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New York Navy Yard file photo [23777]

New York Navy Yard

Type   163 Shipyard
Historical Name of Location   Brooklyn, New York, United States
Coordinates   40.700000000, -73.970000000

Contributor:

ww2dbaseThe New York Navy Yard was located at Wallabout Bay in Brooklyn, New York, United States, across the East River from Manhattan. It is unofficially and commonly referred to as "Brooklyn Navy Yard". Prior to it having been established a military shipyard, the site had already hosted merchant ship building activities prior to the American Revolutionary War. The US federal government purchased the old docks and 160,000 square meters (40 acres) of land for USD $40,000 in 1801. In 1806, the property was transferred under the control of the US Navy. The first major warship launched at New York Navy Yard was USS Ohio, in 1820. By the mid-1800s, it had become the city's largest employer.

ww2dbaseHeavy ships exiting the shipyard toward the sea must follow a relatively narrow route in the East River. In the 1930s, there were incidences of civilian vessels aiming to hit US Navy ships, which had little room to dodge them, incurring minor damage on their own vessels while gaining the potential for great monetary gains by falsely claiming negligence on the part of the US Navy. According to Norman Jack Kleiss, an officer serving board USS Yarnall (DD-143) at the time, this particular destroyer was chosen as a target by one of these civilian scammers, but Yarnall's captain was able to ward off the "attack" by increasing speed and threatening to ram and capsize the smaller civilian vessel.

ww2dbaseIn 1937, around the time of the start of global hostilities, New York Navy Yard covered a site 810,000 square meters (200 acres) in area. It contained four dry docks ranging in length from 99 to 213 meters (326 to 700 feet), two large steel shipways, and six pontoons and cylindrical floats for salvage work, a power plant, a hospital, a large radio station, a railway spur, foundaries, machine shops, and other shipbuilding and military facilities. It also had housing facilities for US Navy and US Marine Corps personnel. It had about 10,000 workers on its payroll. After the American entry into the war in Dec 1941, the shipyard launched two modern battle wagons, battleship USS Iowa in 1942 and battleship USS Missouri in 1944. It saw its greatest employment in late 1944, with a head count more than 71,000 people, working around the clock. Many of these workers were women, working at stations traditionally seen as domains for men. Between 1941 and 1945, pedestrian walkways on the Williamsburg Bridge and the Manhattan Bridge were encased to prevent espionage, as these walkways provided overhead views into the shipyard. WW2-era commanding officers of New York Navy Yard were Rear Admiral Harris Laning (until Oct 1937), Rear Admiral Clark Woodward (until Mar 1941), Rear Admiral Edward Marquart (until Jun 1943, Rear Admiral Monroe Kelly (until Dec 1944), and Rear Admiral Freeland Daubin (until Nov 1945).

ww2dbaseNew York Navy Yard continued operations after WW2. In 1952, US Navy's first angled deck aircraft carrier USS Antietam was launched there. In 1964, it was announced the shipyard was to be closed for money saving purposes. At this time, it had employed 10,600 civilian workers and 100 military personnel. The closure was anticipated to save about USD $18,100,000 annually. The shipyard was decommissioned from service in 1966. Between 1967 and 1979, four very large crude carriers, eight barges, and one ice-breaker barge were launched from this location; no ships had been built at this site since that time. In 2014, the entire site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district. Quarters A, the former commanding officer's quarters, was made a National Historic Landmark. Several other buildings were made New York City Landmarks. Today, the firm GMD Shipyard Corporation operates the dry docks for ship repairing services.

ww2dbaseSources:
N. Jack Kleiss, Never Call Me a Hero
Wikipedia

Last Major Update: Jul 2018

Ships Constructed at New York Navy Yard

Ship NameYard NoSlip/Drydock NoOrderedLaid DownLaunchedCommissioned
Arizona16 Mar 191419 Jun 191517 Oct 1916
New Mexico14 Oct 191513 Apr 191720 May 1918
Pensacola27 Oct 192625 Apr 19296 Feb 1930
New Orleans13 Feb 192914 Mar 193112 Apr 193315 Feb 1934
Spencer11 Sep 19356 Jan 19371 Mar 1937
Honolulu9 Dec 193526 Aug 193715 Jun 1938
Helena (St. Louis-class)9 Dec 193627 Aug 193918 Sep 1939
North Carolina27 Oct 193713 Jun 19409 Apr 1941
Iowa1 Jul 193927 Jun 194027 Aug 194222 Feb 1943
Missouri12 Jun 19406 Jan 194129 Jan 194411 Jun 1944
Illinois9 Sep 19406 Dec 1942
Bennington15 Dec 194226 Feb 19446 Aug 1944


New York Navy Yard Interactive Map

Photographs

US Coast Guard cutter John C. Spencer departing on her maiden voyage to US Territory of Alaska from New York Navy Yard, New York, United States, 19 May 1937USS Oregon in drydock at New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York, United States, Sep 1898
See all 117 photographs of New York Navy Yard

Maps

1961 map of the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York, United States. Page 1 of 2.1961 map of the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York, United States. Page 2 of 2.

New York Navy Yard Timeline

1 Jun 1806 Lieutenant Jonathan Thorn was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
13 Jul 1807 Captain Isaac Chauncey was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
16 May 1813 Captain Samuel Evans was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
2 Jun 1824 Commander George W. Rodgers was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
21 Dec 1824 Captain Isaac Chauncey was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
10 Jun 1833 Captain Charles G. Ridgeley was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
19 Nov 1839 Captain James Renshaw was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
12 Jun 1841 Captain Matthew C. Perry was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
15 Jul 1843 Captain Silas H. Stringham was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
1 Oct 1846 Captain Isaac McKeever was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
1 Oct 1849 Captain William D. Salter was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
14 Oct 1852 Captain Charles Boardman was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
1 Oct 1855 Captain Abraham Bigelow was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
8 Jun 1857 Captain Lawrence Kearny was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
1 Nov 1858 Captain Samuel L. Breese was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
25 Oct 1861 Captain Hiram Paulding was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
1 May 1865 Commodore Charles H. Bell was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
1 May 1868 Rear Admiral Sylvanus W. Godon was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
15 Oct 1870 Rear Admiral Melancton Smith was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
1 Jun 1872 Vice Admiral Stephen Clegg Rowan was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
1 Sep 1876 Commodore James W. Nicholson was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
1 May 1880 Commodore George H. Cooper was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
1 Apr 1882 Commodore John H. Upshur was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
31 Mar 1884 Commodore Thomas S. Fillebrown was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
31 Dec 1884 Commodore Ralph Chandler was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
15 Oct 1886 Commodore Bancroft Gherardi was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
15 Feb 1889 Captain Francis M. Ramsay was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
14 Nov 1889 Rear Admiral Daniel L. Braine was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
20 May 1891 Commodore Henry Erben was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
1 Jun 1893 Rear Admiral Bancroft Gherardi was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
22 Nov 1894 Commodore Montgomery Sicard was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
1 May 1897 Commodore Francis M. Bunce was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
14 Jan 1899 Commodore John Woodward Philip was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
17 Jul 1900 Rear Admiral Albert S. Barker was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
1 Apr 1903 Rear Admiral Frederick Rodgers was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
3 Oct 1904 Rear Admiral Joseph B. Coghlan was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
1 Jun 1907 Rear Admiral Caspar F. Goodrich was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
15 May 1909 Captain Joseph B. Murdock was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
1 Dec 1909 United States Navy Chief of the Bureau of Yards and Docks assigned 34-year-old Lt Frederic R. Harris (CEC) to salvage the construction of Brooklyn Navy Yard Drydock No. 4 after two different contractors had tried and failed to built a stable structure in the yard’s substrates of shifting sands.
21 Mar 1910 Captain Lewis Sayre Van Duzer was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
1 Jul 1910 Rear Admiral Eugene H. C. Leutze was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
6 Jun 1912 Captain Albert Gleaves was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
28 Sep 1914 Rear Admiral Nathaniel R. Usher was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
14 Oct 1915 The keel of battleship California (later New Mexico) was laid down at New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York, United States.
13 Apr 1917 The battleship New Mexico was launched at New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York, United States, sponsored by Margaret De Baca, daughter of a former governor of the state of New Mexico.
25 Feb 1918 Rear Admiral John D. McDonald was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
6 Jan 1920 USS Arizona departed New York Navy Yard, New York, United States for Guantánamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba.
1 Jul 1921 Rear Admiral Carl T. Vogelgesang was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
27 Nov 1922 Rear Admiral Charles P. Plunkett was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
16 Feb 1928 Captain Frank Lyon was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
2 Jul 1928 Rear Admiral Louis R. de Steiguer was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
18 Mar 1931 Rear Admiral William W. Phelps was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
30 Jun 1933 Rear Admiral Yates Stirling, Jr. was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
15 Feb 1934 Cruiser USS New Orleans (New Orleans-class) was commissioned at New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, United States, Captain Allen B. Reed in command.
9 Dec 1935 Brooklyn-class cruiser Honolulu was laid down at the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York, United States.
9 Mar 1936 Captain Frederick L. Oliver was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
20 Apr 1936 Rear Admiral Harris L. Laning was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
9 Dec 1936 The keel of Helena was laid down at New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York, United States.
26 Aug 1937 Cruiser Honolulu was launched at the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York, United States with Miss Helen Poindexter as sponsor, the daughter of the governor of Hawaii.
1 Oct 1937 Rear Admiral Clark H. Woodward was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
27 Oct 1937 The keel of US battleship USS North Carolina (BB-55) was laid down at New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
15 Jun 1938 USS Honolulu was commissioned at the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York, United States with Captain Oscar Smith in command.
27 Aug 1939 Helena was launched at New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York, United States, sponsored by Ms. Elinor Carlyle Gudger, granddaughter of Senator Thomas J. Walsh of Montana, United States.
13 Jun 1940 The battleship USS North Carolina was launched at the New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
2 Jun 1941 Rear Admiral Edward J. Marquart was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
4 May 1942 USS Marblehead arrived at New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States to repair damages sustained during the Battle of Makassar Strait.
11 May 1942 The Benson-class destroyer USS Bailey was commissioned at the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York, United States with Lieutenant Commander Franklin Karns, Jr. in command.
23 Aug 1942 USS Washington, with USS Nicholas as an escort, departed New York bound for the Panama Canal.
15 Oct 1942 USS Marble completed her repairs New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States and departed for South America.
15 Dec 1942 USS Bennington was laid down, New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York, United States.
7 Feb 1943 Auxiliary Aircraft Carrier USS Card shifted berths from Gravesend Bay to the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
2 Jun 1943 Rear Admiral Monroe R. Kelly was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
26 Feb 1944 USS Bennington was launched, New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York, United States.
6 Aug 1944 USS Bennington was commissioned, New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York, United States.
5 Dec 1944 Rear Admiral Freeland A. Daubin was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
31 Dec 1944 Escort carrier USS Card arrived at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York.
4 Jan 1945 Escort carrier USS Card departed Brooklyn Navy Yard bound for Quonset Point, Rhode Island.
16 Jan 1945 Escort carrier USS Bogue and her task group arrived at New York Navy Yard, New York.
20 Jan 1945 Escort carrier USS Bogue departed New York bound for Quonset Point, Rhode Island.
28 Apr 1945 USS Franklin entered New York Navy Yard, New York, United States for repairs.
12 Sep 1945 Destroyer USS Shaw arrived at the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York and began her deactivation overhaul.
2 Oct 1945 Destroyer USS Shaw was decommissioned at the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York.
30 Oct 1945 USS Wasp arrived at New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York, United States, where she would receive minor conversion work to accommodate 400 officer and 5,000 men.
15 Nov 1945 USS Wasp departed New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York, United States.
23 Jan 1946 USS Ancon arrived at New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York, United States for deactivation work.
25 Feb 1946 USS Ancon was decommissioned from service at the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York, United States.
13 Nov 1952 USS Bennington was recommissioned at New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York, United States.
19 Nov 1964 The closure of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States by 1966 was announced.




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Visitor Submitted Comments

1. Anonymous says:
24 Apr 2019 07:13:13 PM

Wow so boring
sarcasm>
2. PMH says:
29 Oct 2020 02:11:10 PM

do you have any idea how i might get a copy of a photo that was in the NY Navy Yard Shipworker, 4 January 1943? Thnx very much.
3. Louis C. D'Aquila says:
12 Mar 2022 02:52:57 PM

My father, Louis C. D'Aquila was a draftsman working in the Navy Yard from about 1941-43. All I have been told is that by family is that he designed portholes and doorways on various ships. How can I find out more specifics of his work at the Navy Yard?

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Modern Day Location
WW2-Era Place Name Brooklyn, New York, United States
Lat/Long 40.7000, -73.9700
New York Navy Yard Photo Gallery
US Coast Guard cutter John C. Spencer departing on her maiden voyage to US Territory of Alaska from New York Navy Yard, New York, United States, 19 May 1937USS Oregon in drydock at New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York, United States, Sep 1898
See all 117 photographs of New York Navy Yard


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