From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Photograph of destroyers and SS
Katrina Luckenbach fitting
out at Fore River Shipyard,
Quincy, Massachusetts taken March
19, 1918.
The Fore River Shipyard, more formally known as
the Fore River Ship and Engine Building Company,
was a shipyard in the United States from 1883 until 1986.
Located on the Weymouth Fore River, the yard began
operations in 1883 in Braintree, Massachusetts
before being moved downstream to its permanent location in Quincy,
Massachusetts in 1901. The shipyard helped build early U.S.
submarines and many ships commissioned by the United States Navy,
including the World War II battleship USS Massachusetts (BB-59)
and aircraft carriers USS Wasp (CV-7) and
USS Bunker
Hill (CV-17). In the 1960s, the yard was purchased by
General
Dynamics. It continued to produce ships for the Navy until
being converted to LNG
tanker production before finally closing in 1986.
The yard built the Thomas W. Lawson, the
largest pure sailing ship ever built and ARA Rivadavia, one of two
foreign battleships built in the United States. It was home to the
"Goliath" crane, for a time the second-largest shipbuilding crane
in the world. It is also the likely origin of the World War II "Kilroy was
here" graffiti character.
History
Early history and war
years
Engraving of Kilroy on the
WWII Memorial in
Washington DC. The graffiti character and
slogan together were first used by welding inspector John J. Kilroy
to mark inspected work at the shipyard during the war.
Started by Thomas A. Watson in 1883, the shipyard
was located on the Weymouth Fore River near East Braintree,
Massachusetts. In 1901, the yard was moved to Quincy in the eastern
part of the Quincy Point neighborhood. By the time that
the Russo-Japanese War broke out in
1904, the company was operated under the direction of former
Admiral Francis T. Bowles, who had become the company's president
in a late 1903 reorganization, displacing Thomas Watson, who
assumed the title Chairman of the Board. Watson, who was pleased
with how Bowles ran the yard, stepped aside in 1904.[1]
In 1913, Bethlehem Steel purchased the yard. It
built many renowned warships and liberty ships during World War II. John J.
Kilroy, the apparent originator of the famous "Kilroy was here"
graffiti, was a welding inspector at Fore River during the war
years.[2]
General
Dynamics years
Fore River changed hands again in 1964, when it was purchased by
General Dynamics Corporation. The shipyard became General
Dynamics Quincy Shipbuilding Division, and General
Dynamics invested $23 million to improve the shipyard to make it
more competitive. The yard constructed several ships for the U.S.
Navy, including nuclear-powered submarines, ammunition ships, replenishment oilers, and dock landing
ships.[3][4]
The shipyard converted to building LNG tankers during its final years, but
closed for good in 1986.[5]
Although shipbuilding operations ceased at that time, the name of
the yard continues to be used, and the location is still referred
to as Fore River Shipyard.[6]
Post-closing
years
In 1994, USS Salem (CA-139)—the
last all-gun heavy cruiser
ever built—returned to the Quincy yard, becoming the centerpiece of
the United States Naval
Shipbuilding Museum. Following several abortive attempts to
restart the shipyard as a shipbuilding center, the property was
bought by Daniel Quirk, a local auto dealer in 2004, to use as a
motor vehicle storage and distribution facility, but is still a
port for commuter boats to Boston and Hull
run by Harbor Express for the Massachusetts
Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). The yard also is used by
Jay Cashman, Inc.,
for heavy construction and marine equipment services, the Massachusetts Water
Resources Authority, as a sewage sludge heat-drying and
pelletizing facility and by Fore River
Transportation Corporation, for short line freight rail service to
CSXT South
Braintree.
Goliath
crane
Goliath crane, January 2008
An important facility at the shipyard was the "Goliath" crane,
at one point the second largest shipbuilding crane in the world.
Constructed in 1975 for building LNG tankers, the crane was a prominent part
of the harbor skyline for over thirty years. In early 2008, the
328-foot (100 m) tall crane located at the former shipyard was
sold to Daewoo-Mangalia Heavy
Industries S. A., a joint-venture company of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering
Co., Ltd. of South Korea and former state shipayard 2 Mai
Mangalia S. A. of Romania, which began dismantling[7] it in
July, 2008 for relocation to Mangalia, Romania.[8][9]
Dismantlement accidents
On August 14, 2008, ironworker Robert Harvey was killed when a
portion of the Goliath crane collapsed during dismantlement.[10] Work
on the crane's removal was halted for two months while local and
federal officials investigated the accident, but later resumed and
was completed in early 2009.[11] As a
result of their investigation, the U.S. Occupational
Safety and Health Administration issued fines totalling $68,000
on January 13, 2009.[12] A
barge carrying the crane was christened the USS Harvey in
honor of the fallen worker and left the shipyard on March 7, 2009
en route to Romania.[13][14]
The August 2008 fatal incident was preceded by two other deaths
involving demolition of a smaller gantry at the shipyard on January
26, 2005.[15] The
earlier incident resulted in an OSHA ruling against Testa Corporation of Lynnfield, Massachusetts,
including a proposed $60,400 fine.[16]
Following the 2005 collapse, violations involving improper cleanup
and removal of asbestos
found in debris left by the accident resulted in a $75,000 penalty
imposed against Testa by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental
Protection.[17]
Significant
Ships
US Navy
Warships
Numerous famous warships were built at the Fore River Shipyard.
A partial list is below. The date in parentheses indicates the date
the ship was commissioned by the U.S. Navy.
Aircraft
carriers
Battleships
Massachusetts fires a full broadside. Outbound projectiles
are in upper left of photo.
Cruisers
Destroyers
Submarines
O class
R class
S class
Other
ships
Reading
list
- Palmer, David. Organizing the Shipyards: Union Strategy in
Three Northeast Ports, 1933-1945. Cornell University Press 1998. ISBN
978-0801427343
- Drummond, Dave. The Shipyard: Will It Float?. iUniverse 2003. ISBN
978-0595275328
External
links
Coordinates: 42°14′19.75″N 70°58′20.60″W / 42.2388194°N
70.972389°W / 42.2388194;
-70.972389
References
- ^
Rines, Lawrence S.; Sarcone, Anthony F..
"A History of Shipbuilding at
Fore River". Thomas Crane Public Library. http://thomascranelibrary.org/shipbuildingheritage/history/historyindex.html. Retrieved
2008-09-03.
- ^ Osgood, Charles (2001). Kilroy Was Here: The Best
American Humor From World War II. New York: Hyperion.
pp. 19. ISBN 9780786866618.
OCLC 45532422. http://books.google.com/books?id=VzeUInvfBF4C&pg=PA19. Retrieved
2009-07-29.
- ^ HazeGray.org: "Fore River
Shipyard Production Record"
- ^ "Quincy Shipbuilding
Division"
- ^
Langner, Paul (May
18, 1986), "Ship's Christening Signals Shipyard's Death", The
Boston Globe: Metro Section, p. 29
- ^ "Fore River Shipyard".
Fore River Shipyard Redevelopment Project.
http://www.forerivershipyard.com. Retrieved
2009-08-04.
- ^
Graham, George
(2008-2009), Goliath
Crane, http://www.sackrabbit.com/goliath_00.html
- ^
Jette, Julie (January
5, 2008), "Farewell, GOLIATH: The
skyline is about to change", The Patriot Ledger: 1, http://www.patriotledger.com/archive/x1295927615
- ^
The Patriot Ledger produced a video about "Goliath" which
is available on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NqyOY1jkVs
- ^
"Crane collapse kills
ironworker", The Boston Globe, August 15, 2008.
- ^
"Removal of shipyard crane in
Quincy expected to be finished by Christmas". The Patriot
Ledger. November 7, 2008. http://www.patriotledger.com/homepage/x1994750396/Removal-of-shipyard-crane-in-Quincy-expected-to-be-finished-by-Christmas. Retrieved
2008-11-11.
- ^
"U.S. Labor Department's OSHA
issues citations in connection with fatality during dismantling of
Goliath gantry crane at former Quincy, Mass., shipyard". U.S. Department of Labor. January 13,
2009. http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=17300. Retrieved
2009-01-15.
- ^
Aicardi, Robert (February 27, 2009). "Departing Goliath crane
renamed USS Harvey". Braintree Forum.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/braintree/news/x1959830142/Departing-Goliath-crane-renamed-USS-Harvey. Retrieved
2009-03-09.
- ^
Lotan, Gal Tziperman (March 7, 2009). "Landmark Goliath crane ships
out for new home in Romania". The Patriot Ledger. http://www.patriotledger.com/homepage/x1676793715/Landmark-Goliath-crane-leaves-today. Retrieved
2009-03-09.
- ^
"Two die in Braintree
collapse", The Boston Globe, January 27, 2005.
- ^
U.S. Department of Labor OSHA
News Release, July 11, 2005.
- ^
"2006 Enforcement
Actions". Massachusetts Department of Environmental
Protection. http://www.mass.gov/dep/public/press/curren03.htm. Retrieved
2009-05-20.
- ^ Silverstone (1968)
p.38
- ^ a
b
c
d
Silverstone (1968) p.42
- ^ a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
Tillman (2005) pp.301-306
- ^ a
b
Silverstone (1968) p.46
- ^ Silverstone (1968)
p.16
- ^ Silverstone (1968)
p.28
- ^ a
b
Silverstone (1968) p.85
- ^ Silverstone (1968)
p.67
- ^ a
b
c
Silverstone (1968) p.71
- ^ a
b
Silverstone (1968) p.89
- ^ a
b
c
d
e
f
Silverstone (1968) p.94
- ^ a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
Silverstone (1968) p.79
- ^ a
b
Silverstone (1968) p.82
- ^ a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
y
z
aa
ab
ac
ad
ae
af
ag
ah
ai
aj
Fahey (1941) pp.16-17
- ^ Silverstone (1968)
p.112
- ^ a
b
c
d
Silverstone (1968) p.114
- ^ a
b
Silverstone (1968) p.124
- ^ a
b
Silverstone (1968) p.126
- ^ a
b
c
d
e
f
Silverstone (1968) p.129
- ^ a
b
c
d
Silverstone (1968) p.152
- ^ a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o
p
q
r
s
t
Silverstone (1968) p.179
- ^ a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
Silverstone (1968) p.180
- ^ a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
Blair (1975) pp.875-957
- ^ a
b
c
d
e
f
Silverstone (1968) p.183
- ^
World Battleships List, at
Hazegray
- Blair, Clay Jr. (1975). Silent
Victory, Volume 2. J. B. Lippincott Company. ISBN
978-1557502179.
- Fahey, James C. (1941). The
Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet, Two-Ocean Fleet Edition.
Ships and Aircraft. ISBN
978-0870216466.
- Silverstone, Paul H. (1968).
U.S. Warships of World War II. Doubleday and Company. ISBN
978-0870217739.
- Tillman, Barrett (2005). Clash
of the Carriers. New American Library. ISBN
978-0451216700.
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