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Newport News Shipbuilding
Newport News Shipbuilding, first called Chesapeake Dry Dock and Construction Company, was founded in 1886 by Collis Huntington and became famous for the first dry dock in the world. In 1891 the shipyard's first hull was delivered -- the tugboat Dorothy. Six years later the shipyard's first naval ships, all gunboats, were completed. For the next two decades shipbuilding increased, culminating in intense production during the First World War. The end of the war, however, forced a naval shipbuilding hiatus in 1922. The number of employees dropped considerably, and the yard began to make yachts, turbines, traffic lights, and railroad cars, a change in pace from the production rigor of warships. With the beginning of the Second World War came a need for heightened aircraft presence, and the first designed aircraft carrier, Ranger, was launched in 1933. 1940 saw the largest passenger vessel up to that time, America, emerge from the Newport News shipyard.
Newport News Shipbuilding had excellent production opportunity as a result of increased wartime and post-wartime demands. The shipyard's employment peaked in 1943 at 31,000, and eight Essex-class aircraft carriers were born. Between 1945 and 1975 the shipyard undertook very large projects, especially with the advent of nuclear-powered carriers and submarines. The Robert E. Lee was the yard's first nuclear submarine and was completed in 1960. The following year the Enterprise, the first nuclear carrier in the world, was built by Newport News. In 1975 the Nimitz, the lead ship in a new class of carriers, was launched.
Between 1968 and 1996 the conglomerate company Tenneco owned Newport News Shipbuilding. On December 11, 1996, Newport News regained independent ownership.
The company is the largest non-government-owned shipyard in the U.S. Its main tasks are the design, repair, construction, overhaul, and refueling of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines for the Navy. Newport News built 9 of the 12 active carriers in the Navy, including all eight nuclear carriers. The shipyard is responsible for most of the overhaul and repair work done on carriers today. It is also one of two shipyards building nuclear submarines for the U.S. Navy. In all, Newport News Shipbuilding has constructed 264 naval ships and 543 commercial vessels.
Types of ships constructed at Newport News Shipbuilding (1920s-1980s):
- Aircraft Carriers
- Amphibious Cargo Ships
- Battleships
- Barges
- Caissons
- Car Floats
- Cargo Vessels
- Coast Guard Cutters
- Cruisers
- Destroyers
- Dredges
- Ferry Boats
- Freighters
- Landing Ships (Dock and Tank)
- Passenger Liners
- Pilot Boats
- Submarines
- Tankers
- Tugs
Names of Ships Constructed, Repaired, and Remodeled at Newport News Shipbuilding:
- Trenton
- Maine
- Antietam (CV-36)
- Bennington (CV-20)
- Bon Homme Richard (CV-31)
- Constellation (CVA-64)
- Duluth
- Erie
- Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV-42)
- Hornet (CVS-12)
- Independence (CVA-62)
- Iowa(BB-61)
- Missouri (BB-63)
- Penacook
- Vestal
- New York 6th
- New Mexico
- YF221
- Hull
- Alexander Hamilton
- Honolulu
- YR 34-35
- Raleigh
- La Salle
- Ogden
- Alarm
- Oriskany (CV-34)
- Saratoga (CVA-60)
- Ticonderoga (CVA-14)
- USS Brooklyn
- USS Franklin (CV-13)
- USS Holder
- Connecticut
- USS Menges
- USS New Jersey
- Cincinnati
- USS North Carolina (BB-55)
- Tennessee
- Wasp (CVS-18)
- Florida 4th
- Arizona
- Pensacola
- New Orleans
- Dale
- John C. Spencer
- Helena
- Kearsarge
- Vancouver
- Austin
- Duluth
Additional Facilities at Newport News Shipbuilding (1930s-1960s):
- Administration
- Diesel Engine Construction
- Distribution Depot
- Drydock Construction
- Material Laboratory
- Power Plant
- Railroad Receiving Yard
- Supply Storage
Sources:
- "Newport News Shipbuilding."
http://sun00781.dn.net/man/company/shipyard/newport_news.htm - "NNS: Our History."
http://www.nns.com/overview/history.htm
