Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Company (1917–1989) was a major shipbuilding company in
Chester, Pennsylvania
Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located within the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, it is the only city in Delaware County and had a population of 32,605 as of the 2020 census.
Incorporated in 1682, Chester i ...
on the
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, before ...
.
Its primary product was
tankers, but the company built many types of ships over its 70-year history. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, it participated in the U.S. Government's
Emergency Shipbuilding Program
The Emergency Shipbuilding Program (late 1940 – September 1945) was a United States government effort to quickly build simple cargo ships to carry troops and materiel to allies and foreign theatres during World War II. Run by the U.S. Maritime ...
. The company was also part of the U.S.
aerospace industry
Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astron ...
during the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...
; it built various
propulsion research & development structures, including the largest U.S. rocket test chamber, for
Aerojet General
Aerojet was an American rocket and missile propulsion manufacturer based primarily in Rancho Cordova, California, with divisions in Redmond, Washington, Orange and Gainesville in Virginia, and Camden, Arkansas. Aerojet was owned by GenCorp. I ...
in 1963.
History
The company was developed by
Sun Oil Company
Sunoco LP is an American master limited partnership organized under Delaware state laws and headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that is a wholesale distributor of motor fuels. It distributes fuel to more than 5,500 Sunoco-branded gas stations, ...
, and launched its first ship in 1917, just as the United States was entering
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
. Under the direction of its president,
John Glenn Pew, the company experienced tremendous success over the following decades. In the 1920s, it had become a large shipyard that built tankers for the
Standard Oil Company
Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co- ...
. In 1936, the Pew family offered
John J. McClure and his Republican political machine control over hiring at Sun Shipbuilding as patronage to lure him out of retirement after the scandal involving the Rum Ring Trial.
By the start of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, Sun was among the country's five largest shipyards, with eight
slipway
A slipway, also known as boat ramp or launch or boat deployer, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats, and for launching and retrieving small ...
s. Twenty slipways were added during the war, making ''Sun Ship'' the country's largest shipyard. At its peak, the company employed more than 40,000 workers at four shipyards. During World War II, Sun Shipbuilding was the largest private-sector employer of African-Americans in the United States and controversially segregated many of the black workers to yard #4.
[
Sun Shipbuilding built 281 ]T2 tanker
The T2 tanker, or T2, was a class of oil tanker constructed and produced in large quantities in the United States during World War II. Only the T3 tankers were larger "navy oilers" of the period. Some 533 T2s were built between 1940 and the end o ...
s during World War II, about 40% of the U.S. wartime total. It also built hospital ships, cargo ships, and escort carriers for the United States Maritime Commission
The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 195 ...
(USMC). On 27 September 1941, it contributed one of the 14 ships launched on Liberty Fleet Day: SS ''Surprise''. Sun Shipbuilding originally had a contract to build 30 of the C4 ships. The USMC prioritized Sun's expertise in building urgently needed T2-SE-A1 tankers and withdrew 20 C4s from Sun and assigned them to Kaiser's Richmond, California yard. The Sun ships, designated C4-S-B2, became War Shipping Administration
The War Shipping Administration (WSA) was a World War II emergency war agency of the US government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the United States needed for fighting the war. Both shipbuilding under the Maritime C ...
troopships operated by commercial agents or Navy hospital ships.Glomar Explorer
''GSF Explorer'', formerly USNS ''Hughes Glomar Explorer'' (T-AG-193), was a deep-sea drillship platform built for Project Azorian, the secret 1974 effort by the United States Central Intelligence Agency's Special Activities Division to recove ...
, a top secret ship was designed and built for the CIA to raise a sunken Soviet submarine lost 2 years earlier in the Pacific.[
]
Pennsylvania Shipbuilding Company
The company was sold to Pennsylvania Shipbuilding in 1982, and closed in 1989. The Central Yard site has been sold or leased for multiple uses, while the North Yard is now an independent cargo terminal.
Harrah's Philadelphia
In 2006, a new casino then named "Harrah's Chester" opened on the Sun Ship site and after a rename in May 2012 is currently in operation as " Harrah's Philadelphia".
See also
Ships built by the Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Company
References
External links
Sun Shipbuilding historical site
* http://users.telenet.be/doxford-matters/sundoxford.html
*http://shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/large/sun.htm
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock Co.
1917 establishments in Pennsylvania
1989 disestablishments in Pennsylvania
American companies established in 1917
Chester, Pennsylvania
Companies based in Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Companies disestablished in 1989
Defunct manufacturing companies based in Pennsylvania
Defunct shipbuilding companies of the United States
Sunoco LP