Site of New York Shipbuilding Corporation (Camden, New Jersey)

 place with historical importance, shipyard, production, shipbuilding

Founded on July 3, 1899, the New York Shipbuilding Corporation broke ground on the site of a 160-acre farm on the east side of the Delaware River, north of the mouth of Newton Creek to build a large-scale merchant and naval shipyard. First built were three covered slipways (designated J, K, and L) and a covered wet slip (H) used for vessel outfitting.

The keel of NYSC's first ship, the oil tanker J.M. Guffey, was laid in slipway L on November 29, 1900, while the other slipways themselves were still under construction.
Two additional covered shipways were added in 1912 and 1915, which at the time of their completion were the largest ways in any American shipyard. Just prior to World War I, the company started constructing four additional open shipways and affiliated shops to the south of the original facilities which became known as the Middle Yard, and the original complex became the North Yard.

Further expansion took place following the American entry into the First World War whn another parcel of land alongside the Northern edge of Newton Creek was constructed for the production of US Navy 'Four-Piper' Clemson Class Destroyers. This new yard became known as the South Yard and was kept busy with its Destroyer contracts through 1921 before it was idled in 1922. In the years after the First World War, NYSC's size and capabilities kept its workforce occupied with numerous commercial orders as well as large government contracts from the US Navy and Coast Guard.

Lean times effected the yard during the Great Depression, but were belayed by the US Government's effort to upgrade its offensive and defensive capabilities as the world began to spiral towards war once again. Unlike during the First World War, between 1938 and 1945 the entire capacity of New York Shipbuilding's plant was devoted to the production of vessels for the U.S. Navy. While the yard's ways were kept full building Light and Heavy Cruisers and Light Aircraft Carriers, a fourth portion of land was purchased on the other side of Newton Creek and equipped to build Amphibious Landing Craft. Called the South Yard while the former bearer of that name became the Destroyer Yard, the entire NYSC facility saw few other changes during the war, aside from the covered shipways and wet slip of the North Yard being extended up to 250 feet to accommodate the building of six 30,000 ton Alaska Class Battlecruisers. At its peak during the Second World War, NYSC employed 34,000 workers in shifts around the clock every day of the week.

Following the cessation of hostilites many of the yard's contracts were cancelled and much of its wartime workforce laid off, however the outbreak of the Cold War Era ensured that the staff levels at the yard rarely dropped below 4,000 during the next 20 years. NYSC's North Yard and Middle Yards remained the most active of the four yards during the post WWII and Cold War eras, and was eventually were retooled for construction of Nuclear Powered vessels. The Middle Yard's ways were eventually razed and the facility focused on building modular sections and fittings for vessels under construction at the North Yard.

The South Yard remained inactive after the war and was returned to the City of Camden for redevelopment while the Destroyer Yard remained an inactive storage area for almost 20 years before NYSC bid on the chance to build a modern Aircraft Carrier. Awarded the contract to build the first ship of a new class of Super Carriers, NYSC decided ton convert the Destroyer Yard into a drydock for the construction of the vessel, as their existing facilities couldnt accomodate the enormous dimensions of the ship. By the time the USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) was completed in 1961, she had taken the title of the longest and heaviest ship ever built at NYSC. As the 1960's wore on the NYSC struggled to find contracts to cover the expenses of its facilites and staff, and despite US Navy orders for Cruisers, Destroyers, Supply Ships and Nuclear Attack Submarines, the yard was forced to declare bankruptcy in 1967 and the final ship to pass down its ways was the uncompleted hull of the USS Pogy (SSN-647).

Today the former yards of NYSC have been largely repurposed for use as breakbulk & dry bulk terminals in the Port of Camden and continue to serve the Maritime community.

yorkship.us/

For a full list of ships built here, please see:
www.shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/1major/in...