 William Cramp, patriarch of the firm, circa 1870 | |
| Industry | Shipbuilding |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1830 |
| Founders | William Cramp |
| Defunct | 1947 |
| Headquarters | Philadelphia |
William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company (also known as William Cramp & Sons Ship & Engine Building Company) was an American shipbuilding company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded in 1830 by William Cramp. During its heyday in late 19th century, it was the preeminent American iron shipbuilder. [ citation needed ]
William Cramp was born in the Kensington district of Philadelphia in 1807. In 1855, his sons Charles Henry (born 1828) [1] and William C., became partners with their father. In 1872, his other sons Samuel H., Jacob C., and Theodore were taken into the firm. The company was incorporated under the name "The William Cramp and Sons' Iron Shipbuilding and Engineering Company." [2]
The pilot boat Thomas Howard was built by the Cramp shipyard in 1870 for the Delaware Bay & River pilots. She was one of the Philadelphia port's fastest pilot boats. [3]
In 1890 the company built the battleships USS Indiana and USS Massachusetts, armored cruiser USS New York, and protected cruiser USS Columbia. Three of these ships took a part in the defeat of the Spanish fleet in 1898 at Santiago de Cuba. The victory in this battle heralded America's emergence as a great power. [4] In 1896 Cramps united their artillery arm, the Driggs-Schroeder Ordnance Company, with its main competitor Hotchkiss Gun Company and a projectile manufacturer from Massachusetts into American Ordnance Company. [5] The American Shipping and Commercial Corporation bought the yard in 1919 but closed it in 1927 [6] as fewer ships were ordered by the U.S. Navy after the adoption of the Naval Limitations Treaty in 1923.
In 1940, the Navy spent $22 million to reopen the yard as Cramp Shipbuilding to build cruisers and submarines. Cramp used the long slipways to construct two submarines at a time, with the intention of launching them simultaneously. However, the shipyard's submarine construction program was not especially successful, as poor management hindered the delivery of the boats. [7] The first delivery was made two years after keel laying, and fitting out was then done by Portsmouth Navy Yard. The best construction time for a submarine was 644 days. [8]
Cramp closed in 1947 and the site, on the Delaware River in Philadelphia's Port Richmond neighborhood, was turned into a residential estate in early 2020s.
Vessels built by the firm that are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places include:
Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS), a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, is the sole designer, builder, and refueler of aircraft carriers and one of two providers of submarines for the United States Navy. Founded as the Chesapeake Dry Dock and Construction Co. in 1886, Newport News Shipbuilding has built more than 800 ships, including both naval and commercial ships. Located in the city of Newport News, Virginia, its facilities span more than 550 acres (2.2 km2).
USS Alabama (BB-8) was an Illinois-class pre-dreadnought battleship built for the United States Navy. She was the second ship of her class, and the second to carry her name. Her keel was laid down in December 1896 at the William Cramp & Sons shipyard, and she was launched in May 1898. She was commissioned into the fleet in October 1900. The ship was armed with a main battery of four 13-inch (330 mm) guns and she had a top speed of 16 knots.
USS Maine (BB-10), the lead ship of her class of pre-dreadnought battleships, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named in honor of the 23rd state. Maine was laid down in February 1899 at the William Cramp & Sons shipyard in Philadelphia. She was launched in July 1901 and commissioned into the fleet in December 1902. She was armed with a main battery of four 12-inch (305 mm) guns and could steam at a top speed of 18 knots.
The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy shipyard and was historically important for nearly two centuries.
USS New York (ACR-2/CA-2) was the second United States Navy armored cruiser so designated; the first was the ill-fated Maine, which was soon redesignated a second-class battleship. Due to the unusually protracted construction of Maine, New York was actually the first armored cruiser to enter U.S. Navy service. The fourth Navy ship to be named in honor of the state of New York, she was later renamed Saratoga and then Rochester. With six 8-inch guns, she was the most heavily armed cruiser in the US Navy when commissioned.
The New York Shipbuilding Corporation was an American shipbuilding company that operated from 1899 to 1968, ultimately completing more than 500 vessels for the U.S. Navy, the United States Merchant Marine, the United States Coast Guard, and other maritime concerns. At its peak during World War II, NYSB was the largest and most productive shipyard in the world. Its best-known vessels include the destroyer USS Reuben James (DD-245), the cruiser USS Indianapolis (CA-35), the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63), the nuclear-powered cargo ship NS Savannah, and a quartet of cargo-passenger liners nicknamed the 4 Aces.
Crescent Shipyard, located on Newark Bay in Elizabeth, New Jersey, built a number of ships for the United States Navy 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. Arthur Leopold Busch, 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 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.
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.
USS Biddle (DD-151) was a Wickes-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II, later reclassified AG-114. She was the second ship named for Captain Nicholas Biddle.
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 1913, it was purchased by Bethlehem Steel, and later transferred to Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation. It was sold to General Dynamics in 1963, and closed in 1986. During its operation, yardworkers constructed hundreds of ships, for both military and civilian clients.
Lewis Nixon was a naval architect, shipbuilding executive, public servant, and political activist. He designed the United States' first modern battleships, and supervised the construction of its first modern submarines, all before his 40th birthday. He was briefly the leader of Tammany Hall. He started an ill-fated effort to run seven major American shipyards under common ownership as the United States Shipbuilding Company, and he was the chair of the New York City commission that began construction of the Williamsburg Bridge.
Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Limited, often referred to simply as Scotts, was a Scottish shipbuilding company based in Greenock on the River Clyde. In its time in Greenock, Scotts built over 1,250 ships.
Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino (STT) ("Technical Establishment of Trieste") was a private shipbuilding company based in Trieste from the mid-19th to early 20th century, and the most important naval shipbuilding firm of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Neafie, Levy & Co., commonly known as Neafie & Levy, was a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania shipbuilding and engineering firm that existed from the middle of the 19th to the beginning of the 20th century. Described as America's "first specialist marine engineers", Neafie & Levy was probably the first company in the United States to combine the building of iron ships with the manufacture of steam engines to power them. The company was also the largest supplier of screw propellers to other North American shipbuilding firms in its early years, and at its peak in the early 1870s was Philadelphia's busiest and most heavily capitalized shipbuilder.
SS Illinois was an iron passenger-cargo steamship built by William Cramp & Sons in 1873. The last of a series of four Pennsylvania-class vessels, Illinois and her three sister ships—Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana—were the largest iron ships ever built in the United States at the time of their construction, and amongst the first to be fitted with compound steam engines. They were also the first ships to challenge British dominance of the transatlantic trade since the American Civil War.
The SS Caracas (1881–1889) was a coastal passenger steamship built by William Cramp & Sons in Philadelphia. She was the older sister ship to the Valencia. Both Caracas and Valencia served from New York City to Venezuela. The short life of Caracas ended in 1889, when she ran aground in Yaquina Bay under the name Yaquina Bay.
Valencia maiden voyage May 1882.
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