Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation was a

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 ...

emergency

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 ...

located along the

Willamette River The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward ...

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, United States. The shipyard built nearly 600

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

and

Victory ship The Victory ship was a class of cargo ship produced in large numbers by American shipyards during World War II. They were a more modern design compared to the earlier Liberty ship, were slightly larger and had more powerful steam turbine engin ...

s between 1941 and 1945 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 ...

. It was closed after the war ended. The shipyard, one of three

Kaiser Shipyards The Kaiser Shipyards were seven major shipbuilding yards located on the West Coast of the United States, United States west coast during World War II. Kaiser ranked 20th among U.S. corporations in the value of wartime production contracts. The ...

in the area, was in the St. Johns neighborhood of North Portland. The two others were the

Swan Island Shipyard The Kaiser Company (Portland, Oregon), commonly known as the Swan Island Shipyard, was a shipyard on Swan Island in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was constructed by the Kaiser Shipbuilding Company in 1942 as part of the U.S. Maritime C ...

, located several miles upriver on Swan Island; and the

Vancouver Shipyard The Kaiser Company (Vancouver, Washington), commonly known as the Vancouver Shipyard, was an emergency shipyard constructed along the Columbia River in Vancouver, Washington, to help meet the production demands of the U.S. Maritime Commission in ...

, located across the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

from Portland in

Vancouver, Washington Vancouver ( ) is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, located in Clark County, Washington, Clark County. Founded in 1825 and incorporated in 1857, Vancouver had a population of 190, ...

. Among the ships built by Oregon Shipbuilding was the '' Star of Oregon'', which was launched on

Liberty Fleet Day Liberty Fleet Day was first observed on 27 September 1941, the day that 14 merchant ships were launched in shipyards across the United States under the Emergency Shipbuilding program. Among the ships launched was the first Liberty ship, SS ''Patr ...

, September 27, 1941. The rapid expansion of Portland area shipyards during World War II and contraction afterward caused similar expansion and contraction of the population of

Vanport City, Oregon Vanport, sometimes referred to as Vanport City or Kaiserville, was a city of wartime public housing in Multnomah County, Oregon, United States, between the contemporary Portland city boundary and the Columbia River. It was destroyed in the 19 ...

, which was also built by

Henry J. Kaiser Henry John Kaiser (May 9, 1882 – August 24, 1967) was an American industrialist who became known for his shipbuilding and construction projects, then later for his involvement in fostering modern American health care. Prior to World War II, ...

to house the workers of the three area shipyards. The former site of Oregon Shipbuilding in St. Johns is now

Schnitzer Steel Industries Radius Recycling, Inc., is a scrap recycling and steel manufacturing company headquartered in Portland, Oregon. The company operates auto parts recycling, metal recycling, and steel manufacturing with locations in 26 states and two Canadian prov ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control Shipbuilding companies of Oregon Defunct shipbuilding companies of the United States Henry J. Kaiser . United States home front during World War II Companies based in St. Johns, Portland, Oregon American companies established in 1941 Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1941 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1946 1941 establishments in Oregon 1946 disestablishments in Oregon Defunct companies based in Oregon Vigor Shipyards