California Shipbuilding Corporation

California Shipbuilding Corporation
Company type	Private
Industry	Shipbuilding
Founded	January 27, 1941; 85 years ago, Los Angeles, California, United States
Founder	W. A. Bechtel Co.
Defunct	September 1945
Fate	Ceased operations after WWII, site converted to scrap yard in 1947
Successor	National Metal & Steel Corporation (site)
Headquarters	Los Angeles, United States
Area served	United States
Products	Liberty ships, Victory ships, Haskell-class attack transports
Owner	W. A. Bechtel Co. (management and sponsorship)
Number of employees	40,000 (peak during WWII) (1943)

California Shipbuilding Corporation—widely known as Calship—constructed a total of 467 Liberty and Victory ship vessels throughout World War II, including several Haskell-class attack transport ships.

History

Located on Terminal Island, Los Angeles, California, the Calship shipyard was created as part of the United States’ intensified shipbuilding efforts during the war. Managed and sponsored by W. A. Bechtel Co., Calship commenced operations in May 1941 after breaking ground on January 27. Initially designed with eight slipways, the yard expanded to fourteen slipways across a 175-acre facility. Before this development, Los Angeles had not engaged in large-scale ship construction for twenty years; however, by late 1941, shipbuilding had emerged as the region’s second-largest industrial sector.

Operating under contracts from the U.S. Department of Maritime Commission and the Navy, Calship employed approximately 40,000 workers—many without prior experience—to build the "Liberty Fleet," a series of economical cargo vessels engineered for swift assembly. The yard set multiple production milestones, delivering 15 Liberty Ships in June 1942 alone, totaling 111 ships that year—the highest output nationwide—and later achieving monthly records of 20 ships in June 1943 and 23 in December 1943.

The expansion of Navy contracts significantly boosted California’s shipbuilding industry, drawing a workforce that reached a peak of 282,000 statewide by mid-1943. Constructed on marshland, Calship’s facilities required driving nearly 57,000 piles to provide adequate support. Despite many employees’ limited shipbuilding experience, the yard attained exceptional productivity and efficiency.

To keep its workforce informed on progress, safety measures, and wartime regulations, Calship issued the Calship Log every two weeks. Following the conclusion of World War II and subsequent cancellations of Maritime Commission and Navy contracts, Calship ceased operations in September 1945—exactly four years after launching its first Liberty Fleet vessel. During the war period, the company ranked 49th among U.S. corporations based on the value of military production contracts awarded.

In 1947, National Metal & Steel Corporation converted the site into a scrap yard where notably 55 Liberty and Victory ships constructed by Calship were dismantled.

**Calship Production Output**
Quantity	Design	Type	Use
306	EC2-S-C1	Liberty ship	cargo transport
30	Z-ET1-S-C3	Liberty ship	tanker
32	VC2-S-AP3	Victory ship	cargo transport, 8,500 hp
30	VC2-S-AP5	Haskell class	USN attack transport
69	VC2-S-AP2	Victory ship	cargo transport, 6,000 hp

Two preserved museum vessels constructed at Calship—the SS American Victory located in Tampa, Florida, and the SS Lane Victory based in Los Angeles—function as public exhibits and occasionally undertake sailing events.

Noteworthy vessels

Specifications

The first keels at the shipyard were laid sequentially along slipways numbered 1 to 14, marking significant progress in the yard's construction capabilities.

Slipway	Keel Laid Date
1	24 May
2	24 May
3	21 June
4	27 June
5	10 July
6	17 July
7	23 July
8	31 July
9	11 September
10	15 September
11	22 September
12	6 October
13	13 October
14	20 October

Monthly Launch Totals by Year
Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Total
1941									1	1	1	2	5
1942	3	5	4	7	7	11	10	11	12	13	13	15	111
1943	15	14	16	18	20	18	16	16	7	-	8	16	164
1944	14	10	8	8	6	8	7	5	7	6	7	9	95
1945	8	7	8	8	8	6	6	5	6			62

Liberty Ship Production by Shipyard
Bethlehem Fairfield Shipyard	385
Kaiser Richmond Shipyard #2	348
California Shipbuilding Corporation (CalShip)	336
Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation	330
New England Shipbuilding Corporation	244
Todd Houston Shipbuilding Company	208

Victory Ship Production by Shipyard
Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation	136
California Shipbuilding Corporation (CalShip)	131
Kaiser Richmond Shipyard #2	105

The launch of Liberty tankers at California Shipbuilding demonstrated remarkable construction speed, emphasizing the yard’s operational proficiency:

Vessel Name	Launch Date	Remarks
SS Albert J. Berres (1943)	13 September	Third Liberty tanker; completed within only 34 days on the ways.
SS Richard J. Cleveland (1943)	15 September	Fourth Liberty tanker; the shipyard’s overall vessel number was the 258th.
SS Josiah G. Holland (1943)	17 September	Fifth Liberty tanker.
SS Oscar F. Barret (1943)	18 September	Sixth Liberty tanker; marked as the yard’s 260th ship.

These production statistics highlight CalShip’s vital contribution to wartime shipbuilding, underscoring its competitive edge and key involvement in global maritime efforts throughout World War II.

External links

History

Noteworthy vessels

Specifications

See also

External links