Philadelphia Navy Yard file photo [28349]

Philadelphia Navy Yard

Type   92 Factory, Shipyard
Historical Name of Location   Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Coordinates   39.891111000, -75.178611000

Contributor:

ww2dbaseThe Philadelphia Navy Shipyard in Pennsylvania, United States dated back to 1776 as the country's first naval shipyard. It officially became a US Navy site in 1801. In 1871, new facilities began to be established for the building of modern ships. In 1917, the Naval Aircraft Factory was established at the shipyard's League Island site. After WW1, the world's largest crane, weighing 3,500 tons, was installed at the Philadelphia Navy Shipyard. In 1926, Mustin Field began operations at the Naval Aircraft Factory site. The WW2-era would represent the shipyard's most productive period. During this period, it employed about 40,000 workers, launched 53 ships, and repaired 574 ships. Among the ships the yard had launched were the large and modern battleships USS New Jersey and USS Wisconsin. It also participated in the American atomic weapons research as Philip Abelson developed the liquid thermal diffusion technique for separating uranium-235 at the Naval Laboratory at the shipyard. After WW2, the shipyard's workforce dropped to 12,000. In the 1960s, ship construction began to be contracted out to private firms. In 1963, Mustin Field ceased operations. The final ship built at the Philadelphia Navy Yard would be the command ship Blue Ridge, launched in 1970. In 1991, the Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended the shipyard's closure, and in 1995 it was formally closed. The 1,000-acre-sized land where the navy shipyard resided were transferred to the city of Philadelphia in Mar 2000. Today the site is of mixed use, with commercial and industrial tenants (including a commercial shipyard), and a small US Navy presence.

ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia

Last Major Update: Dec 2018

Ships Constructed at Philadelphia Navy Yard

Ship NameYard NoSlip/Drydock NoOrderedLaid DownLaunchedCommissioned
Minneapolis27 Jun 19316 Sep 193319 May 1934
Shaw1 Oct 193428 Oct 193518 Sep 1936
Washington14 Jun 19381 Jun 194015 May 1941
New Jersey1 Jul 193916 Sep 19407 Dec 194223 May 1943
Wisconsin12 Jun 194025 Jan 19417 Dec 194316 Apr 1944
Doneff1 Apr 194224 Jul 194210 Jun 1943
Engstrom1 Apr 194224 Jul 194221 Jun 1943


Philadelphia Navy Yard Interactive Map

Photographs

Oklahoma during modernization at Philadelphia Navy Yard, circa 1928Four-stack destroyer USS Reuben James upon being recommissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, 9 May 1932.Hulls of the Mahan-class destroyers Cassin, left, and Shaw, right, on the ways at Philadelphia Navy Yard 26 Oct 1935 two days before they were both launched.Destroyer USS Shaw at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, 26 Jan 1937. Photo 1 of 2.
See all 57 photographs of Philadelphia Navy Yard

Philadelphia Navy Yard Timeline

5 Mar 1931 USS New Mexico began modernization work at Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, United States.
30 Jun 1932 USS R-5 was decommissioned from service at Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
22 Jan 1933 USS New Mexico completed her modernization work at Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, United States. She departed Philadelphia for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for refresher training.
1 Oct 1934 Mahan-class destroyer Shaw was laid down at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States alongside sister-ship Cassin.
28 Oct 1935 Mahan-class destroyer Shaw was launched at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
18 Sep 1936 Mahan-class destroyer USS Shaw was commissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
6 Jun 1938 USS Nashville was commissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard with Captain William W. Wilson in command.
1 Jun 1940 Battleship Washington was launched at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, United States. She was the first American battleship to be launched since the 1921 launching of battleship West Virginia.
6 Jul 1940 Clifton Cates was made the director of Marine Officers Basic School, at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in Pennsylvania, United States.
6 Dec 1942 The keel of Illinois was laid down at Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, United States.
4 Apr 1943 USS S-44 arrived at Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, United States.
23 May 1943 USS New Jersey was commissioned into service at Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, United States.
14 Jun 1943 USS S-44 departed Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, United States.
19 Jul 1943 The US Naval Aircraft Factory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States was authorized to embark on the project codenamed Gorgon to develop air-to-air turbojet-powered remotely-controlled missiles.
2 Sep 1944 While attempting to unclog a uranium enrichment device at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, United States for the Manhattan Project, chemists Peter Bragg, Douglas Meigs, and Arnold Kramish accidentally set of an explosion, which sprayed liquid uranium hexafluoride and hydrofuoric acid on them. Bragg and Meigs were killed, while Kramish and two soldliers, George LeFevre and John Tompkins, were seriously injured.
24 Sep 1944 USS Wisconsin departed Philadelphia Navy Yard in Pennsylvania, United States.
22 Jan 1945 Escort carrier USS Card arrived at the Philadelphia Navy Yard for an extensive overhaul.
23 Feb 1945 USS Permit arrived at Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, United States.
11 Aug 1945 The construction of Illinois at Philadelphia Navy Yard in Pennsylvania, United States was canceled.
6 Sep 1945 Destroyer USS Shaw arrived at Philadelphia Navy Yard.
11 Sep 1945 Destroyer USS Shaw departed Philadelphia Navy Yard bound for the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York.
9 Oct 1945 USS Bluefish arrived at Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, United States.
19 Nov 1945 USS Ranger arrived at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
8 Jan 1946 USS Honolulu entered the Philadelphia Navy Yard and began her decommissioning overhaul.
14 Jan 1946 USS Ranger departed the Philadelphia Navy Yard bound for Norfolk, Virginia.
8 May 1946 USS Dithmarschen arrived at Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, United States.
20 Jun 1946 St. Louis was decommissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard and placed in the reserve fleet.
24 Jun 1946 Cruiser USS Nashville was taken out of commission at Philadelphia Navy Yard and placed in reserve after nearly exactly 8 years of active service.
12 Jul 1946 USS Portland was decommissioned from service at Philadelphia Navy Yard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
10 Feb 1947 Cruiser USS New Orleans (New Orleans-class) was decommissioned at Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The ship spent 12 years in the reserve fleet before being scrapped.
7 Nov 1949 USS Sea Cat arrived at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, United States for upgrades.
11 Mar 1950 USS Sea Cat completed her upgrade work at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, United States.
3 Jan 1951 Upon ccompletion of submarine Ray's conversion into a radar picket submarine at Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, she was resignated SSR-271.
15 Jan 1952 USS Sea Cat arrived at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, United States for conversion into a Fleet Snorkel submarine.
26 Jun 1952 USS Sea Cat completed her conversion work at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, United States and departed for Key West, Florida, United States.
27 Mar 1953 USS Ray departed Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States for a training cruise off eastern United States and in the Caribbean Sea.
5 Mar 1954 Submarine Gür entered Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, United States for the second phase of her GUPPY I conversion.
3 Sep 1954 Submarine Gür completed her GUPPY I conversion work at Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, United States.
2 Oct 1967 USS Sea Robin entered Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, United States for a scheduled overhaul.
1 Feb 1968 USS Sea Robin completed a scheduled overhaul at Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, United States.
30 Jul 1971 USS Shangri-La was decommissioned from service for the final time and was placed in the Atlantic Reserved Fleet at Philadelphia Navy Yard in Pennsylvania, United States.




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Visitor Submitted Comments

1. eric weisblatt says:
8 Jul 2018 08:06:42 AM

FOUND A SMALL YELLOW LAMINATED CARD WITH MY DAD'S PICTURE. STATES "PHILADELPHIA DEFENSE COUNCIL, 10/09/1944. IT SATES HE WAS A "MESSENGER" (#3), EMPLOYER F.F.F. Co. PLEASE HELP POINT ME IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION FOR MORE INFO, PLEASE !! THANKING YOU IN ADVANCE FOR ANY ASSISTANCE !!! SINCERELY,

ERIC WEISBLATT
ericw861@gmail.com
2. Chris Bingham says:
12 Aug 2020 11:27:11 AM

I just received a pin from the Naval yard from my cousin’s estate. My grandfather’s picture is on the front, draftsman,0360-19. I gather he worked here during the war as a draftsman. He was a church architect in Philadelphia. George E. Savage. Why did they not have names on the pins? It was in a green velvet box which seemed awfully fancy.
3. Anonymous says:
5 Dec 2021 05:18:48 PM

My father worked as a turret master at Phila Nav shipyard. All numerous other brothers fought in WWIi.
4. Richard Murphy says:
4 Dec 2022 11:30:14 PM

My submarine, USS Halfbeak SS-352, was in the Philly Yard in 1959 for overhaul and weeks later for newly broken generator shaft (had to cut open the hull to remove and replace it). She is not mentioned here.
While in for the Generator, while taking a shower onboard, my wallet was stolen by a yardbird.
Further, I saw 2 nearly completed Battle Cruisers, the USS California and I believe the other was the USS Hawaii. Both were moored very near the Main Gate. They too are not mentioned anywhere. What became of them?
5. phil colozzi says:
9 Feb 2024 09:46:41 PM

I remember as a kid 5years old with a pot and spoon banging on the streets of South Philly in the early morning with the planes overhead going to land at the navy yard. What month was that? Thank you

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Modern Day Location
WW2-Era Place Name Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Lat/Long 39.8911, -75.1786
Philadelphia Navy Yard Photo Gallery
Oklahoma during modernization at Philadelphia Navy Yard, circa 1928
See all 57 photographs of Philadelphia Navy Yard


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