USS Greenlet (ASR-10) leaves Pearl Harbor c1963

USS Sirius (AF-60) underway at sea, between 1957 and 1964

Moore Dry Dock Company was a ship repair and

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roo ...

company in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

. In 1905, Robert S. Moore, his brother Joseph A. Moore, and John Thomas Scott purchased the National Iron Works located in the Hunter's Point section of

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, and founded a new company, the Moore & Scott Iron Works Moore had previously been vice president of the

Risdon Iron Works Union Iron Works, located in San Francisco, California, on the southeast waterfront, was a central business within the large industrial zone of Potrero Point, for four decades at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries. ...

of San Francisco. Scott was nephew to Henry T. and Irving M. Scott, owners of the nearby

Union Iron Works Union Iron Works, located in San Francisco, California, on the southeast waterfront, was a central business within the large industrial zone of Potrero Point, for four decades at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries ...

, where John had risen from apprentice to superintendent. Their new business was soon destroyed by fire resulting from the

San Francisco earthquake At 05:12 Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). High-intensity s ...

. They quickly recovered and were back in business before the end of 1906 by purchasing Boole & Sons shipyard on Union Street in

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

. In 1909, Moore and Scott decided to move across the Bay, and so purchased the W.A. Boole and Son Shipyard, located in Oakland at the foot of Adeline Street along the

Oakland Estuary The Oakland Estuary is the strait in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, separating the cities of Oakland and Alameda and the Alameda Island from the East Bay mainland. On its western end, it connects to San Francisco Bay proper, while its e ...

. In 1917, Moore bought out Scott and changed the business name to Moore Shipbuilding Company. The company built a number of

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 used in World War 1. In 1922, the company name was changed to Moore Dry Dock Company, operating primarily as a repair yard. Its shipbuilding capabilities were expanded in the

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 ...

era, providing over 100 ships for the

U.S. 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 o ...

and merchant marine. Moore ranked 82nd among United States corporations in the value of World War II military production contracts. Shipbuilding ceased at war's end, but repair operations continued. Moore Dry Dock Company finally closed in 1961. The yard was notable for its employment of several thousand

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

s, in both skilled and unskilled positions, at a time when they confronted major job discrimination. At the

Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park is a United States national historical park located in Richmond, California, near San Francisco. The park preserves and interprets the legacy of the United States home front ...

an inscription honoring the wartime contributions made by the Bay Area Shipyards during World War II states that "Moore Dry Dock handled the difficult jobs of production, repair and conversion that slowed overall output in other yards." In 1950, the Moore facility was the target of a union picket when sailors were having a dispute with a ship owner whose ship was in Moore's dry dock at the time. The court battle which ensued eventually led to the Moore Dry Dock Standards for Primary Picketing at a Secondary Site (

Sailors' Union of the Pacific The Sailors' Union of the Pacific (SUP), founded on March 6, 1885 in San Francisco, California, is an American labor union of mariners, fishermen and boatmen working aboard US flag vessels. At its fourth meeting in 1885, the fledgling organizati ...

(Moore Dry Dock Co.), 92

NLRB The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent agency of the federal government of the United States with responsibilities for enforcing U.S. labor law in relation to collective bargaining and unfair labor practices. Under the Natio ...

547, 27 LRRM 1108 (1950)). Moore Dry Dock Company ceased operations in 1961. Its site at the foot of Adeline Street on the Oakland Estuary is now occupied by

Schnitzer Steel Industries Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc. is a steel manufacturing and scrap metal recycling company headquartered in Portland, Oregon. History Schnitzer Steel was founded by Russian immigrant Sam Schnitzer in 1906 as a one-person scrap metal recycler. ...

, a large scrap metal recycling concern, based in Portland, Oregon.

World War 2

For the US war effort, Moore Dry Dock Company built: * Type C3-class cargo ships. * 82 of 328 type C2

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 ...

cargo designs ''C2-S-A1'' and ''C2-S-B1''. Some were converted to AP

Troopship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...

s. *

Ashland-class dock landing ship The ''Ashland''-class dock landing ship were the first class of dock landing ship of the United States Navy. They were built during World War II. A dock landing ship (hull classification LSD) is a form of auxiliary warship designed to support a ...

Dock landing ship A dock landing ship (also called landing ship, dock or LSD) is an amphibious warfare ship with a well dock to transport and launch landing craft and amphibious vehicles. Some ships with well decks, such as the Soviet Ivan Rogov class, also hav ...

s a type of

Amphibious warfare ship An amphibious warfare ship (or amphib) is an amphibious vehicle warship employed to land and support ground forces, such as marines, on enemy territory during an amphibious assault. Specialized shipping can be divided into two types, most crud ...

. * Type R refrigerated cargo ships, also called

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:'' R ...

s, design ''R2-S-BV1''. * Seaplane

derrick A derrick is a lifting device composed at minimum of one guyed mast, as in a gin pole, which may be articulated over a load by adjusting its guys. Most derricks have at least two components, either a guyed mast or self-supporting tower, an ...

s, design class ''YSD-11''. A

Crane Ship A crane vessel, crane ship or floating crane is a ship with a crane specialized in lifting heavy loads. The largest crane vessels are used for offshore construction. Conventional monohulls are used, but the largest crane vessels are often catama ...

.Seaplane

s, design ''YSD'', ''2db.com'' * 2 of 7

Fulton-class submarine tender The ''Fulton'' class was a class of seven United States Navy submarine tenders. The class took its name from the lead ship, , which was commissioned 27 December 1940 by Mare Island Navy Yard and sponsored by Mrs. A. T. Sutcliffe, great-granddaught ...

s. * 5 of 9 Chanticleer-class

Submarine rescue ship A submarine rescue ship is a surface support ship for submarine rescue and deep-sea salvage operations. Methods employed include the McCann Rescue Chamber, deep-submergence rescue vehicles (DSRV's) and diving operations. List of active su ...

World War 2 Ships

World War 1

For World War 1 Moore Shipbuilding Company built for the US Shipping Board a number of ships, including some that become

Empire ship An Empire ship is a merchant ship that was given a name beginning with "Empire" in the service of the Government of the United Kingdom during and after World War II. Most were used by the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT), which owned them and co ...

Shipbuilding in Oakland and Alameda

The area of the Port of Oakland was a major shipbuilding center of the Bay Area during the war peaks that started in 1916 and 1940 and ended in 1922 and 1946. Like for the rest of the country, shipbuilding either came to a complete halt for many of the yards or proceeded at a much reduced rate in the interwar years due to the saturation of the market and during a time of arms reduction treaties and

economic austerity An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the p ...

* Outer Harbor **

Union Construction Company The Union Construction Company (UCC) was a company set up in 1901 and associated with Charles Yerkes, an American associated with the London Underground at that time. It was part of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (prior to the ...

(1918 — 1922) * Inner Harbor, north bank **

Moore Dry Dock Company Moore Dry Dock Company was a ship repair and shipbuilding company in Oakland, California. In 1905, Robert S. Moore, his brother Joseph A. Moore, and John Thomas Scott purchased the National Iron Works located in the Hunter's Point section o ...

(1910 — 1956) **

Hanlon Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Hanlon was a shipyard in Oakland Inner Harbor on the north bank of the Oakland Estuary at the foot of 5th Ave. In 1919 the site had 5 slipways and occupied 13 acres. Founded in 1910, the yard produced a few barges and the cargo ships ''Bacchus'' ...

(1918 — 1921) **

Cryer & Sons Cryer & Sons or Cryer Boatworks was a wooden shipbuilding company in Oakland, California. To support the World War 2 demand for ships Cryer & Sons Company shipyard switched over to military construction and built: US Navy APC coastal transports ...

* Inner Harbor, south bank **

United Engineering Co. History United Engineering Co. (incorporated 10 October 1917, about six months after the sale of the predecessor company ''United Engineering Works'' to the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation where it became their Alameda Works Shipyard, Alame ...

(1941 — 1945) *** later Todd Shipyards, San Francisco Division repair yard **

Alameda Works Shipyard The Alameda Works Shipyard, in Alameda, California, United States, was one of the largest and best equipped shipyards in the country. The only building remaining from the yard is the Union Iron Works Powerhouse, which is listed on the Nationa ...

(1916 — 1924, 1942 — 1945) *** formerly ''United Engineering Works'' (1900 — 1916) **

Pacific Bridge Company Pacific Bridge Company was a large engineering and construction company. During World War II, Pacific Bridge Company of Alameda, California was selected to build US Navy Auxiliary Repair Docks (ARD) a type of Auxiliary floating drydock and T ...

General Engineering & Dry Dock Company General Engineering & Dry Dock Company was a shipbuilding and ship repair 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 Gua ...

Pacific Coast Engineering The Pacific Coast Engineering Company or PACECO is an American industrial fabricator and mechanical engineering company, and was previously a shipbuilding company in Oakland, California and then Alameda, California. To support the World War II ...

Stone Boat Yard W. F. Stone & Son or Stone Boat Yard was a small wooden shipbuilding company in Alameda, California. To support the World War 2 demand for ships W. F. Stone & Son built tugboats, sub chasers and minesweepers. For World War 1 the shipyard, ...

References

* Lane, Frederic C. ''Ships for Victory.'' Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001. * Arroyo, Cuahutémoc (Faculty Mentor: Professor

Leon F. Litwack Leon Frank Litwack (December 2, 1929 – August 5, 2021) was an American historian whose scholarship focused on slavery, the Reconstruction Era of the United States, and its aftermath into the 20th century. He won a National Book Award, the Pulitz ...

)
"Jim Crow" Shipyards
Black Labor and Race Relations in East Bay Shipyards During World War II. The Berkeley McNair Journal, The

UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of Californi ...

br>McNair Scholars Program
- downloaded fro
Jim Crow Museum
of Racist Memorabilia at

Ferris State University Ferris State University (FSU or Ferris) is a public university with its main campus in Big Rapids, Michigan. It was founded in 1884 and became a public institution in 1950. Ferris is the ninth-largest institutions of higher education by enroll ...

on 19 August 2007 * Veronico, Nicholas A. ''World War II Shipyards by the Bay.'' San Francisco:

Arcadia Publishing Arcadia Publishing is an American Publishing, publisher of neighborhood, local history, local, and regional history of the United States in pictorial form.(analysis of the successful ''Images of America'' series). Arcadia Publishing also runs the ...

, 2007. Ch. 5 Peninsula and East Bay Shipbuilding.
World War II Shipbuilding in the San Francisco Bay Area
Excerpt from Bonnett, Wayne. ''Build Ships!: San Francisco Bay Wartime Shipbuilding Photographs, 1940-1945''. Sausalito, Calif.:

Windgate Press Windgate Press is a small American publisher located in Sausalito, California whose focus is on San Francisco and California photographic history. See also *List of publishers The following are lists of publishing companies. By language * L ...

, 2000. . Access from

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government within the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of ...

website 20 August 2007. *Moore, James R. ''The Story of Moore Dry Dock Company: A Picture History''. Sausalito, Calif.:

, 1994. *Moore Dry Dock Company. Progress. Oakland, 1920 ()

External links

Moore Dry Dock Company
from Shipbuilding under the United States Maritime Commission 1936 to 1950. Accessed 23 August 2007.

Photo: Oakland Estuary westward
Moore-Scott shipyard in foreground
Oil painting entitled "Wartime" - a view of the Moore Shipyards
painted by

William A. Coulter William A. Coulter, born William Alexander Coulter (March 7, 1849 – March 13, 1936), was an American painter of marine subjects. Coulter was a native of Glenariff, County Antrim, in what is today Northern Ireland. He became an appre ...

in 1919. Accessed 1 March 2013.
The Moore Shipbuilding Company
Pacific Marine Review, Volume 17 (1920), pp. 59–62. Accessed 1 March 2013.
A guide to the Moore Dry Dock Company photographs, 1878-1933

Moore Dry Dock Company Ships Plans, 1768-1962
{{WWII US ships Shipbuilding companies of California Defunct shipbuilding companies of the United States Manufacturing companies based in Oakland, California History of Oakland, California Defunct companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area Manufacturing companies established in 1905 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1961 1905 establishments in California 1961 disestablishments in California Buildings and structures burned in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake Defunct manufacturing companies based in California Shipyards in California