]

* [http://www.ohs.org/education/oregonhistory/historical_records/dspDocument.cfm?doc_ID=00088A33-E7AE-1E91-891B80B0527200A7 Oregon History Project]{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051029084202/http://www.ohs.org/education/oregonhistory/historical_records/dspDocument.cfm?doc_ID=00088A33-E7AE-1E91-891B80B0527200A7 |date=October 29, 2005 }}

{{WWIIUSShips}}

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