Shipbuilding in the 1940s – When the Slumbering American Industrial Giant Woke Up

Screen shot via youtube

More than 747 vessels were built at the four Richmond Kaiser Shipyards on the west coast of the United States during World War II. These yards sent a new Liberty ship down the ways every 50 days or so using mass assembly line techniques and pre-made parts.

During a special competition between the yards, one of the Richmond shipyards constructed the Liberty ship Robert E. Peary in 4 days, 15 hours and 29 minutes after the keel was laid down at the number 2 yard.

The following video provides an in-depth look at the Richmond shipyards (located in the city of Richmond, California) and the role they played during World War II. The film not only looks at the ship building process, but also the massive workforce and the logistics of meeting their day to day needs for housing, food and transport.

The four Richmond Shipyards were run by Permanente Metals and part of the Kaiser Shipyards, and were responsible for constructing more ships during World War II than any other shipyard in the country. .

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