(cont'd)
Crane between the dry docks
In late 1940, under the growing threat of war and the need to contend with
an expanded destroyer shipbuilding program (the Fletcher class, Destroyer 1941
program), Bethlehem embarked, with the Maritime Administration's assistance, on
a $4.25 million program to convert its Terminal Island yard (Berth 240) into a
combined ship repair and shipbuilding plant to meet the requirements of incoming
contracts. Facilities were added to the south end of the site, including new shops
and warehouses, an outfitting berth, ways with colby cranes, and a mold loft.
Some of the earlier improvements, particularly on the north end of the site, were
demolished in this development phase.
Ship at Berth 240
These almost instantaneous physical transformations mirrored the national wartime
mobilization effort, and with 3,000 feet of berthing space along the Main Channel
and a large dry dock, Bethlehem Shipyard (at Berth 240) made an excellent plant
for wartime production. During World War II, Bethlehem constructed and outfitted
26 destroyers. Among the destroyers built at the San Pedro facility is the U.S.S.
Cassin Young (DD793), currently restored and preserved as a national historic
landmark at the Charlestown Naval Yard, Boston National Historical Park. Bethlehem
took in an enormous amount of work and assembled ships so quickly that, on average,
it repaired and returned to service two large naval vessels for each workday during
the war.
Destroyers Built at Bethlehem Shipyard, San Pedro, during World War II
After the war, shipbuilding activity decreased. Defense contracts were canceled, and thousands of people were laid off. Bethlehem Shipyard (at Berth
240) remained active by concentrating mostly on repairing ships
and mothballing U.S. Navy oil tankers. In early 1959, Bethlehem
initiated a cold war improvement program, which included the demolition
of four shipbuilding ways constructed during the war, the replacement
of wooden piers with high-water platforms to accommodate tower cranes,
and the relocation of dry dock no. 2 to the northwest portion of
the shipyard. Facing major economic challenges in its steel-manufacturing
business during the 1970s and 1980s, Bethlehem Steel Corporation
divested itself of the San Pedro yard in 1981. Southwest Marine,
Inc. a San Diego-based company, purchased the yard and continues
to operate it as a ship repair facility. (Modern photos
of Berth 240.)
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