New York, NY: GMD Shipyard/Brooklyn Navy Yard

Shipyard: (Satellite)

Railroad Ferry: (Satellite)

While studying a power plant in the former Brooklyn Navy Yard, I noticed a big crane beside a graving dock that has yet to be scrapped. And three of the graving docks were occupied. So I did some research on the shipyard itself.

MilitaryPhotoDepot posted
Aerial view of the U.S. Navy New York Brooklyn Naval Shipyard on 15 April 1945. There are four aircraft carriers under construction: USS Reprisal (CV-35) in Dry Dock No. 6; USS Coral Sea, later renamed USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVB-42) in Dry Dock No. 5; USS Kearsarge (CV-33); USS Oriskany (CV-34) (not visible behind Kearsarge). Nara Image

To read about the history of the Brooklyn Navy Yard is to read about the history of the U.S. Navy and key events in the early life of this country. In 1776, General Washington moved his troops from this area to Manhattan when retreating from British soldiers during the Battle of Long Island. A private shipyard was established in the surrounding muddy marshlands in 1781 and was purchased for $40,000 by the fledgling U.S. Navy in 1801 for what would become known as the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Many well-known ships were constructed at the yard over the next 150 years. The first to be built, the USS Ohio, was one of the largest battleships of its time and was launched in 1820. The USS Monitor was outfitted and commissioned at the yard in 1862 before the Battle at Hampton Roads against the CSS Virginia. The USS Maine was commissioned in 1895 to begin the "battleship era" and served as a call to arms three years later when it was sunk in Havana Harbor, sparking the Spanish-American War. The USS Arizona was launched from the yard in 1915 only to experience a similar fate at Pearl Harbor in 1941.

During WWII, the yard’s workforce peaked at 70,000 with many "Rosie the Riveters" doing their part for the war effort. In the mid-1950s the yard turned out three of the new "super carriers," but by the early 1960s major shipbuilding contracts had migrated to lower-cost yards. The Brooklyn Navy Yard was closed in 1966 and later sold to the City of New York for $24 million. Today, the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp. (www.brooklynnavyyard.com) is a thriving 300-acre industrial park including 40 buildings and more than 200 tenants as it enters its third century of service.

[powermag]

The Warshipologist posted

FIVE CARRIERS AT "THE CAN DO SHIPYARD"

The Brooklyn Navy Yard was a busy place on February 28, 1959. Work on no less than five of the Navy's aircraft carriers is in progress. 

In Dry Dock #5 is the USS Lake Champlain (CVS-39), undergoing regular overhaul and repairs, and to the right in Dry Dock #6 is the Kitty Hawk class supercarrier Constellation (CVA-64), in the early stages of construction. The carrier was scheduled for completion in 1961 but not before a serious fire claimed the lives of 50 yard workers in December 1960. 

At the piers projecting into the river is the Essex class carrier USS Leyte (CVS-32) alongside Pier G, which is being put into mothballs. She was decommissioned the following April. 

To the right alongside Pier J is the Forrestal class supercarrier USS Independence (CVA-62), which had been placed into commission on January 10 that year. 

Furthest right is the Essex class carrier USS Valley Forge (CVS-45), which was in the yard for emergency repairs when a section of her flight deck was torn away in a storm. The decommissioned Franklin, in mothballs at Bayonne, had part of her flight deck taken as a replacement.

The view is northwest toward Manhattan.

Rick Gunderson: BNY was part of an incredible naval industrial base; most of which is gone now. The Navy is now trying to rebuild some of that capability to deal with a huge maintenance backlog that the few remaining Navy and commercial yards just can't address.

 

Tim Starr posted
The Brooklyn Navy Yard had its own little railroad with a small roundhouse at upper right. The roundhouse was built during World War 1 and survived until after World War 2. This photo is from 1918.

Neo Haven: Brooklyn had quite a few terminal railroads along the docks -- the Brooklyn Eastern Dock Terminal RR was still using steam tank engines in the late 1950's.

Peter Alexander: Tennessee under construction.

Jesse Arias: A lot of Navy yards had their own little railroad to move equipment and supplies around.

John Blotnick: That wasn't little. To think that they had enough locos for that size. [That was my reaction, it is almost a full circle. But it looks like it can hold only short locomotives. But a terminal railroad won't have long locomotives.]

𝓚𝓪𝓽𝓱𝓲 posted
A 1981 view looking southwest: Wallabout Bay and East River (foreground), Hudson River (at right), Upper New York Bay (left) and Newark Bay in the distance.
[And the naval yard in the left foreground.]

Heavy Metal posted
USS Arizona BB 39 passes under the Brooklyn Bridge during WW1.
[It is probably headed to this shipyard.]

 

Guardian Lifestyle posted

The supercarrier USS Constellation (CV-64) with her mast folded down to allow her to pass under the Brooklyn Bridge. 

Many people know that, due to the importance of the Panama Canal, the beam of US warships was designed to allow them to transit the Canal. However, did you know that many US warships were also designed with height restrictions as well?

Some of the most important shipyards for the Navy were located on the East Coast of the United States. Many of these yards were located behind bridges. 

For instance, the important Brooklyn Navy Yard (Formally the New York Navy Yard) was located past the Brooklyn Bridge. The Brooklyn Bridge only has a clearance of 127'. To allow vessels to reach the Brooklyn Navy Yard, they had to be able to pass under this bridge. 

At first, a common practice was to simply dismantle the electronics and even the upper mast, reducing the ship's height and allowing it to pass under the bridge. However, this was less than ideal as it increased repair times (due to the need to first dismantle the ship, maintain it, and then reassemble components). 

Some novel ideas were tried to allow ships to pass under bridges. The aircraft carrier USS Constellation (CV-64) was fitted with a folding mast. The mast could be folded over to allow the ship to travel bridges such as the Brooklyn Bridge.

Despite the success of this idea, it never caught on.  It was getting too difficult to move large ships under these low bridges. Newer electronic systems, heavier and larger than older systems, were more difficult to remove. 

Eventually, it was determined that it would be easier to utilize shipyards that did have bridges or other obstacles in the way. These more accessible shipyards became the primary locations for maintenance and repair (This was a major factor that led to the eventual closure of the Brooklyn Naval Yard).

Shannon Owsley: USS Independence (CV-62) had the same type of mast.

The two GMD photos below this satellite image establish that the three graving docks highlighted in red are still used by GMD Shipyard.

3D Satellite

The two smokestacks in the background are for the power plant.

gmdshipyard

This photo is of the above graving dock, but in the opposite directions.

MilitaryHistoria posted
American Battleship USS South Carolina in a drydock at the Brooklyn Naval Yard, Circa 1912.
Chris Lawrick: Actually, designed before Dreadnought, but laid down after. Her eight 12" guns gave her the same broadside as Dreadnought's ten, and included super firing turrets which became the standard.
Steven Carrara: the old domino sugar factory in the background too
Larry Groves: The USS South Carolina was decommissioned on December 15, 1921. The Brooklyn U.S. Naval Shipyard closed in 1966.
John Bauer: This is actually the USS New York.
I Love Warships posted
Battleship USS South Carolina (BB-26) drydocked at the Brooklyn Navy yard, september 1912.

  

Its Allen posted
Brooklyn Navy Yard Dry Dock, 1910.

gmdshipyard

This shows an interesting collection of gantry cranes. Although one of them doesn't have a boom.

Maximillian, Sep 2021

gmdshipyard

I noticed that the gantry cranes seem to move from one photo to another. Taking a closer look at a satellite image, one can see the tracks that the cranes can run on.

Satellite

MilitaryPhotoDepot posted
(September 1898) USS Oregon (BB-3) in dry dock, Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Some of the results of searching MilitaryPhotoDepot for "brooklyn navy yard". I tried to include them in chronological order. USS Missouri (BB-63) is featured because it was built in this yard. It was one of the four largest battleships built by the US.

MilitaryPhotoDepot posted
USS Plunger (Submarine # 2) Underway off the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, N.Y., circa 1909. Note the coal-handling facility in the center background. U.S. Navy Image

MilitaryPhotoDepot posted
USN Battleship USS Michigan BB-27 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard 3 October 1911/USN Image

MilitaryPhotoDepot posted
(10/3/1913) USS New York in Dry in Dock Number 4...Brooklyn Navy Yard /USN Image
John Christopher Butler: Sister ship of the famous (and surviving) Texas!

MilitaryPhotoDepot posted
USS Arizona BB-39 At Launch Approaching End of Ways,19 June 1915 at the Brooklyn Navy yard in Nyc. USN image/Nara

MilitaryPhotoDepot posted
Brooklyn Navy Yard, NY seen from the air in 1918/Nhhc Image

National Naval Aviation Museum posted
View of the carrier Langley (CV 1) with Boeing FB-5s and Curtis TS-1s spotted on the flight deck at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1927. In the background as tugs assist the battleship West Virginia (BB 48) out of her berth.
MilitaryPhotoDepot shared

Battle Stations Naval Warfare posted
U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Saratoga (CVA-60) in the New York Brooklyn Naval Shipyard, May 1956. NNAM Image

MilitaryPhotoDepot posted
USS North Carolina (BB-55) slides down the building ways, as she is launched at the Brooklyn New York Navy Yard, 13 June 1940. Note the slope of her side armor, angled outward 15 degrees to increase its effective thickness against incoming enemy shells. Nara Image

MilitaryPhotoDepot posted
The French battleship Richelieu underway in the Atlantic Ocean on 26 August 1943, after her refit at the New York Naval Shipyard (USA).USN Image

Jessamyn Harter posted
Battleship Iowa under construction, New York Navy Yard, New York, United States, Jul 1941.

 

Battle Stations Naval Warfare posted
(3/28/1943) USS Iowa BB-61 Brooklyn Naval  shipyard undergoing an incline experiment..Nara Image

MilitaryPhotoDepot posted
Photograph of the USS Missouri (BB-63) under construction at the Brooklyn Navy yard in NY..1/27/1944 USN Photo

 

MilitaryPhotoDepot posted
USS Missouri (BB-63)
Approaching the end of the building ways as she is launched, 29 January 1944, at the New York Brooklyn Navy Yard. U.S. Nhhc Image

MilitaryPhotoDepot posted
New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York
Aerial photograph, taken 9 March 1944. USS Missouri (BB-63) is fitting out in the center. Carrier at the bottom is probably USS Bennington (CV-20). U.S. Nhhc image

I don't know if this was built in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, but it is enough of a "wow" that I'm going to include it anyhow. They obviously strap the planes down.

MilitaryPhotoDepot posted
USS Langley (CVL-27)
Rolling sharply as she rides out a Pacific storm. Photographed from USS Essex (CV-9). The original photograph is dated 13 January 1945, but Morison, History of U.S. Naval Operations in World War II, Vol. 13, captions this view as having been taken during the Great Typhoon of 18 December 1944. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.
Don Midgette: A few months later, January 1950, she would run aground on Thimble Shoals while departing Hampton Roads. There is still a bit of a trough in that part of the bay where they dredged around her to pull her off. A few of the “Older Seamen” still call it “the MO hole!”
Mike Andrews: This was the “ Caine Mutiny Storm “ . There where incredible problems during that typhoon . Before and at the start of the storm , many ships in the fleet were very low on fuel. And although the US was very proficient at fueling up at sea, the rough seas made bunkering ( fueling ) impossible. Because most naval vessels don’t have ballast tanks , they use fuel to balance out the roll and trim. Common practice was to fill fuel tanks with sea water to displace the fuel upwards …. One can only imagine the problems with heavy seas. …. As for storing planes below the flight deck. There were several fires aboard the Aircraft Carriers from aircraft breaking loose and getting tossed about down below . People were dodging broken lose bombs . And fighting burning gasoline . One can only imagine fighting a fire in rough seas . To this day there is much debate about Fleet Admiral William Halsey’s decision to steam into the storm …. Knowing full well several ships were very low on fuel. ( Ironically he was aboard a large Iowa class battleship that tried to fuel several ships. )
Robert Krasevec: I WAS ON THE USS WASP CVS18 IN 1970 IN A NOREASTER. I WAS ON THE ADMIRALS BRIDGE WITH THE ADMIRAL IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC WHEN A WAVE HIT THE ISLAND (TOWER) OF THE CARRIER KNOCKING US DOWN AND SOAKING US. WE LOST 3 PLANES AND 7 MEN AND THE SHIP HAD ALOT OF DAMAGE!
Pamela Kinnane: Devastating toll on the fleet, with three destroyers and 800 sailors lost. Lest We Forget
William Douglas Hemmings: Now that's a roll. I was used to it in destroyers because it was normal. But I think I would have been a tad anxious on a carrier.

MilitaryPhotoDepot posted
(Original Color) USS Franklin (CV-13) View on the flight deck, while the carrier was in New York Harbor, circa 28 April 1945. She had just returned from the Pacific for repair of battle damage received off Japan on 19 March 1945. Official U.S. Navy Photograph
MilitaryPhotoDepot posted
USS Franklin (CV-13) returning to Brooklyn Navy Yard for repairs following Japanese bomb hit on March 19, 1945 in Inland Sea, Japan. "Old Glory" flying from her shattered mast, the brave flat-top enters New York harbor." Caption on Negative Sleeve: "The USS Franklin - gallant ESSEX-class carrier, badly damaged by enemy bombs in the Japanese Inland sea, March 19, 1945, returns to the Brooklyn Navy Yard under her own power."  USN Image

MilitaryPhotoDepot posted
USS Missouri BB-63 Anchored in Tokyo Bay, Japan, 2 September 1945, the day that Japanese surrender ceremonies were held on her deck. Photograph from the Army Signal Corps Collection .

MilitaryPhotoDepot posted
(10/13/1945) USS Oriskany (CV-34), being launched at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York. U.S. Navy photograph, now in the collections of the Nara
Mike Raso: I was on her deck about 10 years ago and 120’ under water. Now an artificial reef off Pensacola.

MilitaryPhotoDepot posted
USS Franklin D. Roosevelt CV-42 commissioning ceremonies, at the New York Brooklyn Navy Yard, on Navy Day, 27 October 1945. NARA 

MilitaryPhotoDepot posted
(9/2/1949) USS Missouri (BB-63)
 Ship's crew and midshipmen celebrate the fourth anniversary of V-J Day, during the Midshipmen's cruise. They are gathered around the plaque that marks the spot where Japan surrendered on 2 September 1945. Turret Two is trained as it was during the surrender ceremonies. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives

MilitaryPhotoDepot posted
USS Tarawa, CV-40 with the Brooklyn Bridge and city skyline in background, NYC USN Image
John McGrath: 1951???

MilitaryPhotoDepot posted
USS Enterprise CV-6
Awaiting disposal at the New York Naval Shipyard on 22 June 1958. She was sold for scrapping ten days later, on 2 July. USS Independence (CVA-62) is fitting out on the opposite side of the pier. Ships visible in the left foreground include (from front): USS DeLong (DE-684), USS Coates (DE-685) and USS Hoe (SS-258). Ten other destroyers are also present, as is a Liberty type ship. The Schaefer brewery is visible in the center background. Official U.S. Navy Photograph.

The Warshipologist posted
USS Independence (CVA-62) under construction at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in June 1958, about 6 months before she was commissioned. Can you identify the ship moored opposite her?

MilitaryPhotoDepot posted
August 21st 1958. The USS Enterprise (CV-6) made her final voyage as she moved from the Brooklyn Navy Yard to the scrapper in New Jersey.

MilitaryPhotoDepot posted
CVA 64 USS Constellation under construction Brooklyn Naval Yard NYC 3/18/1960..USN Image

 

MilitaryPhotoDepot posted
(3/18/1960) USS Constellation CVA-64 under construction Brooklyn Naval Shipyard ,NY..USN Image/Nara

MilitaryPhotoDepot posted
(4/9/1960)  USS Topeka CLG-8 at Brooklyn Naval Shipyard NY, Nara Image

MilitaryPhotoDepot posted
(7/16/1960) USS Constellation CVA-64 Under construction at the Brooklyn Naval Shipyard, NY USN Image/Nara

Battleship Missouri Memorial posted
New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York. Aerial photograph, taken 79 years ago today. Missouri (BB-63) is fitting out in the center. Carrier at the bottom is likely the Bennington (CV-20).

[In response to a comment about the black blob about a third of the way in from the bow:]
Mike Southwell commented on the above post
Think that's the crane.

Rob O'Brien commented on the above post
The view today of the same footprint.

Army Military posted
USS. Arizona, then one of the largest and newest of Uncle Sam's sea fighters passing out to sea under the Brooklyn Bridge on her first voyage since being put in commission.
[Some comments remarked it is inbound instead of outbound.]
Chris Santos: It is going out to sea. The point closest to the viewer is the stern, not the bow. Note the lack of anchors and “ARIZONA” emblazoned on the hull. US Navy ships only put the name of the ship at the stern.
[But then I saw:]
Mike Newhard: Correct - heading inbound . AWESOME picture !!! Honor and glory and respect !!!
Kevin Seymour: Mike Newhard Yes, first vessel equipped with the concealed anchors, and breaking with tradition, the name on the bow.
[But then:]
Alyssa Roberts: Why are the two sailors/marines at the bow standing facing aft/backwards? That’s what it sure looks like!
Breck Hollis: Alyssa Roberts That's the stern. Yeah, it's pointy but that's they way they built them then.

MilitaryPhotoDepot posted
(1/14/1917) USS Indiana (BB-1) Maybe at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard USN Image.
Bob Bates: Looking at the buildings in the background most likely not the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard.
Angel Yasig: Brooklyn navy yard

Comments on the above post

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Railroad Ferry

Lucibello Heavy Equipment photography posted two photos with the comment: "Old rail barge load out in Brooklyn slowly deteriorating and slipping into the east river. Back in the day these rail load outs where found all over the city but are now nearly extinct. Today there’s still an active barge rail load out operation in Jersey City that services Staten Island. Fun fact for anyone who is a Fallout fan and recently watched the TV show. The container structure in the background of the first photo is the set of Filly shootout scene."

Steve Adams shared

Joseph Anastasio: It was built sometime around 1910. A report in the 1980s called it a "significant cultural resource", though I don't believe it has ever been landmarked. It still exists today likely due to the expense of removing it.

I just wrote a bit about it and other abandoned rail infrastructure within the Navy Yard in this book: https://ltvpress.com/.../brooklyn-navy-yard-beyond-the.../

Travis Beck: Heard it’s becoming a farm to table artisanal brewpub.

Steve Adams: Travis Beck that fell through, now it’s going to be an axe throwing pub.

John McCluskey: Here’s a few photos of Structure 713. Back when the sight lines were a bit more open. It was a “suspended apron” type of bridge that had the bridge replaced with a pontoon style. So the oblvehead structure serve no function http://jtunnel.rrpicturearchives.net/archiveThumbs.aspx. [This link worked the first time I clicked it, but subsequently I got a "refused to connect" error. Bummer]

[Some comments describe ferry operations in other towns.]

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