Great Depression and WW II
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Great Depression and WW II, Post War America
Boiler Shop History
Designed to support the assembly/erection of steam boilers for U.S. Navy WWII destroyers, the Boiler Ship was used for more than 50 years.
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Great Depression and WW II
The Racing Sloop Ranger
The racing sloop Ranger, Hull 172, stands out among the list of trawlers and destroyers built at BIW in the late 1930’s. Ranger was built to defend the America’s Cup,…
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Great Depression and WW II
The South Portland Shipyards
From 1940 to 1945 BIW played an unexpected role in the construction of two emergency shipyards in South Portland. The project began in 1940, when the British government sought to…
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Great Depression and WW II
USS Buchanan (DD 131) in WWII
USS Buchanan, BIW Hull 78, launched on Jan. 2, 1919 and delivered 18 days later, was one of 11 Wickes and Clemson class “flush deck” destroyers built at BIW during…
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Great Depression and WW II
Career of the USS O’Bannon (DD-450)
USS O’Bannon, BIW Hull 191, was BIW’s second Fletcher-class destroyer, launched on Feb. 19, 1942, along with her sister ship Nicholas, Hull 190. The new destroyer was delivered in Boston…
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Great Depression and WW II, Modern Era, Post War America
Career of the USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG 58)
The future USS Samuel B. Roberts, BIW Hull 394, was launched on Dec. 8, 1984. At the time of her launch the frigate was probably most notable as BIW’s second-to-last…
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Great Depression and WW II
BIW Ships During the Pearl Harbor Attack
Bath Iron Works built several of the ships that played a role in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941: three Clemson-class destroyers USS Preble (DD-345), USS…
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Great Depression and WW II, Industrialization, Modern Era, Post War America, Progressive Era, WW1 and Roaring 20s
BIW and the Hyde Windlass Company
In the 1880s the Bath Iron Foundry, owned by General Thomas Hyde and located on Water Street in downtown Bath, was a well-established builder of deck machinery, such as windlasses,…
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Great Depression and WW II – 1941
USS Calypso (AG-35) Carries Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minster Winston Churchill
In July of 1941, Bath-built USS Calypso (AG-35) set out for Nova Scotia. During a portion of the trip she carried President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was headed to the…
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Great Depression and WW II
Liberty Ships
During World War II, BIW delivered 244 Liberty Class and 30 Ocean Class cargo ships. Deliveries in 1943 and 1944 averaged 1.8 ships per week. Combined, all US shipyards delivered…
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Great Depression and WW II
Crew of the USS O’Bannon (DD-450) won a battle against a Japanese submarine with the help of potatoes
On April 5, 1943, Bath-built USS O’Bannon (DD-450) won a battle thanks to a well-known Maine product. DD-450 found itself parallel to a Japanese submarine. It was in danger because…
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Great Depression and WW II
Bath-built ships travel into Tokyo Bay to accept Japanese surrender
On June 10 in 1944, Bath-built USS Taylor (DD 468) sank the Japanese submarine RO-111 in the South Pacific. Taylor, a Fletcher-class destroyer, was launched in 1942 and had an…
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Great Depression and WW II, Post War America – 1945
USS Williamsburg (PG-56)
In 1945, Bath-built USS Williamsburg (PG-56) became President Harry Truman’s personal yacht and gained a reputation as the ‘seagoing White House.’ Dignitaries such as Winston Churchill were invited to conferences…
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Great Depression and WW II – 1945
Astronaut Alan Shepard saves 173 sailors while aboard the USS Cogswell (DD 651)
One of the astronauts in the Apollo program was Alan Shepard, who was the first American to travel into space, and walked on the moon in 1971. Before exploring space,…
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Great Depression and WW II – 1940
1940s Employee Badges
Employee badges at BIW have certainly changed throughout the years, but one thing remains the same: They have all been carried through the gates each day by the best shipbuilders…
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