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Long Beach Naval Shipyard
Long Beach Naval Shipyard used to be known as Terminal Island Shipyard because of its location on Terminal Island between the cities of Long Beach and San Pedro in California. The yard was constructed as a Moreell Dry Dock facility and began working on ships April 7, 1940. After the intense new construction years of WWII came to a close, the yard was to be leased to Bethlehem Steel Company. However, the US Navy commanded the yard be turned into a US Naval Dry Dock: Roosevelt Base, California. The yard changed its name to Terminal Island Naval Shipyard in November 1945 and then to Long Beach Naval Shipyard (LBNSY) in March 1948. On June 1, 1950 the yard fell under inactive duty being reactivated, following the Korean War conflict, in January 1951. From then on, the yard provided fleet support in the Southern California area and performed mainly overhaul and maintenance of non-nuclear surface ships for the US Navy, until it closed in 1997.
The configuration of LBNYS consisted of an industrial area occupying only half of the total land owned; 109 acres, of the whole 214-acre lot, incorporated a total of 165 buildings, 3 graving docks, and 5 industrial piers. The yard's portal crane capacity extended to 67 tons and the floating crane capacity ranged in versatility from 25 to 112 tons. The yard included also a 386-ton floating crane, a landmark feature of the yard, that was captured by the Allies from Germany in 1945. It is one of the world's largest self-propelled floating cranes reaching a height of 374 feet. The yard boasted 2.4 million square feet of covered building area and 6,904 linear feet of total ship berthing space. With all its equipment, the yard was capable of performing multiple ship-related duties: nuclear and non-nuclear structural, sheetmetal, boiler, rigging, electronics, electrical, ordinance, sandblasting, welding, machining, woodworking, painting, pipe fitting, and more. The yard was capable of supporting its industrial work with its complete design, engineering, and planning programs. LBNSY hosted the West Coast nuclear-powered aircraft carrier (CVN) emergency drydock, designated as the yard's Drydock No. 1.
Long Beach Naval Shipyard has provided top-notch technological support for many scientific projects including Polaris, Poseidon, and Sealab. The yard has also participated in progressive industrial programs such as the Occupational Safety and Health Program. LBNSY worked with national, state, and county programs to reduce pollution and to curb hazardous industrial harms. The yard developed modern programs supplying the Navy with the largest organic depot that included unique Repairable Rework Centers for electronic systems. Before the closing of the yard, LBNSY pursued new angles by soliciting projects in modification, self-help habitability modifications, female habitability modifications to combatants, and increased manufacturing lines.
Long Beach Naval Shipyard has provided many jobs over the years. Prior to its close, LBNSY employed approximately 4,300 civilian employees and payroll was estimated at $182.4 million annually. Most of the work force came from the Long Beach-Los Angeles-San Pedro area with others hailing from other Southern California counties.
Sources:
- 1) "Long Beach Naval Shipyard (NSY), Long Beach, California." http://home.att.net/~drydock-1/. April 25, 2000.
- 2) "Long Beach Naval Shipyard (NSY), Long Beach, California." http://www.nttc.edu/manufacturing/depot/navsea.html. April 25, 2000.
