USS ''Bache'', Bethlehem Staten Island first Fletcher-class destroyer built in 1942 BethlehemStatenIsland_WW2

Bethlehem Staten Island also called Bethlehem Mariners Harbor was a large

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are shipbuilding, built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes m ...

Mariners Harbor, Staten Island Mariners Harbor is a neighborhood located in the northwestern part of New York City's borough of Staten Island. It is bordered by Lake Avenue to the east, Forest Avenue to the south, Richmond Terrace to the north, and Holland Avenue to the west. ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. The shipyard started building ships for

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in January 1941 under the

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. Maritim ...

and as the result of the

Two-Ocean Navy Act The Two-Ocean Navy Act, also known as the Vinson–Walsh Act, was a United States law enacted on July 19, 1940, and named for Carl Vinson and David I. Walsh, who chaired the Naval Affairs Committee in the House and Senate respectively. In what ...

of July 1940. The shipyard was part of the

Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation Bethlehem Steel Corporation Shipbuilding Division was created in 1905 when the Bethlehem Steel Corporation of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, acquired the San Francisco-based shipyard Union Iron Works. In 1917, it was incorporated as Bethlehem Shipbuil ...

which built ships for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

, and the

United States Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission 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, 1950. The co ...

Bethlehem Steel The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Until its closure in 2003, it was one of the world's largest steel-producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its success ...

purchased the shipyard in June 1938 from United Shipyards. Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation closed the shipyard in 1959. The

propeller A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...

factory and

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

continued operation for 10 more years at the site. Since 1980 the site is the May Ship Repair Contracting Corporation next to

Shooters Island Shooters Island is a uninhabited island at the southern end of Newark Bay, off the North Shore of Staten Island in New York City. The boundary between the modern states of New York and New Jersey runs through the island, with a small porti ...

at the southern end of

Newark Bay Newark Bay is a tidal bay at the confluence of the Passaic and Hackensack Rivers in northeastern New Jersey. It is home to the Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal, the largest container shipping facility in Port of New York and New Jerse ...

, off the North Shore.

Staten Island Shipbuilding

The site started in 1903, when William Burlee built a shipyard at the site and opened as the Staten Island Shipbuilding (SISB). William Burlee sold the shipyard to United Shipyards in 1929. William Burlee started a repair shipyard in

Port Richmond, Staten Island Port Richmond is a neighborhood situated on the North Shore of Staten Island, a borough of New York City. Port Richmond is bounded by Kill van Kull on the north, Clove Road on the east, Forest Avenue on the south, and the Bayonne Bridge on th ...

(2 miles east of SISB) in 1888 as the Burlee Drydock Company. In 1903 William Burlee opened a larger shipyard at Mariners Harbor. For

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Staten Island Shipbuilding Port Richmond, built

Lapwing-class minesweeper The ''Lapwing''-class minesweeper, often called the Bird class, was an early "AM-type" oceangoing minesweeper of the United States Navy. Seven ships of the class were commissioned during World War I, and served well into the 1950s. A number we ...

s: AM5, AM6, AM7, AM8, AM44, AM45, and AM46. In 1923 SISB built four Staten Island Ferries: ''W.R. Hearst'', ''George W. Loft'', ''Youngstown'' and ''Rodman Wanamaker''. In 1925 SISB built five more New York Ferries the: ''John A. Lynch, Henry Bruckner'', ''William T. Collins, Henry A. Meyer'' ''Crathorne'', in 1927 the ''American Legion'' and in 1927 the '' Dongan Hills''. *Alex McDonald Shipyard was small shipyard next to Staten Island Shipbuilding (on the east side). Alex McDonald founded the yard before World War I. Alex McDonald built seven 110 foot

Submarine chaser A submarine chaser or subchaser is a type of small naval vessel that is specifically intended for anti-submarine warfare. They encompass designs that are now largely obsolete, but which played an important role in the wars of the first half of th ...

s for the US Navy for World War I. In 1929 Alex McDonald merged with Staten Island Shipbuilding.

United Shipyards, Inc

In 1929, Staten Island Shipbuilding merged with five other major New York ship repair facilities to become United Dry Docks, Inc. —the largest company of its type in the world—with the former head of

Morse Dry Dock and Repair Company The Morse Dry Dock and Repair Company was a major late 19th/early 20th century ship repair and conversion facility located in New York City. Begun in the 1880s as a small shipsmithing business known as the Morse Iron Works, the company grew to ...

, Edward P. Morse, as chairman of the board. United Dry Docks later changed its name to United Shipyards, Inc. United Shipyards sold off their shipyard to Bethlehem Steel in 1938."Edward P. Morse, Dry Dock Head, Dies"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', 1930-08-27."Extension for Iron Works"
''The New York Times'', 1903-01-09."Morse Dry Dock Nearly Ready", ''The Rudder'', July 1919, pp. 372-73."Work at the Morse Dry Dock", ''The Rudder'', January 1919, pp. 13-14.

World War II ships

As ''United Dry Dock, Inc.'' * 4 of 18 (1934 and 1935) ** , , , After acquisition by Bethlehem, in the very early stages of the

and at a time when the Navy shipbuilding program was just picking up momentum * 5 of 95

C1-B Type C1 was a designation for cargo ships built for the United States Maritime Commission before and during World War II. Total production was 493 ships built from 1940 to 1945. The first C1 types were the smallest of the three original Maritim ...

(ca. 1939) ** ''Cape May'' / (MC-89), launched 3 Oct 1940 ** ''Cape Ann'' (MC-90), launched 2 Nov 1940 ** (MC-91) ** (MC-92) ** (MC-93) ** 2 Bethlehem Quincy steam turbines, double reduction gears, one shaft * 3 of 29 s (fiscal year 1939) ** , , Following the industrial mobilization as a result of the

of July 1940 and subsequent legislation * 44 of 415

destroyers In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

** 5 of 30 *** , *** ... ** 15 of 175 *** , *** ... *** , *** ... *** ... ** 10 of 58 *** ... *** ... ** 3 of 12 destroyer minelayers (''Allen M. Sumner'') *** ... ** 11 of 98 *** ... *

Type B ship The Type B ship is a United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) designation for World War II barges. Barges are very low cost to build, operate, and move, and can transport bulky cargo. Because barges lack engines for self-propulsion, they are ...

barges

Post war

Post war from 1946 to 1958 the shipyard built

car float A railroad car float or rail barge is a specialised form of Lighter (barge), lighter with railway tracks mounted on its deck used to move rolling stock across water obstacles, or to locations they could not otherwise go. An unpowered barge, it i ...

barges A barge is typically a flat-bottomed vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. Original use was on inland waterways, while modern use is on both inland and marine water environments. The first modern barges were pull ...

ferries A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus. ...

, tank barges, derrick barges, repair barge,

fireboat A fireboat or Fire-float Pyronaut, 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 ...

and tugboats. *Examples: *LCU 1608, YFU-91, Landing Craft Utility navsource LCU 1608, YFU-91
/ref> * USNS Chattahoochee (T-AOG-82) * USAV Vulcan (FMS-789) Repair shop *

Walter B. Keane The Walter B. Keane (WB), and under the nickname "The Barge", was an 168-bed jail barge used to hold inmates for the New York City Department of Corrections. The barge is currently anchored off Staten Island but was previously docked on Rikers I ...

Ferry * Joseph F. Merrell Ferry * T1-MET-24a Tankers: Product Carrier and Product Carrier

References

{{Authority control Defunct shipbuilding companies of the United States Bethlehem shipyards Shipyards building World War II warships

Staten Island Shipbuilding

United Shipyards, Inc

World War II ships

Post war

See also

References