Norfolk Naval Shipyard

Norfolk Naval Shipyard
Portsmouth, Virginia
Type	Shipyard
Built	1767 as Gosport Shipyard (Royal Navy; current name since 1862 (US Navy)
In use	1767 —
Controlled by	United States Navy
Commanders	Rear Adm. Joseph Campbell (acting)

The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling, and repairing the Navy's ships. It's the oldest and largest industrial facility that belongs to the U.S. Navy as well as the most multifaceted. Located on the Elizabeth River, the yard is just a short distance upriver from its mouth at Hampton Roads. The name was changed from Gosport Shipyard in 1862.

History

British control

The Gosport Shipyard was founded on November 1, 1767 by Andrew Sprowle on the western shore of the Elizabeth River in Norfolk County in the Virginia Colony. This shipyard became a prosperous naval and merchant facility for the British Crown. In 1775, at the beginning of the American Revolution, Sprowle stayed loyal to the Crown and fled Virginia, which confiscated all of his properties, including the shipyard. In 1779, while the newly formed Commonwealth of Virginia was operating the shipyard, it was burned by British troops.

American control

In 1794, United States Congress passed "An Act to Provide a Naval Armament," allowing the Federal Government to lease the Gosport Shipyard from Virginia. In 1799 the keel of USS Chesapeake, one of the first six frigates authorized by Congress, was laid, making her the first ship built in Gosport for the U.S. Navy.

The federal government purchased the shipyard from Virginia in 1801 for $12,000. This tract of land measured 16 acres (65,000 m²) and now makes up the northeastern corner of the current shipyard. In 1827, construction began on of one of the first two dry docks in the United States. Additional land on the eastern side of the Elizabeth River was purchased in 1845.

American Civil War

Ruins of the shipyard after the Civil War, 1864, unknown photographer. From the collection of the National Archives & Records Administration.

In 1861, Virginia joined the Confederate States of America. Fearing that the Confederacy would take control of the facility, the shipyard commander Charles Stewart McCauley ordered the burning of the shipyard. The Confederate forces did in fact take over the shipyard, and did so without armed conflict through an elaborate ruse orchestrated by civilian railroad builder William Mahone (then President of the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad and soon to become a famous Confederate officer). The capture of the shipyard allowed a tremendous amount of war material to fall into Confederate hands. 1,195 heavy guns were taken for the defense of the Confederacy, and employed in many areas from Hampton Roads all the way to Fort Donelson Tennessee, Port Hudson, and Fort de Russy, Louisiana. The Union forces withdrew to Fort Monroe across Hampton Roads, which was the only land in the area which remained under Union control.^[1]:30

In early 1862, the Confederate ironclad warship CSS Virginia was rebuilt using the burned-out hulk of USS Merrimack. In the haste to abandon the shipyard, the Merrimack had only been destroyed above the waterline, and an innovative armored superstructure was built upon the remaining portion. The Virginia, which was still called the Merrimack by Union forces and in many historical accounts, engaged the Union ironclad USS Monitor in the famous Battle of Hampton Roads during the Union blockade of Hampton Roads. The Confederates burned the shipyard again when they left in May of 1862.

Following its recapture of Norfolk and Portsmouth (and the shipyard) by the Union forces, the name of the shipyard was changed to Norfolk after the county in which it was located, outside the city limits of Portsmouth at the time. This choice of name was probably to minimize any confusion with the pre-existing Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine near Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Modern shipyard

For $3, visitors can go aboard the Lightship Portsmouth at the Naval Shipyard Museum

From the Reconstruction Era until 1917, the shipyard was used both for ship repair and construction and for ship stationing; the current major naval base for the region, Naval Station Norfolk, did not yet exist. As such, the then Norfolk Navy Yard served as the official Homeport for ships stationed in the Hampton Roads region.

No major expansion occurred at the facility until World War I when it was expanded to accommodate 11,000 employees and their families. The shipyard was again expanded in World War II, doubling its physical size, and greatly expanding its productive capacity. During its peak, from 1940 to 1945, 43,000 personnel were employed and 6,850 vessels were built.

After World War II, the shipyard shifted from being a ship construction facility to an overhaul and repair facility. Its last two ships, USS Bold and her sister ship, Bulwark, wooden minesweepers, were christened on March 28, 1953 during the Korean War.

Currently, the shipyard is composed of several noncontiguous areas totaling 1,275 acres (5.2 km²). Norfolk Naval Shipyard provides repair and modernization services for every type of ship that the U.S. Navy has in service, which includes amphibious vessels, submarines, guided missile cruisers, and supercarriers, although in recent years the shipyard has primarily focused on nuclear ships and nuclear support ships. The Norfolk yard is one of the few facilities on the east coast capable of dry docking nuclear aircraft carriers. Another facility capable of drydocking such carriers is Northrop Grumman Newport News, located on the other side of Hampton Roads in Newport News, which is the only U.S. shipyard that currently builds and refuels nuclear aircraft carriers.

Captain William Kiestler, commanding officer of Norfolk Naval Shipyard was relieved of duty on July 1, 2010 by order of Vice Admiral Kevin M. McCoy, commander of Naval Sea Systems Command, after a year on the job because of a loss of confidence in his ability to command.^[2]

Captain Greg Thomas was permanently relieved of command on October 26, 2011.^[3]

On a side note, there is a rumor that there is a buried treasure underneath the waterfront end of building 1570. The rumor is that Black Beard himself set it there when he was fleeing from his enemies.

Notable ships

• USS Chesapeake - 38 gun frigate, contemporary to USS Constitution, fought in the War of 1812.
• USS Delaware - first ship to be dry docked in the Western Hemisphere.
• CSS Virginia - First Confederate ironclad warship, rebuilt from burned out hulk of USS Merrimack; participant in Battle of Hampton Roads against USS Monitor
• USS Texas - First U.S. naval battleship to be commissioned.
• USS Raleigh - First modern cruiser completely built by the U.S. government.
• USS Langley - First U.S. aircraft carrier; converted from USS Jupiter.
• USS Shangri-La - Only U.S. aircraft carrier paid for solely by U.S. Warbonds and subscriptions.
• USS Alabama

Museum

Main article: Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum

See also

• Rear Admiral Walter McLean, commander of the Shipyard during World War I

References

1. ^ Page, Dave (1994). Ships Versus Shore, Civil War Engagements along Southern Shores and Rivers. Rutledge Hill Press. ISBN 1-55853-267-6. 
2. ^ Sizemore, Bill. "Norfolk Naval Shipyard commander sacked." HamptonRoads.com. The Virginian-Pilot, 1 July 2010. Web. 11 July 2010. <hamptonroads.com/2010/06/norfolk-naval-shipyard-commander-sacked>.
3. ^ Sizemore, Bill. "Norfolk Naval Shipyard commander removed from post" HamptonRoads.com. The Virginian-Pilot 26 October 2011. <http://hamptonroads.com/2011/10/commander-norfolk-naval-shipyard-removed-post>

External links

• Official website

Coordinates: 36°48′55″N 76°17′50″W / 36.81528°N 76.29722°W / 36.81528; -76.29722