Kaiser shipyards

Extracted Attributes

• Founded

  Around 1939

• Founder

  Henry J. Kaiser

• Location

  West Coast of the United States (Richmond, California; Portland, Oregon; Vancouver, Washington)

• Key Products

  Liberty ships, Victory ships, small aircraft carriers (escort carriers), tankers, other vessels

• Peak Employment

  Over 200,000 workers (1944)

• Total Ships Built

  1,490 ships

• Number of Shipyards

  7 major facilities

• Wartime Production Ranking

  20th among U.S. corporations

• Production Efficiency (Cost)

  A quarter the cost of other shipyards

• Production Efficiency (Time)

  Two-thirds the time of other shipyards

• Fastest Liberty Ship Assembly

  Less than five days

• Contribution to US Maritime Commission

  27 percent of total construction

Timeline

• Henry J. Kaiser established Kaiser Shipyards to help meet the construction goals set by the United States Maritime Commission. (Source: summary, Wikipedia)

  1939

• The Oregon Shipbuilding Company, one of Kaiser's Northwest shipyards, opened. (Source: web_search_results)

  1941

• Kaiser Richmond Field Hospital, a pioneering prepaid hospital financing plan, opened for Kaiser Shipyards workers. (Source: web_search_results)

  1942-08-10

• A smaller vessel was completed in 71 hours and 40 minutes from the Vancouver shipyard. (Source: web_search_results)

  1942-11-16

• Kaiser's shipyards employed 80,000 workers. (Source: web_search_results)

  1942

• Kaiser's shipyards reached peak employment with over 200,000 workers. (Source: web_search_results)

  1944

• Kaiser Shipyards shut down at the end of World War II due to slowing demand for ships. (Source: summary, Wikipedia, web_search_results)

  1945

• The Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park was dedicated on the site of one of the Richmond shipyards. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2000-10-25

• California Forever announced plans to develop new shipyards on the West Coast, addressing national security and shipbuilding capacity, echoing the historical importance of facilities like Kaiser Shipyards. (Source: related_documents)

  2023

Kaiser Shipyards

The Kaiser Shipyards were seven major shipbuilding yards located on the West Coast of the United States during World War II. Kaiser ranked 20th among U.S. corporations in the value of wartime production contracts. The shipyards were owned by the Kaiser Company, a creation of American industrialist Henry J. Kaiser (1882–1967), who entered the shipbuilding industry around 1939 in order to help meet the construction goals set by the United States Maritime Commission for merchant shipping. Four of the Kaiser Shipyards were located in Richmond, California, and were called the Richmond Shipyards. Three other shipyards were located in the Pacific Northwest along the Columbia and Willamette rivers: the Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation and the Swan Island Shipyard in Portland, Oregon, and the Vancouver Shipyard in Vancouver, Washington. Henry Kaiser was known for developing new methods of shipbuilding, which allowed his yards to outproduce other similar facilities and build 1,490 ships, 27 percent of the total Maritime Commission construction. Kaiser's ships were completed in two-thirds the time and a quarter the cost of the average of all other shipyards. Liberty ships were typically assembled in a little over two weeks, and one in less than five days. Kaiser Shipyards shut down at the end of the war. The Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park was dedicated October 25, 2000, on the site of one of the shipyards in Richmond.

Web Search Results

• Kaiser Shipyards Facts for Kids

  The Kaiser Shipyards were a group of seven huge shipbuilding yards on the West Coast of the United States during World War II. These shipyards were owned by the Kaiser Shipbuilding Company, which was started by an American businessman named Henry J. Kaiser. He began the company around 1939 to help build many ships for the United States Maritime Commission. [...] Four of the Kaiser Shipyards were located in Richmond, California, and were known as the Richmond Shipyards. The other three were in the Pacific Northwest, along the Columbia River and Willamette River. These included the Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation and the Swan Island Shipyard in Portland, Oregon, and the Vancouver Shipyard in Vancouver, Washington. [...] Kaiser's shipyards were very important during the war. They built 1,490 ships, which was about 27 percent of all the ships the Maritime Commission needed. Henry Kaiser was famous for finding new and faster ways to build ships. His yards built ships in about two-thirds of the usual time and for only a quarter of the cost compared to other shipyards. For example, a Liberty ship could often be put together in just over two weeks. One was even built in less than five days!

• Kaiser Shipyards - The Oregon Encyclopedia

  Kaiser’s Northwest shipyards, and four other Kaiser shipyards in Richmond, California, contributed heavily to supporting the war effort during World War II. Best known for constructing cargo vessels known as Liberty ships and their successor Victory ships, the Kaiser shipyards also built small aircraft carriers, tankers, and other vessels. In total, workers in all seven Kaiser shipyards assembled 1,552 vessels out of the 5,601 ships commissioned by the U.S. Maritime Commission between 1939 and [...] The largest Kaiser shipyard in the Northwest was the Oregon Shipbuilding Company, often shortened to Oregonship, located on the Willamette River northwest of Portland’s St. Johns neighborhood. Opening in 1941, Oregonship initially built merchant ships for the British government, which had suffered heavy losses from German U-boat missile attacks on its merchant fleet, but it soon produced ships for the U.S. Maritime Commission. The original 87-acre site grew to more than 300 acres. [...] By Gordon Oliver During World War II, industrialist Henry J. Kaiser established three shipyards in the Pacific Northwest, two in Portland and one in Vancouver, Washington. Kaiser’s Northwest shipyards produced 752 ships during the war years.

• Henry J. Kaiser - Wikipedia

  Other Kaiser shipyards were located in Ryan Point (Vancouver) on the Columbia River in Washington state "Washington (state)") and on Swan Island "Swan Island (Oregon)") in Portland, Oregon. A smaller vessel was completed in 71 hours and 40 minutes from the Vancouver yard on November 16, 1942. The Kaiser hulls also became America's smaller, more numerous "escort carriers", over 100 small aircraft carriers employed in both the Pacific and the Atlantic theaters. The concepts that he developed for [...] Henry John Kaiser (May 9, 1882 – August 24, 1967) was an American industrialist who became known for his shipbuilding and construction projects, then later for his involvement in fostering modern American health care. Prior to World War II, Kaiser was involved in the construction industry; his company was one of those that built the Hoover Dam. He established the Kaiser Shipyards, which built Liberty ships during World War II, after which he formed Kaiser Aluminum and Kaiser Steel.: 2, 8–12 [...] At Kaiser Shipyards in Richmond, California, Kaiser implemented the pioneering idea of Sidney Garfield for a prepaid hospital financing plan. Opened on August 10, 1942, Kaiser Richmond Field Hospital for Kaiser Shipyards was financed by the US Maritime Commission, sponsored by Henry J. Kaiser's Permanente Foundation, and run by Garfield. In part because of wartime materials rationing, the Field Hospital was a single-story wood-frame structure designed in a simple modernist mode. Originally

• Our History | About Us - Kaiser Aluminum

  Henry J. Kaiser was an inspired entrepreneur. During World War II, Henry J. Kaiser’s shipyards built almost 1,500 ships for the war effort and forged a reputation for speed, efficiency, and workplace equality. But, as the war wound down, Henry J. Kaiser could imagine a future of growth and opportunity and he wanted to help create it. That vision led to the lease (and eventual purchase) of three aluminum facilities from the U.S. Government. [...] Kaiser Aluminum’s history grew out of Henry J. Kaiser’s involvement in the war effort. Kaiser’s shipbuilding company built almost 1,500 Liberty ships and their successor, Victory ships – fast. In fact, Kaiser became a household name for pioneering innovative and efficient shipbuilding methods. 1941 – 1945

• Henry J. Kaiser: America's Health Care Visionary

  meets with workers in Richmond, California, in 1942 to congratulate them on jobs well done. By the end of 1942, Kaiser’s shipyards employed 80,000 workers. They came from all over the nation. The Kaiser shipyards reached their peak in 1944 with more than 200,000 workers. Kaiser’s yards operated around the clock. Men and women of all races, ethnicities, and abilities worked as peers. Thousands of diverse workers arrived from all over the country. [...] As the war wound down in 1945, demand for ships slowed. Kaiser’s shipyards began closing. Workers and their families returned home. Health plan membership dropped. And yet Kaiser and Dr. Garfield saw in their shipyard health plan a new vision for health care in America. They wanted to continue delivering care in this new way — using prepayment, group practice, and a focus on injury and illness prevention.