New York Shipbuilding Corporation

New York Shipbuilding Company (NYS) was opened in Camden, NJ across the Delaware River from downtown Philadelphia. Henry G. Morse wanted to open his shipyard at Staten Island, but, after already naming it New York Shipbuilding Company, he realized that Camden would be a more lucrative location and made it there instead. The Corporation was organized in 1899 and that same year, construction began. NYS opened in 1900, and the first ship was launched in 1901. A mold loft template system separated the fabrication and assembly stages. The major parts of the project were constructed in advance. Morse implemented a revolutionary idea of connecting all the parts of the yard with overhead cranes, making transportation of materials significantly easier. To speed up the construction process, many tasks were completed before launching that had once been done during outfitting. The yard grew to instant success and became a leader in naval construction by 1914. To highlight Morse's accomplishments even more, many of the principles that he invented became standard practice at other shipyards around the world.

Launched in 1901, MS Dollar was one of the first ships to be a product of NYS. Another one of the first ships built by the yard was an oil tanker, J.M. Guffey; oil tankers continued to see the hulls of NYS for the next 50 years and many of them were built for Gulf Oil. NYS constructed another type of ship, cargo ships, in the early years. NYS had three contracts for cargo ships with a renowned intercoastal service, the American Hawaiian Steamship Co. Success at NYS peaked in the years of the First World War. This culmination resulted in NYS's becoming one of the largest shipyards in the world. Increased demand at NYS was manifested in the yard's expansion efforts: The Middle, Destroyer, and South Yards were added. The original yard became known as the North Yard. These facilities were desired after the fruition of many NYS-built ships, some of the most impressive ships for the time. One of these success stories includes the construction of four large combination passenger and cargo liners, especially Manchuria. The 16,000-ton liner Manchuria originally served as a trans-Pacific liner. However, Manchuria was called into service in WWI and has the honor of being the first ship to fire a shot at the infamous German submarines.

In 1903 NYS received its first Navy contract for the cruiser Washington. This was a big step for the yard and constructing a mighty ship was imperative. Washington was delivered on July 30, 1906, ten days before the scheduled release; the ship was a success reaching speeds of 22.27 knots, the fastest of that time. Since this contract NYS continued its strong relations with the Navy and amounted ceaseless naval contracts until the yard's close. Wartime increase in demand for shipbuilding led to an increase in demand for workers. The yard built accommodations, intending to assuage the overcrowded Camden and attract more employees. Construction for Yorkship Village started on May 1, 1918 and is today known as Fairview. Other shipyard communities followed over the years to accommodate the ever-increasing amount of yard employees.

NYS constructed the famous USS Saratoga (CV-3). The ship was laid down in 1920 as a battle cruiser; however, in 1922 the Navy ordered that the ship be converted to an aircraft carrier. Commissioned in 1927, the USS Saratoga was the first fast carrier in the United States Navy and has been regarded as the precursor to the Independence Class carriers. Nine of the other twelve aircraft carriers, that NYS built, saw identical fates to "Sara"; they started out as cruisers and were converted to carriers for WWII.

Ship construction at NYS for the United States' impending entrance World War II began July 5, 1939, with the laying of the keel for the battleship USS South Dakota (BB-57). NYS's major contribution to WWII was the Independence Class of light carriers. The yard produced nine of these ships, which were also called Sunsetters because of their success in the Pacific. The USS Independence was launched on August 22, 1942, and was one of the 26 heavy combatant ships that NYS would furnish for the United States Navy in WWII. In addition to the light aircraft carriers, the yard constructed 2 destroyer tenders, 3 seaplane tenders, 1 repair ship, 8 light cruisers, 2 battle cruisers, and 1 battleship. NYS built other vessels to service the navy in the war, totaling 70 NYS-built ships that were on active duty in the war. Moreover, 148 landing craft (LCIs and LCTs) were constructed by the yard during the year 1942. In order for NYS to supply the large number of ships mentioned, the yard was converted to provide, exclusively, navy combatant ships. With these conversions, New York Ship managed a great feat by constructing in one year a number of large naval combatant ships never again accomplished by a singe shipyard in the history of shipbuilding. To top this success, many of the ships delivered were completed 8 to 13 months in advance of their contracted delivery dates. For all of this success to take place, the yard increased the employee number immensely. The number peaked well over 30,000 at the most intense period of the wartime production, including both men and women workers. NYS was a major force in the time of World War II with all these construction efforts. A museum exhibition is being planned commemorating these 30,000 workers and the many ships that they built in order to serve their nation.

Despite the great access to international markets and the area's history for commercial and naval success, New York Ship closed in 1967. The USS Kitty Hawk, the last ship to be launched from the yard, left NYS in 1961; this ship is the only carrier from NYS still in active service. The SSN-647 POGY was originally contracted at NYS but in 1968 Philadelphia Naval Shipyard took over the construction. Now the North Yard is out of commission with its covered ways torn down. The Middle Yard is non-existent in that it was demolished and paved over. The South Yard serves as a location for many warehouses and industrial buildings. The North Yard outfitting pier and basin as well as the former Destroyer Yard presently cater to general cargo.

Ships Constructed at NYS (listed alphabetically):

Types Of Ships Built and Repaired by NYS: