Craig Shipbuilding Company

33.770586°N 118.213819°W / 33.770586; -118.213819

John Craig (1838-1934) founder of Craig Shipbuilding
Light Vessel No.57 at Toledo, Ohio
SS Puritan later became SS George M. Cox in 1933
SS City of South Haven (American Passenger Steamship, 1903) Underway prior to World War I, with her decks crowded with passengers. This Great Lakes steamer was USS City of South Haven (ID # 2527) in 1918–1919
Broadwater (APA-139) alongside Bellerophon (ARL-31) in San Francisco Bay, October 1945
USS L-7 in port, in 1917
USS Ozaukee (ID-3429) around the time of her completion in September 1918.

Craig Shipbuilding was a shipbuilding company in Long Beach, California. To support the World War I demand for ships Craig Shipbuilding shipyard switched over to military construction and built: US Navy Submarines and Cargo Ships. Craig Shipbuilding was started in 1906 by John F. Craig. John F. Craig had worked in Toledo, Ohio with his father, John Craig (1838-1934), and Blythe Craig, both shipbuilders, their first ship was built in 1864 at Craig Shipbuilding Toledo. John F. Craig opened his shipbuilding company in Port of Long Beach on the south side of Channel 3, the current location of Pier 41 in the inner harbor, becoming the port's first shipyard. In 1908 Craig Shipbuilding was given the contract to finishing dredging of the Port of Long Beach inner harbor and to dredge the channel connecting it to the Pacific ocean. In 1917 Craig sold the shipyard to the short-lived California Shipbuilding Company. but then opened a new shipyard next to the one he just sold and called it the Long Beach Shipbuilding Company. The Long Beach Shipbuilding Company built cargo ships in 1918, 1919, and 1920 for the United States Shipping Board.

In 1918 California Shipbuilding started to have difficulties completing contracts that it had purchased with the Craig Shipyard, including two submarines and a lighthouse tender. In 1921, Craig purchased his original shipyard back and renamed it back to Craig Shipbuilding. At the same time he renamed the Long Beach Shipbuilding to Craig Shipbuilding and ran both as one company. The tow shipyard did repair work on built yachts.

The United States Maritime Commission started a shipbuilding program in 1939, to support the World War 2 demand for ships. Craig leased the Long Beach Shipbuilding yard to the Consolidated Steel Corporation. Consolidated Steel built Type C1-B and C1-M cargo merchant ships and two Type P1 passenger ships at the leased yard from prefabricated sections erected at their Maywood plant inland. Consolidated Steel operated two other large shipyards, one nearby in the Port of Los Angeles West Basin in Wilmington, which was also supplied by Maywood, the other in Orange, Texas, and two other small boatyards. After World war 2, the Consolidated-leased yard closed. Craig shipyard continued to do repair work as the Long Beach Marine Repair and closed in 1970.[1]

Craig Shipbuilding Toledo

Notable ships built at Craig Shipbuilding Toledo (1864-1905), later purchased by a syndicate of investors in 1905 and renamed Toledo Shipbuilding Company, and then purchased in 1945 by the American Ship Building Company.[2] Run today by the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority:[3][4][5]

Craig Shipbuilding Long Beach Yard

On May 19, 1908, the Western Dredging and Marine Construction Co., of which John F. Craig was president and C. H. Windham general manager and treasurer was contracted to complete for $600,000 all dredging of the harbor, including that of Channels 1, 2, 3 and Slips 4 and 6, the turning basin and the ocean entrance at the mouth of San Gabriel River. Included was the purchase of the new electric dredge for $65,000.[11]

Notable ships built at Craig Shipbuilding Long Beach Yard (1906 to 1 January 1916, when it was bought by the California Shipbuilding Company[12]) and (1922-1934):[13]

In 1932 Craig reconditioned 2 cargo vessels (Point Ancha, Point Lobos) for Swayne & Hoyt, including the installation of a low pressure turbine at the exhaust end of the triple-expansion engine to increase the speed of the ships.[16]

Long Beach Shipbuilding Company

The yard was the smallest of the three steel shipyards in the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach active during the World War I shipbuilding boom, responsible for 17% of the tonnage produced there. The Llewellyn Iron Works of Los Angeles produced engines for a number of yards on the West Coast. It is unknown whether a particular hull was towed to them for outfitting or their engine delivered to the yard.

Yard#USSB#[17][18]TypeEngineNameLaunched[lower-alpha 1]
124[lower-alpha 2]Req.3,000dwt cargoSilverado11 Feb 18
125Eldorado7 May 18
12625153,200dwt cargo[lower-alpha 3]Wallingford15 Jan 19
1274236,000dwt cargo[lower-alpha 4]Ozaukee5 Jun 18
128424Oshkosh31 Aug 18
129425Magunkook25 Sep 18
13020758.800dwt cargoLIWWest Kasson15 Mar 19
1312076West Keene26 Apr 19
1322077West Katan26 May 19
1332078Vinita
1342079HORHaleakala13 Sep 19
1352080LIWWest Keats
1362081West Kebar
1372082West Kedron
138 - 1412511 - 2514cancelled
  1. See List of ship launches in 1918 and 1919 for references
  2. First ship built at the yard, but hull number sequence continued from the Craig yard
  3. Single member of the "class" of Design 1097 ships
  4. The only 3 members of the class of Design 1021 ships

Other notable ships built at Long Beach Shipbuilding Company Long Beach Yard (1918-1921):

  • Edythe, yacht built in 1920 for owner John F. Craig; 186 tons; later sold and renamed Melodie
  • MS Mazatlan launched 10 December 1919 for the California & Mexico SS Co. Built at a cost of $250,000.[19] The vessel was equipped with 2 Winton diesels of 350 hp each driving 2 screws. Captain Terry of Swayne & Hoyt. First trip south scheduled for early February.[20] Able to carry 1500 tons of cargo, 42 first class and 22 second class passengers, cost of $300,000. In February 1920 the keel of the second ship (350 tons, 127 ft long) had been laid.[21]
  • A 131 ft length, 21 ft beam motor yacht for Craig with two 150 hp engines to be launched Jan 1920.[22]
  • "steamship" Casco launched 5 August 1920 for the California & Mexico SS Co.[23]

California & Mexico Steamship Company

This company was established in 1915 with John F. Craig as president, but due to World War I, it was a dormant operation until its service was inaugurated with the launch of the MS Mazatlan. The line was to establish a trade route between Los Angeles and ports on the west coast of Mexico north of Mazatlán.[24] The round trips were planned to include La Paz, Topolobampo, Mazatlan, San Bias, Manzanilio and at times Guaymas and last 25 days.[25]

J. McMillan was general manager and Chas. G. Krueger, Los Angeles agent was also local agent for Swayne & Hoyt on their traffic passing through San Pedro.[26]

In August 1921 the company advertised as representing Swayne & Hoyt (whose volume of course was much bigger than the company's own sailings), and as having offices in 794 Pacific Electric Building and operating on the Fifth Street Wharf in Los Angeles Harbor.[27]

MS Mazatlan
FromToDepartureArrivalCargo / Notes
1920
San Pedro17 Febship maiden voyage, line inaugural voyage[28]
San Pedro18 Mar22 survivors of H-1[29]
San Pedro20 Apr1500 tons of Mexican tomatoes[30]
San Pedro19 MayLa Paz district governor General Metza with $150,000 to $200,000 in gold stolen from the Mexican government[31]
MazatlanSan Francisco5 Jun11 Jun750 tons sugar Topolobampo to S.F., also panocha, expected in San Pedro 12 or 13 June[32]
San Pedro11 Aug700 tons of garabanzas, to be put onto the West Coyote for Britain. 250 tons general for San Francsico. Excepted back from there 28 August.[33]

Consolidated Steel at the Long Beach Shipyard

The Llewellyn Iron Works, builder of marine engines for ships launched from Long Beach during World War I was one of the companies merged into Consolidated Steel. Consolidated did not build any engines during World War II.

See: Consolidated Steel Corporation#Long Beach shipyard

Shipbuilding in Los Angeles and Long Beach

See also

References
  1. Craig Shipbuilding shipbuildinghistory.com
  2. Weisman, Matthew J.; Shorf, Paula. "Boats Built at Toledo, Ohio - A Comprehensive Listing of the Vessels Built from Schooners to Steamers from 1810 to the Present - Toledo Shipbuilding Company (1905-1945)" (PDF). toledoport.org.
  3. Craig Shipbuilding Toledo shipbuildinghistory.com
  4. Craig Shipbuilding Toledo wrecksite
  5. Boats Built at Toledo, Ohio
  6. E.G. Crosby (1903)
  7. Records and Briefs of the United States Supreme Court. 1906.
  8. NPS, SS George M. Cox
  9. NPS SS George M. Cox Wreck
  10. NPS, SS George M. Cox: Operational History
  11. "Mud Plenty in This Deal". San Pedro Daily News. 20 May 1908. p. 4.
  12. "The California Shipbuilding Company". Pacific Marine Review. January 1917. p. 58.
  13. Historical Society of Long BeachOctober 2018The Great War as Civic Engagement:Southern California, 1916-1925, by Craig Hendricks
  14. "Christens New Dredger Windham With Champagne". Los Angeles Herald. 15 November 1908. p. 10.
  15. "Grace Dollar To Be Launched". San Pedro Daily News. 21 January 1913. p. 2.
  16. "American Shipbuilding". Pacific Marine Review. July 1932. p. 277.
  17. "Marine Review Vol. 49". Penton Publishing Company. February 1919. pp. 103–114. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  18. Marine Review, Feb 1920, p. 103
  19. "Launch First Steel Motorship at Beach". San Pedro News Pilot. 8 December 1919. p. 1.
  20. "New Steamer To Sail For South Next Month". San Pedro Daily News. 14 January 1920. p. 1.
  21. "First Vessel in New Trade to Mexico". San Pedro Daily News. 16 February 1920. p. 1.
  22. "To Launch Big Steel Motor Yacht". Los Angeles Herald. 22 December 1919. p. A5.
  23. "New Steamer To Be Laucnhed Thursday". Los Angeles Herald. 4 August 1920. p. A3.
  24. "New Steamer Line to Start Service". San Diego Union and Daily Bee. 16 November 1919. p. 13.
  25. "Mazatlan to Sail From San Pedro Soon". San Pedro News Pilot. 28 January 1920. p. 1.
  26. "Manager Steamship Company Here Today". San Pedro Daily News. 21 August 1920. p. 1.
  27. "(advertisement)". San Pedro News Pilot. 18 August 1921. p. 6.
  28. "Shipping News". San Pedro Daily News. 17 February 1920. p. 5.
  29. "Steamer Mazatlan Arrives in Port". Riverside Daily Press. 18 March 1920. p. 4.
  30. "Str.Maztalan Tomatoes By Tons In Her Holds". San Pedro Daily News. 20 April 1920. p. 1.
  31. "United States Officers Await Arrival of Mexican General and Huge Sum of Gold on Steamer". San Pedro Daily News. 19 May 1920. p. 1.
  32. "S.S. Mazatlan Goes to S.F., May Make That Regular Port". San Pedro News Pilot. 8 June 1920. p. 1.
  33. "Mazatlan Here From Mexico". San Pedro Daily News. 11 August 1920. p. 1.
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