This is the WWII ship production board at the California Shipbuilding Corporation Terminal Island facility. My mother worked here during the war installing asbestos insulation in Liberty Ships. She met my father here and I was the result of a wartime romance.
The war had been over for 32 years when I snapped this photo in April of 1977. The board, while deteriorating, was still remarkably well preserved for something that appears to have been constructed primarily out of marine plywood and exposed to the salt air and dampness of the Long Beach/San Pedro harbor district with no maintenance for all those years. Note some of the details: An anti aircraft gun still guards the rear of the ship from it’s position on the fantail, the slender communications mast still reaches skyward, a movable indicator and arrow points to the next ship to be delivered, the lettering on the column headings is still mostly readable. Of those, the one that to this day I find unbelievable is on the far right. “SHIPS DELIVERED THIS MONTH”.
“Thirteen months after commencing production in May of 1941, the yard broke the record by delivering 15 Liberty Ships in June 1942. It delivered 111 ships in 1942, more than any other yard in the United States. In June 1943, it broke the record again by delivering 20 ships for the month, and yet again in December 1943, delivering 23 ships.” (From Wikipedia)
In 1947 the Calship facility was sold to National Metal and Steel Corporation and was converted into a scrap yard. National Metals is perhaps most familiar to LA historians through photos of the stacks of Pacific Electric and Los Angeles Transit lines streetcars that were scrapped on the grounds once occupied by the support buildings. Less known, and a bit ironic is that 55 of the Liberty and Victory ships that were built here came “home” to be scrapped here.
Cheers,
Jack
[IMG]
[/IMG]
Prev
Hey, thanks for the information Palmero.
, here's a Brown Derby check of Mrs. Robert Cumming's wife. (he signed the back) Notice that it includes the couple's address, 1060 Laurel Way, Beverly Hills.
Linear Mode
