General Engineering & Dry Dock Company

Coordinates: 37°46′33″N 122°15′03″W / 37.775815°N 122.250845°W / 37.775815; -122.250845 General Engineering & Dry Dock Company was a shipbuilding company in Alameda, California that was active from the 1920s through the 1940s. The company built ships for the Southern Pacific Railroad and the United States Coast Guard in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

At the beginning of World War II, the U.S.Navy started the program for expand the navy. The U.S.Navy used two separate shipbuilding and shiprepair sites to create the Naval Industrial Reserve Shipyard (NIRS) Alameda. The first was the General Engineering and Dry Dock Company. The company worked under contract NObs-344 and built small warships for the U.S. Navy. The shipyard had four shipbuilding ways, which were designed for the simultaneous construction of several ships. During World War II General Engineering and Dry Dock Company built sixteen 1,250-ton minesweepers, eleven 850-ton minesweepers, and four 560-ton anti-submarine net layers at the Site. In 1946, the U.S. Navy ceased contract with company. The second portion of the Site was to the east of the shipbuilding company. It was purchased from March 24 to July 7, 1942.^[1]

General Engineering & Dry Dock Company shipbuilding company started in Oakland, California. To support the World War II demand for ships General Engineering built: minesweepers and Net laying ships. General Engineering was opened in 1919 as Barnes & Tibbitts shipyard by J. D. Barnes and W. G. Tibbitts. Mr. Barnes sold his interest to Tibbitts in 1922 and changed the company name to General Engineering & Dry Dock Company. Tibbitts purchased Hanlon Dry Dock shipyard in Oakland in 1928. After World War II, both shipyards closed in 1948. The shipyard was located at 1805 Clement Ave, Alameda, California. The site is now the Alameda Marina and Island Yacht Club.^[2]

Notable ships built[]

1920s

• Santa Rosa, ferry of Southern Pacific Railroad, Puget Sound Navigation Company, Washington State Ferries; docked in San Francisco as convention/banquet facility

1930s

• Lakes-class cutters:
  • USCGC Itasca
  • USCGC Sebago
  • USCGC Saranac
  • USCGC Shoshone

1940s (World War II)

• Aloe-class net laying ships
  • USS Buckthorn (AN-14)
  • USS Ebony (AN-15)
  • USS Eucalyptus (AN-16)
  • USS Chinquapin (AN-17)
• Auk-class minesweepers
  • USS Sheldrake (AM-62)
  • USS Skylark (AM-63)
  • USS Starling (AM-64)
  • USS Swallow (AM-65)
  • USS Heed (AM-100)
  • USS Herald (AM-101)
  • USS Motive (AM-102)
  • USS Oracle (AM-103)
  • USS Champion (AM-314)
  • USS Chief (AM-315)
  • USS Competent (AM-316)
  • USS Defense (AM-317)
  • USS Devastator (AM-318)
  • USS Gladiator (AM-319)
  • USS Impeccable (AM-320)
  • USS Ardent (AM-340)
• Admirable-class minesweepers
  • USS Ransom (AM-283)
  • USS Rebel (AM-284)
  • USS Recruit (AM-285)
  • USS Reform (AM-286)
  • USS Refresh (AM-287)
  • USS Reign (AM-288)
  • USS Report (AM-289)

See also[]

• California during World War II
• Maritime history of California
• List of ships built in Alameda, California

References[]

• Colton, Tim. "General Engineering & Dry Dock Company, Alameda CA". ShipbuildingHistory.com. The Colton Companies. Archived from the original on 2011-10-04.