Fairfield Shipyard

 

I came across this photo at Shorpy and was struck by both the visual impact and its reminder of the industrial might that America was able to mobilize during the Second World War.  This is the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard on Baltimore Harbor.  It began operation in February1941 and closed at the end of the war in 1945.

Employing at its peak 47,000 workers and operating 24/7 for more than four years, the shipyard covered 136 acres with 75 cranes and 200 railcars.  The first Liberty ship (the standard WW2 merchant ship) in the US, the Patrick Henry, was launched at this yard in September 1941 and Fairfield went on to build more Liberty ships, 394, than any other shipyard during the war.  In addition, 94 Victory ships, a faster and larger version of the Liberty, were built along with 45 LST's (Landing Ship-Tank).  That's one ship every three days.  Today our merchant and military ship construction programs are pathetic.

For more on America's WW2 merchant shipbuilding program read The Mothball Fleet.