Crescent Shipyard, located on Newark Bay in Elizabeth, New Jersey, built a number of ships for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and allied nations as well during their production run, which lasted about ten years while under the Crescent name and banner. Production of these ships began before the Spanish–American War and occurred far before the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Arthur Leopold Busch Arthur Leopold Busch or Du Busc (5 March 1866 – 9 March 1956) was a British-born American naval architect responsible for the development of the United States Navy's first submarines. Biography Early life Busch was born in Middlesbrough, No ...

, a recent emigre from Great Britain, started the yard with former Navy Lt. Lewis Nixon in January 1895. Both men previously worked for

William Cramp & Sons William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company (also known as William Cramp & Sons Ship & Engine Building Company) of Philadelphia was founded in 1830 by William Cramp, and was the preeminent U.S. iron shipbuilder of the late 19th century. Company hi ...

in Philadelphia. Both Nixon and Busch were regarded to be amongst the best in their respected fields - and what they did at this time - as designers and builders of the latest, most advanced types of ships. Nixon, a cofounder of Crescent Shipyard was also the lead designer of America's first class of battleships at

Shipyard, in Philadelphia. He also built the Anstice

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

(1902) that was renamed the ''Sandy Hook''.

Isaac Rice Isaac Leopold Rice (February 22, 1850 – November 2, 1915) was a German-born Jewish American businessman, investor, musicologist, author, and chess patron.

Electric Launch Company The Electric Launch Company, later renamed Elco Motor Yachts ("Elco"), is an American boat building and electric motor company that has operated from 1893 to 1949 and from 1987 to the present. History Elco first made its mark at the World's Col ...

, which was started to build electrically propelled launches and small craft, also began its operations here. . The Crescent Shipyard was operated by Nixon until 1904. In 1904 Crescent Shipyard was acquired by

Bethlehem Steel The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For most of the 20th century, it was one of the world's largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its succe ...

in 1904. Bethlehem Steel leased the yard to John W. Sullivan and part to New Jersey Dry Dock & Transportation Company. In 1916, Bethlehem Steel took over operation of the shipyard. The yard was closed permanently shortly after the conclusion of

in 1921.

Submarine works

Busch, as this shipyard's superintendent, supervised several classes of naval ships, including

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-ste ...

monitor Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, West ...

s, and cruisers in addition to the first commissioned submarine of the

USS Holland (SS-1) USS ''Holland'' (SS-1) was the United States Navy's first modern commissioned submarine, although not the first military submarine of the United States, which was the 1775 submersible ''Turtle''. The boat was originally laid down as ''Hollan ...

. The Holland is considered technologically revolutionary in several respects. This submarine was considered a historic first, and revolutionary in a timeline of naval innovations in world history. Internationally, many "advanced" industrialized nations around the world took note – almost immediately – and some acquired the rights to build them soon after the purchase of the ''Holland VI'' on 11 April 1900. Busch, as shipyard construction chief and naval architect for Lewis Nixon, went on to supervise the building of the prototype "Fulton", which followed the USS ''Holland'' and was used as an example and template in development of America's A-class or s. Busch reviewed the engineering plans of ''Fulton'' with Holland, who approved the works of Busch. These pioneering submarines were built for the Holland Torpedo Boat Company named after this company's founder

John Philip Holland John Philip Holland ( ga, Seán Pilib Ó hUallacháin/Ó Maolchalann) (24 February 184112 August 1914) was an Irish engineer who developed the first submarine to be formally commissioned by the US Navy, and the first Royal Navy submarine, ''Ho ...

. Work on these submarines began at this shipyard in the late fall of 1896 with the keel to the ''Holland VI'' being laid down by early December of that year. Holland's company evolved into the

Electric Boat Company Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

after this company was officially incorporated on 7 February 1899. Japan's first five submarines were developed under Busch's direction while working at

Fore River Ship and Engine Company Fore River Shipyard was a shipyard owned by General Dynamics Corporation located on Weymouth Fore River in Braintree and Quincy, Massachusetts. It began operations in 1883 in Braintree, and moved to its final location on Quincy Point in 1901 ...

in Quincy, Massachutsetts for Electric Boat and Admiral Francis T. Bowles, President of the shipyard in 1904. Electric Boat had subcontracted with the Fore River Shipbuilding yard for some twenty years (since this time) before moving to their present location in Groton, CT.

Bethlehem Elizabethport

Bethlehem Elizabethport built

United States Shipping Board The United States Shipping Board (USSB) was established as an emergency agency by the 1916 Shipping Act (39 Stat. 729), on September 7, 1916. The United States Shipping Board's task was to increase the number of US ships supporting the World War ...

cargo Ships,

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...

reefer ship A reefer ship is a refrigerated cargo ship typically used to transport perishable cargo, which require temperature-controlled handling, such as fruits, meat, vegetables, dairy products, and similar items. Description ''Types of reefers:'' Re ...

tanker ship A tanker (or tank ship or tankship) is a ship designed to transport or store liquids or gases in bulk. Major types of tankship include the oil tanker, the chemical tanker, and gas carrier. Tankers also carry commodities such as vegetable oils, ...

s starting in 1918 for World War I. The ships were part of the

Emergency Fleet Corporation The Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) was established by the United States Shipping Board, sometimes referred to as the War Shipping Board, on 16 April 1917 pursuant to the Shipping Act (39 Stat. 729) to acquire, maintain, and operate merchant shi ...

program. The site of the shipyard at Front and Marshall Streets is now Veterans Memorial Waterfront Park.

John W. Sullivan Company

John W. Sullivan Company from 1914 to 1926 built: cargo ships. tungboats,

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

s, Ferry ships, tankers,

fireboat A fireboat or fire-float is a specialized watercraft with pumps and nozzles designed for fighting shoreline and shipboard fires. The first fireboats, dating to the late 18th century, were tugboats, retrofitted with firefighting equipme ...

s and

salvage ship A salvage tug, known also historically as a wrecking tug, is a specialized type of tugboat that is used to rescue ships that are in distress or in danger of sinking, or to salvage ships that have already sunk or run aground. Overview Few tugbo ...

New Jersey Dry Dock & Transportation Company

The New Jersey Dry Dock & Transportation Company from 1914 to 1916 built: tugs, a cutter, Fire Boat and a

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...

Samuel L Moore & Company

Samuel L Moore & Company built from 1890 to 1893 tug,

, ferry,

lighthouse tender A lighthouse tender is a ship specifically designed to maintain, support, or tend to lighthouses or lightvessels, providing supplies, fuel, mail, and transportation. In the United States, these ships originally served as part of the Lighthou ...

and

References

* *

External links

* {{cite web , first = Robert , last = Mitchell , author2 = Dembek, Stephen , title = Submarine Pioneers , publisher = Chief of Naval Operations, Submarine Warfare Division, United States Navy , date = 2001-03-03 , url = http://www.navy.mil/navydata/cno/n87/history/pioneers3.html#Frank%20Cable , accessdate = 2008-02-12 , url-status = dead , archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20150612145717/http://www.navy.mil/navydata/cno/n87/history/pioneers3.html#Frank%20Cable , archivedate = 2015-06-12 1895 establishments in New Jersey Economy of Elizabeth, New Jersey Companies based in Union County, New Jersey Bethlehem shipyards Defunct shipbuilding companies of the United States Shipyards of New Jersey