Long Beach Naval Shipyard
Long Beach Naval Shipyard | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 33°45′26″N 118°13′52″W / 33.75722°N 118.23111°W |
Code | LBNSY |
Site history | |
Built | February 1943 |
In use | until 30 September 1997 |
The Long Beach Naval Shipyard (Long Beach NSY or LBNSY), which closed in 1997, was located on Terminal Island between the city of Long Beach and the San Pedro district of Los Angeles, approximately 23 miles south of the Los Angeles International Airport.[1] The primary role of NSY Long Beach at the time of its closure was overhaul and maintenance of conventionally-powered US Navy surface ships, but it also had served as the homeport for several auxiliary ships during its operating history.[2]
LBNSY description
The Long Beach NSY industrial area encompassed 119 acres (48 ha) of the total 214 acres (87 ha) owned.
One of the large cranes at Long Beach NSY, YD-171, was nicknamed
Dry Dock 1 had plan dimensions of 143 by 1,092 feet (44 by 333 m), and Dry Docks 2 and 3 had plan dimensions of 92 by 693 feet (28 by 211 m).[6]
The total naval presence on Terminal Island included two installations (Long Beach Naval Shipyard, 563 acres (228 ha) and Long Beach Naval Station, 928 acres (376 ha)), for a total of 1,095 acres (443 ha) on Terminal Island and 319 acres (129 ha) of off-base housing.[7] Half to two-thirds of the area of the finished NSY was built on new fill, so structures were supported on piles.[6]
Dry Docks
Dock No. | Material of which dock is constructed | Length | Width | Depth | Date Completed | Source |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Concrete | 1,093 feet 6 inches (333.30 m) | 155 feet (47 m) | 44 feet 3 inches (13.49 m) | 1942 | [8] |
2 | Concrete | 687 feet 6 inches (209.55 m) | 104 feet (32 m) | 37 feet (11 m) | 1943 | |
3 | Concrete | 687 feet 6 inches (209.55 m) | 104 feet (32 m) | 36 feet (11 m) | 1943 |
History
Navy presence on Terminal Island started in 1938. The Terminal Island Naval Dry Docks were authorized in June 1940, and construction began in August 1940 on one large drydock and two smaller docks. Recreation facilities, personnel and shop buildings were ordered in February 1942, and work began on Drydocks 2 and 3 and several piers in April 1942.
During World War II, the naval dry docks provided routine and battle damage repairs to a parade of tankers, cargo ships, troop transports, destroyers, and cruisers. Peak employment of 16,091 civilian employees was reached in August 1945.[2]
Long Beach NSY was equipped with facilities and skills to perform all non-nuclear structural, sheet metal, boiler, rigging, electronics, electrical, insulating, lagging, ordnance, sandblasting, welding, machining, woodworking, painting, pipe fitting, and other work pertaining to the overhaul and repair of surface ships. The shipyard possessed complete design, engineering, combat systems, quality assurance, planning and public works capabilities to support its industrial work. Dry dock No. 1 was designated the West Coast nuclear powered aircraft carrier (CVN) emergency dry dock.[2]
Long Beach NSY was placed in an inactive status on 1 June 1950. The Korean War began less than one month later, and the shipyard was reactivated on 4 January 1951.[1][2]
Through the years the shipyard accomplished several special projects in addition to its primary mission. These included support or scientific projects in conjunction with programs like
Closure
Long Beach NSY was evaluated under every round of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) for possible closure since the inception of the BRAC process in 1988.[9] In 1993, California congressmen Horn and Rohrabacher cited the military value of the shipyard[10] in a successful attempt to keep it open. Mare Island NSY was closed following the 1993 evaluations, and the vote in favor of keeping LBNSY open was narrowly decided by the BRAC Commission chairman's tiebreaking vote.[11]
However, two years later, the naval shipyard was recommended for closure in the 1995 round of BRAC evaluations (BRAC IV) by then-Defense Secretary William Perry. Although the commission toured Long Beach NSY in April 1995, the BRAC Commission elected not to override the recommendation to close Long Beach NSY,[12][13] and closure was completed on 30 September 1997.[7] By 2004, 72% of the land had been turned over to the City of Long Beach by the military.[14]
The shipyard appears in a 1995 episode of Visiting... with Huell Howser.[15]
Civilian use
In 1997,
After review by the DoD and CIA, the lease went through, at an agreed-upon payment of $14.5 million per year from the Chinese, with renewal scheduled after ten years.
Pacific Reserve Fleet, Long Beach
Pacific Reserve Fleet, Long Beach was opened at Long Beach Naval Shipyard for use as part of the
References
- ^ a b c d Hale-Burns, Pamela (22 February 2011). "Quick facts about the Long Beach Naval Shipyard". Long Beach Press-Telegram. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Long Beach Naval Shipyard (NSY)". GlobalSecurity. 7 May 2011. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
- ^ "Ship's Service—By the Yard" (PDF). All Hands. No. 489. The Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin. October 1957. pp. 2–9. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
- ^ Lockett, Brian (1980–1982). "Howard Hughes' giant Flying Boat – Popularly called the Spruce Goose (Page 1)". Air-and-Space. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
- ^ "Titan Crane Re-assembly". Argonautics Marine Engineering, Inc. 1996. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
- ^ a b c "Former Naval Shipyard Long Beach". Base Realignment and Closure Program Management Office. 2006. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
- ^ "Drydocking Facilities Characteristics" (PDF).
- ^ Newton, Edmund (1 March 1995). "Shipyard Supporters Vow Fight". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
- ^ Bunting, Glenn F. (15 June 1993). "Legislators Make Final Plea to Keep Bases Open". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
- ^ Bornemeier (26 June 1993). "Long Beach Navy Shipyard Spared". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
- ^ Newton, Edmund (28 April 1995). "4 From Base Closure Panel Tour Shipyard". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
- ^ a b Church, Janice (28 March 1997). "Shuttered Long Beach Naval Station Opens Door to Controversial Client". The Christian Science Monitor. p. 3.
- ^ Murphy, Dean (15 May 2005). "More Closings Ahead, Old Bases Still Wait for Hopes to Be Filled". The New York Times. p. 1. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
- ^ "Long Beach Naval Shipyard- Visiting (314) – Huell Howser Archives at Chapman University".
- ^ "Chinese Got Long Beach Deal!". The Daily Republican. 7 March 1997. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
- ^ "Total Terminals International – Pier T". Port of Long Beach. 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
- ^ Lee, Joyce (20 October 2016). "Hanjin Shipping in talks to sell Long Beach Terminal stake to MSC". Reuters. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
- ^ pacificwrecks.com Minesweeper back in service, March 1, 1952
- ^ youtube.com, The Mothball Fleet
- ^ youtube.com The USN Mothball Fleet - Storing up for a rainy day
- ^ navsource USS Isle Royale (AD-29)
External links
- Naval Station Long Beach at Globalsecurity.org (includes Long Beach Naval Shipyard)