The American Ship Building Company was the dominant shipbuilder on the Great Lakes before the Second World War. It started as Cleveland Shipbuilding in Cleveland, Ohio [1] in 1888 and opened the yard in Lorain, Ohio in 1898. It changed its name to the American Ship Building Company in 1900, when it acquired Superior Shipbuilding, in Superior, Wisconsin; Toledo Shipbuilding, in Toledo, Ohio; and West Bay Shipbuilding, in West Bay City, Michigan. With the coming of World War I, the company also acquired Buffalo Dry Dock, in Buffalo, New York; Chicago Shipbuilding, in Chicago, Illinois; and Detroit Shipbuilding, in Wyandotte, Michigan. American Shipbuilding ranked 81st among United States corporations in the value of World War II military production contracts. [2]
The Lorain, Ohio Yard served as the main facility of the company after World War II and to this day five of the 13 separate 1,000 ft (300 m) ore carriers on the Great Lakes were built in Lorain, including the M/V Paul R. Tregurtha which is the largest vessel on the Great Lakes (1,013'06" long). Built in 1898, the Lorain Yard quickly grew in size and importance. The facilities eventually included two dry docks over 1,000 feet (300 m) long built to handle the largest of the Great Lakes ore carriers. The Lorain Yard closed in 1984 after a series of labor disputes. Most of the buildings associated with shipyard were demolished with only the water tower and Ship Building Pattern Warehouse remaining. The pattern warehouse is now The Shipyards dining and events venue. The remaining lands are now being redeveloped as an upscale housing development.
During the Second World War, the company managed Delta Shipbuilding Company for the United States Maritime Commission. Delta had a yard at New Orleans and built a total of 188 ships. [3] Delta Shipbuilding Company built 187 Liberty ships, the first completed was SS William C.C. Claiborne, named after the first governor of Louisiana, William C. C. Claiborne. The United States Maritime Commission had Delta and eight other emergency shipyards start building Liberty ships in 1941, 2,710 were produced during the war. Many were built in less than two months. The Delta shipyard was started specifically for the war effort, at a site on the Industrial Canal near the Almonaster Avenue Bridge, immediately south of the present-day I-10 high-rise bridge. The yard was shut down after the end of World War II. [4] [5]
Sample of ships built:
The Toledo Shipbuilding Company, which became an operating unit of the American Shipbuilding Company by consolidation in 1945, [6] was itself the builder of several of the most well-known coal-fired steamships of the Great Lakes, such as the SS Chief Wawatam (built in 1911).
In the early 1960s, the American Ship Building Company acquired Kinsman Marine Transit Company, which was owned by the Steinbrenner family. As a result of the transaction, the Steinbrenner family acquired a controlling interest in American Ship Building. Frustrated after years of fighting with unions over cost-saving work changes, the Steinbrenners closed the Lorain shipyard in December 1983 and moved all operations to Tampa, Florida. The principal member of the Steinbrenner family who was involved in the operation of the company at this time was George Steinbrenner, who by then already was becoming better known as the principal owner of the New York Yankees.
The company began having difficulties in the 1980s, going through a bankruptcy in 1993. The company was sold in 1995.
Ingalls Shipbuilding is a shipyard located in Pascagoula, Mississippi, United States, originally established in 1938, and now part of HII. It is a leading producer of ships for the United States Navy, and, as of 2023, is the largest private employer in Mississippi.
The Tacoma class was a class of 96 patrol frigates which served in the United States Navy during World War II and the Korean War. Originally classified as gunboats (PG), they were reclassified as patrol frigates (PF) on 15 April 1943. The class is named for its lead ship, Tacoma, a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) S2-S2-AQ1 design, which in turn was named for the city of Tacoma, Washington. Twenty-one ships were transferred to the British Royal Navy, in which they were known as Colony-class frigates, and twenty-eight ships were transferred under Lend-Lease to the Soviet Navy, where they were designated as storozhevoi korabl, during World War II. All Tacoma-class ships in US service during World War II were manned by United States Coast Guard crews. Tacoma-class ships were transferred to the United States Coast Guard and various navies post-World War II.
Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company, located in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, was a major shipbuilder for the Great Lakes. It was founded in 1902, with the purchase of the "Burger & Burger Shipyard," a predecessor to The Burger Boat Company, and made mainly steel ferries and ore haulers. During World War II, it built submarines, tank landing craft (LCTs), and self-propelled fuel barges called "YOs". Employment peaked during the military years at 7000. The shipyard closed in 1968, when Manitowoc Company bought Bay Shipbuilding Company and moved their shipbuilding operation to Sturgeon Bay.
The Defoe Shipbuilding Company was a small ship builder established in 1905 in Bay City, Michigan, United States. It ceased to operate in 1976 after failing to renew its contracts with the United States Navy. The site of the former company is now being developed for business and housing on the bank of the Saginaw River.
Fincantieri Marinette Marine (FMM) is an American shipbuilding firm in Marinette, Wisconsin. Marinette Marine was a subsidiary of Manitowoc Marine Group of Wisconsin from 2000 to 2009, when it was sold to Fincantieri Marine Group.
Lake Washington Shipyards was a shipyard in the northwest United States, located in Houghton, Washington on the shore of Lake Washington, east of Seattle. Today, the shipyards are the site of the lakeside Carillon Point business park. The shipyards built many civilian and U.S. Navy ships.
USS Forsyth (PF-102) was a United States Navy Tacoma-class frigate in commission from 1945 to 1946, which saw service in the final months of World War II and the first months of the postwar period. After her Navy career concluded, she was in commission in the United States Coast Guard as the cutter USCGC Forsyth (WPF-102) from March to August 1946. In 1947 she was sold to the Government of the Netherlands, for which she served as the civilian weather ship SS Cumulus from 1947 to 1963.
USS Lorain (PF-97) was a United States Navy Tacoma-class frigate authorized for construction during World War II but cancelled before construction could begin.
The Toledo Shipbuilding Company was a shipyard located on Toledo, Ohio.
MV Calumet is Great Lakes bulk freighter currently in operation.
The Robert S. Pierson is a bulk carrier built for and operated on the North American Great Lakes.
Bay Shipbuilding Company (BSC) is a shipyard and dry dock company in Sturgeon Bay, Door County, Wisconsin. As of 2015, Bay Ships was a subsidiary of Fincantieri Marine Group and produces articulated tug and barges, OPA-90 compliant double hull tank ships and offshore support vessels. It also provides repair services to the lake freighter fleet. In the past the shipyard located in Sturgeon Bay has operated under several different names and traces its history back to 1918.
The SS Sylvania was a 572-foot (174 m) Great Lakes freighter that had a long 79-year career on the Great Lakes. Sylvania was built by the West Bay City Shipbuilding Company of West Bay City, Michigan as hull #613. She was built for the Duluth Steamship Company of Duluth, Minnesota.
The Frank C. Ball was an American Bulk carrier that was built by the Great Lakes Engineering Works of Ecorse, Michigan, for the Globe Steamship Company of Duluth, Minnesota. She was launched on December 9, 1905, as hull #14. She was powered by a 1,700 horsepower triple expansion steam engine and fueled by two coal-fired Scotch marine boilers. Even though Ball was built in 1905, she only entered service in 1906.
SS Edward L. Ryerson is a steel-hulled American Great Lakes freighter that entered service in 1960. Built between April 1959 and January 1960 for the Inland Steel Company, she was the third of the thirteen so-called 730-class of lake freighters, each of which shared the unofficial title of "Queen of the Lakes", as a result of their record-breaking length. She was not only the last steam-powered freighter built on the lakes but also the last one that was not a self-unloader. Since 2009, she has been in long-term layup in Superior, Wisconsin. She is one of only two American-owned straight deck lake freighters, the other being John Sherwin, built in 1958.
The McDougall Duluth Shipbuilding Company was a large-scale wartime ship manufacturing shipyard, located at the city of Riverside, near Duluth. McDougall Duluth Shipbuilding was at 110 Spring Street, Duluth, Minnesota, now the site of the West Duluth's Spirit Lake Marina. The shipyard was located on St. Louis River Estuary at western part of Lake Superior. McDougall Duluth Shipbuilding Company was founded by Alexander McDougall (1845-1923) in 1917 to build ships for World War I. McDougall Duluth Shipbuilding Company and the Superior Shipbuilding Company were called the Twin Ports shipbuilding industry of Minnesota and Wisconsin. Once built the ships can travel to the Atlantic Ocean through the Great Lakes and the Saint Lawrence Seaway.
SS Barbara Olson was a cargo ship built in Wisconsin in 1918 as the SS Corrales. Barbara Olson was able to escape an attack off the coast of California in the early days of World War II. The Barbara Olson was built under a United States Shipping Board (USSB) contract in 1918 as the SS Corrales and renamed in 1940. On July 25, 1942, she was chartered by the US Army to transport supplies to the Territory of Hawaii as the USAT Barbara Olson for World War II. On January 14, 1946, her Army service ended. In 1964 she was run aground four miles (6.4 km) north of Pimentel, Peru and declared a total loss.
Walter Butler Shipbuilders Inc. was a large-scale World War II ship manufacturing shipyard, located at Superior, Wisconsin, United States. Walter Butler purchased the shipyard from Lake Superior Shipbuilding in 1942. Walter Butler Shipbuilders Inc. was at E 1st St, Superior, Wisconsin. The shipyard was located on the western part of Lake Superior. Walter Butler Shipbuilders Inc. was found by Walter Butler in 1942 to build ships for World War II. Walter Butler Shipbuilders Inc., the McDougall Duluth Shipbuilding Company and the Superior Shipbuilding Company were called the Twin Ports shipbuilding industry of Minnesota and Wisconsin. Once built the ships can travel to the Atlantic Ocean through the Great Lakes and the Saint Lawrence Seaway.
Froemming Brothers of Milwaukee, Wisconsin was a shipyard that built ships for World War II under the emergency shipbuilding program, War Shipping Administration and United States Navy. Froemming Brothers shipyard was opened in 1942 by Ben Froemming (1902-1945). Froemming Brothers closed after the war in 1945, after building 26 ships. The shipyard was located on the north side of the Kinnickinnic River. The shipyard had 2,400 workers in three shifts. In 1945 it was sold to Wagner Iron Works and later sold to the Milwaukee Marine Yacht. The site today is Horny Goat Marina, Blue Max Charters and Clete Long Enterprises. The shipyard was in Bay View, Milwaukee neighborhood at 43.008597°N 87.911697°W.
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