Shipbuilding & Repair Occupations

Shipbuilding and Repair Occupations. . , Man and Machines , Construction of the shipyard's second dry dock, which began in 1899, required a massive excavation that was only partly assisted by machines. Where excavators could not reach, manpower was needed to move earth with shovels into containers that were then lifted out by cranes. The shipyard relied on a pool of general laborers for tasks like these., "They must build faster and faster, lest front lines overseas falter and fail for want of food, fuel, and reinforcements." , --Popular Science , May 1944, Working in Wartime. , The widespread use of steel and the application of new technologies enabled the development of a fleet of fighting vessels that were heavier and more complex than ever before. During World War II, the use of prefabricated parts greatly increased the speed with which ships were built. This required more laborers who were trained in specific tasks and innovative methods for explaining ship construction to the growing, and sometimes novice, workforce., To make the construction system easier, photographic plans were sometimes followed instead of blueprints. Photographers assembled about 200 pictures of every section of a completed destroyer and then posted them in their proper places on the incomplete vessel as a guide for welders and other workers. Gigantic cranes lifted pieces weighing from a few pounds to 50 tons. Men on the ground ensured accuracy of placement via hand signals., A variety of personnel were needed to truly bring the ship to life including engineers, welders, shipfitters, riggers, outfitters, pipefitters, machinists, painters, and electricians. The work was not over once a ship slipped down the launching ways and hit the water for the first time. With the pressures of wartime, the preparing of vessels could be so hurried that the painting of the interior of the ship sometimes took place during speed trials., Building Support , A virtual army of bricklayers, carpenters, architects, painters, and other laborers worked hard to make the Norfolk Naval Shipyard the largest of its kind in the world in the early 20th century. As the technology of ship building changed, so did on-shore support facilities at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard and the installment of utilities, hoisting machinery, cranes, and heating plants turned the shipyard into an industrial behemoth., (Photo Captions), Cranes at Norfolk Naval Shipyard Dock, 1905. Hampton Roads Naval Museum, Excavation of Dry Dock 3, circa 1905. Norfolk Naval Shipyard, The final test of the 15-ton indoor craneinside Building No. 163, 1936. Hampton Roads Naval Museum, Shipyard crane operation hand signals. Popular Science, May 1944, Workers laying pavement on the south side of Dry Dock 2, 1936. Norfolk Naval Shipyard, USS Lovelace near completion at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, 1943. Hampton Roads Naval Museum, Installation of the brick porch at Quarters H, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, 1936. Hampton Roads Naval Museum, Railroad track realignment and reballasting on Rowan Street, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, 1936. Hampton Roads Naval Museum