Bethlehem Shipbuilding San Pedro

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Coordinates: 33°43′57″N 118°16′07″W / 33.732513°N 118.268616°W / 33.732513; -118.268616

The former USS Cassin Young preserved as a museum ship in 2007

Bethlehem Shipbuilding San Pedro was a major shipbuilding company on Terminal Island in San Pedro, California owned by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation. To support the World War 2 demand for ships Bethlehem Shipbuilding San Pedro built: US Navy Destroyers and after the war tugboats. At its peak during the war about 6,000 worked at the yard, Bethlehem Shipbuilding San Pedro shipyard was opened in 1918 as Southwestern Shipbuilding by Western Pipe & Steel. Western Pipe & Steel sold the shipyard to Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation in 1925. Shipbuilding ended after World War 2 in 1946. In 1983 the shipyard was sold to Southwest Marine. In 1997 Southwest Marine operated four shipyards, which they sold to The Carlyle Group. Carlyle Group renamed the shipyard US Marine Repair. In 2002 US Marine Repair sold all six of its yards to United Defense Industries. In 2005 it was sold to BAE Systems but the yard has was not used and the yard is now part of the Port of Los Angeles. The shipyard was located at 1047 South Seaside Ave, San Pedro.[1]

Destroyers[]

Bethlehem Shipbuilding San Pedro destroyers built from 1942 to 1945: [2]

Fletcher-class destroyer, (DD-792) Callaghan sunk by kamikazes off Okinawa on July 28, 1945
World War II Destroyer Shipbuilders map from Department of Defense (DoD)

Fletcher-class destroyers:

Robert H. Smith-class destroyers:

Benson-class destroyers:

Benson-class destroyer, (DD-615) McLanahan

Allen M. Sumner-class destroyers"

Gearing-class destroyers"

Hisada-class district harbor tug[]

Tug USS Acoma assisting the USS Valley Forge to depart San Diego, California

Bethlehem Shipbuilding San Pedro built. in 1946, four Hisada-class district harbor tugboats. These district Harbor Tug, Medium are 260 tons, a length of 100 ft (30 m), a beam= 25 ft (7.6 m), a draft of 9 ft 7 in (2.92 m), power diesel engine, with a single screw. A top speed of 12 knots (22 km/h). [11][12] The three tugs are:

  • USS Acoma (YTB-701)
  • YT Arawak YTM-702, removed from US Navy in December 1985 [13]
  • YT Canarsee, US Navy sold in 1975
  • YT Moratok, US Navy sold in 1985.

Southwestern Shipbuilding[]

Southwestern Shipbuilding owned the shipyard Bethlehem Shipbuilding San Pedro from 1918 to 1925. Many of the ships were built under United States Shipping Board (USSB)'s Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) contacts.[14][15] Ships built:

Hull # Ship ID # Ship name Type Tons Delivered Notes
1 217373 West Carnifax Cargo 6,150 Jan-19 Renamed to Exford in 1928, Pan Royal in 1930, in collision and lost in 1943
2 217547 West Caruth Cargo 6,150 Feb-19 Renamed to Exmoor in 1923, Antonio Tripcovich in 1924, Seisho Maru in 1928, torpedoed and lost in 1944
3 217709 West Catanace Cargo 6,150 Mar-19 Renamed to Atlantic in 1923, Theodore in 1947, Archon in 1951, scrapped in 1952
4 217932 West Sequana Cargo 6,150 Apr-19 Renamed to Golden Cloud in 1928, Waimea in 1938, Marcar in 1950, Carmar in 1952, Madelaine in 1955, scrapped in 1958
5 218027 West Cavanal Cargo 6,150 Jun-19 Renamed to Edgar Bowling in 1923, Texmar in 1927, Irkutsk in 1945, scrapped in 1966
6 218322 West Cawthon Cargo 6,150 Jul-19 Renamed to Empire Bison in 1940, torpedoed and lost in 1940
7 218614 West Cayote Cargo 6,150 Aug-19 Renamed to Washington in 1928, bombed and lost in 1942
8 218323 West Chetac Cargo 6,150 Jul-19 Torpedoed and lost in 1942
9 218732 West Inskip Cargo 6,000 Sep-19 Renamed to Charcas in 1926, Carreta in 1940, Parita Sun in 1947, scrapped in 1953
10 218817 West Chicopee Cargo 6,000 Dec-19 Renamed Bakersfield, Renamed to Chagres in 1941, Mirafjord in 1947, San Salvatore in 1950, scrapped in 1953
11 219434 West Neris Cargo 6,000 Dec-19 Renamed to Irish Oak in 1941, torpedoed and lost in 1943
12 219522 West Niger Cargo 6,000 Jan-20 Renamed to Nevada in 1938, wrecked in 1932
13 219658 West Nilus Cargo 5,650 Mar-20 Sunk as breakwater at Normandy in 1944
14 219937 West Niveria Cargo 5,650 Apr-20 Renamed to Golden Coast in 1928, Delawarean in 1937, Empire Hawksbill in 1940, torpedoed and lost in 1942
15 220024 West Nomentum Cargo 5,650 May-20 Renamed to Pennsylvania in 1928, Pan in 1947, Tanar in 1949, in collision and sank in 1959
16 220199 West Norranus Cargo 5,650 Jun-20 Renamed to Pacific Pine in 1926, Maine in 1937, Lvov in 1945, Istra in 1951, scrapped in 1958
17 220315 West Notus Cargo 5,650 Jul-20 Shelled and scuttled in 1942
18 220527 West Numidia Tanker 5,650 Aug-20 Renamed Hollywood, wrecked and lost in 1945
19 220900 Mary Luckenbach Cargo 8,600 Dec-20 Renamed to C. B. Watson in 1936, Indiana in 1947, Al Horreya in 1954, Mansoura in 1957, scrapped in 1963
20 167850 Barge 165 Apr-20
21 221100 SS Montebello Tanker 8,272 Mar-21 Torpedoed and lost in 1941
22 221103 La Placentia Tanker 8,272 Apr-21 Scrapped in 1948
23 221691 La Purisima Tanker 8,272 Oct-21 Renamed to Taganrog in 1943, Octorara in 1944, La Purisima in 1946, scrapped in 1947
24 Dutch Scopas Tanker 5,900 Jul-21 Scrapped in 1939
25 Dutch Silvanus Tanker 5,900 Aug-21 Renamed to SS Papoose in 1926 (ON 226583), torpedoed and lost in 1942
26 Dutch Semiramis Tanker 5,900 Sep-21 Renamed to Kyoko Maru in 1943, torpedoed and lost in 1943

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ shipbuildinghistory.com Bethlehem Shipbuilding San Pedro
  2. ^ Defense Technical Information Center/ Navy After Next Contingency Producible Corvette
  3. ^ USS Callaghan, This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
  4. ^ "USS Cassin Young". 2012-10-03. National Park Service.
  5. ^ Photo gallery of USS Fred T. Berry at NavSource Naval History
  6. ^ Detailed history of USS Fred T. Berry
  7. ^ USS Fred T. Berry veterans' website
  8. ^ USS Harwood, This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
  9. ^ Morison, Samuel Loring (1988). "Question 35/87". Warship International. XXV (3): 317–318. ISSN 0043-0374.
  10. ^ Photo gallery of USS Harwood at NavSource Naval History
  11. ^ USS Acoma, This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
  12. ^ shipbuildinghistory.com, Samll Tugboats YTB
  13. ^ navsource.org YTM-702
  14. ^ laconservancy.org Southwestern Shipbuilding
  15. ^ Wartime Shipbuilding at Terminal Island
Retrieved from ""