Consolidated Steel Corporation

Orange shipyard in 1945, Levingston Shipbuilding Company just below the upper bend

The Orange, Texas shipyard lay on the banks of the Sabine River at (30.086351°N 93.72434°W / 30.086351; -93.72434[4]), a few miles upstream of the Sabine Pass that grants access to the Gulf of Mexico (Pennsylvania Shipyards, Inc. in Beaumont, Texas made use of it as well). Consolidated Steel bought the Orange Car and Steel Company (railcars) property in February 1940[5] with the original intention of going into the business of barge and tug construction. Before November 1922 this company was called the Southern Dry Dock & Shipbuilding Company,[6] which operated 5 building ways for wooden hull construction for the United States Shipping Board,[7] of which 6 were launched and at least one, Gonzalis (1918), was fitted with engines.

The modest facilities were expanded when Consolidated Steel was awarded destroyer contracts from the U.S. Navy in September 1940. After the war the site was sold to U.S. Steel together with Consolidated's assets in Los Angeles and whatever was obtained from the merger with Western Pipe and Steel elsewhere. However, the wholly-owned subsidiary and soon after the U.S. Steel corporate division both continued to operate as Consolidated Western Steel. The government-owned shipyard facilities were eventually bought by Consolidated Western Steel for $1,001,000 in the Summer of 1949, but not to be used for shipbuilding beyond the obligations imposed as part of the deal, to maintain this capability for some time.[8] Another pipe mill was built in Orange during the boom years. At its peak durning the war, it employed 20,000 people. The first ship launched was the destroyer USS Aulick on March 2, 1942. The last ship launched was the destroyer USS Carpenter on December 28, 1945. United States Naval Station Orange was the overseer of the Navy projects.[9][10]

Contracts for 12 Fletchers were authorized with the Two-Ocean Navy Act and awarded later in 1940[11] Fletchers were produced no more than six concurrently. Gearings were produced no more than ten concurrently. There were six slipways that could build one destroyer or destroyer escort and there were two side launching ways that could each build two destroyers or 3 destroyer escorts. The stern-first launching ways must obviously have been there first, see also launch photographs e.g.[12][13][14]

United States WW2 destroyer plants

• 39 of 415 destroyers
  • 12 of 175 Fletcher-class destroyers (built May 1941 - October 1942)
    • USS Aulick (DD-569) ... USS Young (DD-580)
  • 27 of 98 Gearing-class destroyers (built May 1944 - December 1945)
    • USS Corry (DD-817) ... USS Carpenter (DD-825)
    • USS Hawkins (DD-873) ... USS Meredith (DD-890)
• 102 of 563 destroyer escorts and APDs
  • 47 of 85 Edsall-class destroyer escorts (built June 1942 - December 1943)
    • USS Edsall (DE-129) ... USS Peterson (DE-152)
    • USS Harveson (DE-316) ... USS Martin H. Ray (DE-338)
  • 12 of 148 Buckley-class destroyer escorts (April 1943 - December 1943)
    • USS Tatum (DE-789) ... USS Jack W. Wilke (DE-800)
  • 34 of 83 John C. Butler-class destroyer escorts (built October 1943 - August 1944)
    • USS John C. Butler (DE-339) ... USS Williams (DE-372)
  • 6 of 6 Charles Lawrence-class high speed transports
    • that were completed as APDs (instead of converted from finished DEs)
  • 3 of 50 Crosley-class high speed transports
    • that were completed as APDs
• 106 of 923 Landing Craft Infantry[15] (built 1942–1944)
  • Hull numbers 61 - 96, 943 - 1012

Levingston Shipbuilding Company and Weaver Shipyards round up the landscape of WW2 shipbuilding in Orange.

Wilmington shipyard (right) Western Pipe and Steel yard[16] (left), the Los Angeles Shipbuilding Company yard is just out of frame at the bottom left corner

The Consolidated Steel Wilmington shipyard (33.76767°N 118.27254°W / 33.76767; -118.27254) in Wilmington, California was an emergency yard built in 1941 in the Port of Los Angeles West Basin after Consolidated Steel was awarded Maritime Commission contracts. At its peak, it employed 12,000 people, working on eight shipways on the 95-acre facility at 1100 W Harry Bridges Blvd, Wilmington. Production peaked on May 29, 1944, when it launched three large ships in only a 2+1⁄2-hour period. The yard was built as a temporary facility and, like most such war plants, it was closed after the war ended.

Together, the shipyards ranked Consolidated 29th among United States corporations in the value of wartime production contracts.[17]

Fifteen of the C1-B were built with steam turbines supplied by Joshua Hendy Iron Works ("JH") instead of those built by Westinghouse ("WH"). Hendy also provided the 36 triple expansion steam engines that went into the patrol frigates.

The yard changed to a 2-shift rotation (10.5 hours) on June 12, 1944.[18]

List of contracts:[19][20]

Ships built:[21]

• 126 of 395 C1
  • 47 of 95 C1-B (14 of 61 in the assigned ranges below were built in the nearby Long Beach yard, in addition to the original 4)
    • Mormachawk (MC-263) ... Mormacgull (MC-266)
    • Mormaclark (MC-486) ... Cape Greig (MC-511)
    • Cape Stephens (MC-698) ... Cape Meredith (MC-701)
    • Hope (MC-1015) ... Cape Chalmers (MC-1028)
    • Cape Domingo (MC-1042) ... Cape Kumukaki (MC-1044)
    • Cape Catoche (MC-1693) ... Cape Saunders (MC-1695)
    • Cape Lilibeo (MC-2073) ... Cape Spear (MC-2079)
  • complete list of the 47 C1-B built in Wilmington
    • Comfort, launched 18 March 1943[22]
    • Mercy, launched 25 March 1943[22]
    • Cape Lilibeo JH[23] launched 27 January 1944[24] in Wilmington[25]
    • Cape Junction WH[26] launched 11 March 1944[27]
    • Cape Possession WH[28] 77th ship launched 7 March 1944[29]
    • Cape Tryon JH[30][31] launched 22 February 1944[32]
    • Cape Archway JH[33]
    • Cape Catoche WH[34] launched 13 January 1944[35]
    • Cape Kumukaki WH[36] launched 7 January 1944 (unpsec location)[37]
    • Cape Kildare WH[38] launched 23 December 1943[39]
    • Cape Domingo JH[40] 70th ship[41] launched 11 December 1943[42]
    • Cape Chalmers WH[43] launched 29 June 1943, likely Wilmington[44]
    • Cape Alexander WH[45] launched 18 June 1943[46]
    • Cape Isabel WH,[47] launched 29 May 1943[48]
    • Cape Victory WH[49]
    • Cape Constance JH[50]
    • Cape Georgia JH[51]
    • Cape Martin JH[52]
    • Cape Stephens WH[53] 25th ship launched 16 February 1943 from slip No. 1[54]
    • Cape Greig WH,[55] launched 16 April 1943[56]
    • Cape Meares WH,[57] launched 5 April 1943[56]
    • Cape San Juan WH[58] launched 17 March 1943[59]
    • Cape Elizabeth WH[60] launched 3 March 1943;[22] 27th C1[61]
    • Cape Johnson WH[62] 26th ship launched 20 February 1943[63] in Wilmington[64]
    • Cape Ann WH[65] launched 3 February 1943[66]
    • Cape Mendocino WH[67] 29th in CA, launched 24 January 1943[68]
    • Cape Cleare WH[69] 22nd C-1 launched 6 January 1943[70]
    • Cape Perpetua WH[71] 21st C-1 launched 28 December 1942[72]
    • Alcoa Pegasus WH[73] launched 18 October 1942[74]
    • Alcoa Pointer WH[75] 19th C-1 launched 11 October 1942[76]
    • Alcoa Puritan WH[77] 14th ship launched 27 September 1942[78]
    • Alcoa Pilgrim WH[79] 13th C-1 in W. launched 20 September 1942[80]
    • Alcoa Partner WH[81]
    • Cape Newenham WH[82] 20th in W. launched 21 December 1942[83]
    • Cape May WH[84] 19th ship (unspec location) launched 12 December 1942[85]
    • Cape Romain WH[86] launched 27 November 1942[87]
    • Cape Planter WH[88]
    • Solon Turman WH[89] 10th C-1 in W. launched 20 August 1942[90]
    • Fred Morris WH[91] 9th C-1 in W., built in 91 days, launched 10 August 1942[92]
    • Jean Lykes WH[93] launched 21 July 1942[94]
    • Nancy Lykes WH[95] 7th ship launched 14 July 1942 for Lykes Brothers SS Line[96]
    • Mormactern WH[97] launched 2 July 1942[98]
    • Mormaclark WH[99] 5th ship launched 20 June 1942 for Moore-McCormack Lines, keel laid 124 days ago[100]
    • Mormacgull WH[101] 4th ship launched 8 June 1942[102]
    • Mormacdove WH[103] - launched 1 June 42[104]
    • Mormacwren WH[105] - launched 22 May 42[104]
    • Mormachawk WH[106] - first ship launched at the yard[107] on 11 May 1942 for Moore-McCormack Lines[108]

• • 13 of 13 C1-S-AY1
    • Cape Berkely (MC-1029) ... Cape Washington (MC-1041)
    • all names in the form of "Cape X", all went to Britain as "Empire X"
    • SS Cape Girardeau 64th C-1 launched 7 November 1943[109]
    • SS Cape Compass launched 24 July 1943[110]
    • SS Cape Marshall launched 16 August 1943, presumably Wilmington[111]
  • 55 of 211 C1-M-AV1
    • Diamond Knot (MC-2314) ... Crown Knot (MC-2331)
    • Sheepshank (MC-2461) ... Hickory Crest (MC-2473)
    • Hickory Glen (MC-2563) ... Coastal Telegrapher (MC-2586)
• 18 of 96 Tacoma-class frigates (S2-S1-AQ1) in 1943

• 32 of 32 Gilliam-class attack transport (S4-SE2-BD1) in 1944 and 1945

• 10 of 121 C2-S-B1[112]

Bethlehem San Pedro and California Shipbuilding were located nearby on Terminal Island.

One and one half hull under construction

Bird's eye view of the Port of Long Beach in 1937

The former Long Beach Shipbuilding Company yard was the first Consolidated Steel facility to become operational. It was located at the entrance of Channel No. 3 on the south side (33.768916°N 118.215992°W / 33.768916; -118.215992).

On Liberty Fleet Day, September 27, 1941, the yard launched SS Alcoa Polaris, a C1-B type cargo vessel, as one of the fourteen ships launched nationwide on the same day to show the magnitude of the shipbuilding program.[113][114]

• 18 of 95 C1-B[115][116]
  • Agwimonte (MC-75), launched as Cape Mendocino 14 November 1940[117]
  • Agwiprince (MC-76), launched 27 April 1941[118](or 27 March[116])
  • Alcoa Pennant (MC-77), launched 26 June 1941[115][116]
  • Alcoa Polaris (MC-78), laid down 7 April 1941, launched 27 September 1941[116]
  • ...the two P1 hulls were built during 1942...
  • Cape Trinity WH[119] 30th ship (23 in W) launched 31 January 1943[120]
  • Cape Sandy JH[121] 6th C-1 launched 20 April 1943, Wilmington has launched 32 C1-B.[122]
  • Cape Friendship JH,[123] launched 29 May 1943[48]
  • Cape Meredith WH[124] launched 22 July 1943[110]
  • Hope launched 30 August 1943[125]
  • Cape Orange WH[126] launched 22 October 1943, 12th ship launched at the yard[127]
  • Cape Cumberland WH[128] launched 11 December 1943[42]
  • Cape Martin 88th total launched 24 January 1944[129]
  • Cape John JH[130][31] 15th ship launched 2 March 1944[131]
  • Cape Lambert JH[132] 16th ship launched on 9 April 1944[133]
  • Cape Saunders JH[134] launched 10 May 1944[135]
  • Cape San Diego JH[136] launched 15 June 1944[137]
  • Cape Edmond JH[138] 19th ship, 106th W+LB, launched 10 July 1944 (Cape Edmont)[139]
  • Cape Spear JH[140]
• Two type p1 passenger ships, model P1-S2-L2. The P1-S2-L2 Doyen-class attack transports were two ships. The first American assault military transports. Made with an aft ramp for the launching of small landing craft or for the unloading of tanks.
  • USS Doyen, first in class
  • USS Feland
• several C1-M
  • Diamond Knot, launched 28 September 1944[141]
  • Lanyard Knot launched 18 December 1944[142]
  • Jumper Hitch launched 30 December 1944[142]
  • Square Knot launched 13 January 1945[142]
  • Snug Hitch launched 27 January 1945[143]
• several C1-M probable (WIlmington occupied)
  • Timber Hitch, launched 12 October 1944[144]

On 26 June 1927 Union Iron Works formally opened the first unit of a new multi-million dollar plant on their 25-acre tract at Stauson and Garfield avenues (33.98220°N 118.14218°W / 33.98220; -118.14218).[145]

26 July 1930, Consolidated Steel purchased 50 acre at NE corner of Eastern and Stauson avenues (33.98645°N 118.1613°W / 33.98645; -118.1613).[146]

The Union, Baker and Llewellyn Iron Works were competitors prior to consolidation in the markets of steel fabrication and erection in the Los Angeles area.[147]

In August 1930 plans were being implemented to erect the typical shops of a steel plant on the tract at Slauson and Eastern. The projected cost was $1,000,000 including machinery. Predecessor plants were to be dismantled and moved to the new location.[148]

During World War II 761[149] Landing craft mechanized were constructed to completion in the plant and their motors and hull integrity tested on site in a large water tank.[150]

Also built were 403 5-inch/38 twin mounts.[149]

Consolidated built the first blast furnace of the Kaiser Fontana integrated mill in 1942.[151]

In 1949 the plant was 60 acres in size with equipment for the manufacture and erection of heavy steel products. Including 26 to 36-inch welded pipe, structural steel for industrial and commercial buildings, bridges and railcar frames; cement kilns; penstocks; storage tanks (gas, oil, water, chemicals).[152]

Shortly after the end of the war, in September 1945, Consolidated Steel bought the assets of the Western Pipe and Steel Company of California, another wartime shipbuilding firm, for $6,217,373.[153] The property consisted of main plants at South San Francisco and Vernon and small plants serving local industries in Taft, Fresno and Phoenix.[154][155]

In October 1946 a shipyard on Manicani Island off the coast of Samar in the Philippines came under the control of Consolidated and Bechtel interests under the name of Philippine Consolidated Shipyards. Initial contracts from the U.S. Navy for conversion, repair and construction of small craft,[156] which was completed in August 1947 after which Philippine Consolidated carried on with similar work in Manila and Cavite.[157]

Going into the legal proceedings surrounding the planned acquisition by the Columbia Steel Company (a U.S. Steel subsidiary), at the beginning of the year 1947 Consolidated Steel owned and operated plants in Los Angeles, Vernon, Fresno, Berkeley and Taft in California, and in Phoenix, Arizona and Orange, Texas.[158]

The company name was changed to Consolidated Western Steel Corp. on 1 July 1948.[159] A separate company with the same name was incorporated in Delaware on 31 August 1948,[160] marking the acquisition for $12,481,221[161] by U.S. Steel.

In January 1949, Consolidated was contracted to build a new blast furnace at the Kaiser Fontana steel mill.[162] This was furnace #2, blown on October 13, 1949.

October 1949, construction is planned of a new pipe mill in Houston near the ship channel with a projected capacity of 50 miles of large diameter pipe per month.[163] The project is cancelled, the mill is instead built in Orange, Texas.[164] A general purpose plate shop and a 85x900 feet pipe mill became operational in March 1950.[165] Also during that time the Orange plant was fabricating the large 34 feet, 10 inches diameter pipe sections for the Baytown Tunnel that crossed the Houston ship channel.[166]

September 1949, Consolidated is applying for a certificate to operate in Pennsylvania to assist in the construction of a new welded pipe mill in McKeesport.[167]

Effective 31 December 1951, in an internal corporate restructuring, the subsidiary corporation became the Consolidated Western Steel Division of the United States Steel Company with Alden G. Roach as president, who was also president of the newly formed Columbia-Geneva Steel Division.[168][169]

In May 1955, a new pipe mill in Provo starts shipments for the Pacific Northwest Pipeline Corp..[170] The relocation of all pipeline operations to Utah was first announced in September 1954.[171]

The small diameter pipe mill was moved from Berkeley to the new pipe plant at Provo after the large diameter portion had reached full production and the transfer was completed in January 1956.[172]

20 December 1956, Alden G. Roach, the pilot and the co-pilot died in the crash of a company Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar near Tyrone, Pennsylvania.

During much of the 1950s, Consolidated was part of Project Nike, producing $146.2 million worth of launcher loaders, earning $9.3 million in profits.[173] The first generation Nike-Ajax loaders were a Douglas Aircraft design, the enlarged Nike-Hercules loaders were Consolidated Western's design.[174] Many thousands were produced at a price on the order of $20,000 to $30,000 each.[175]

In March 1957 a design study for a heavy water reactor pressure vessel was released, prepared on behalf of the Atomic Energy Commission.[176]

In 1964, in an internal corporate restructuring, the Consolidated Western Steel Division was merged with the American Bridge Division to form a single steel fabrication division within U.S. Steel (the American Bridge DIvision).[177] Occurrences of the former name in the press dropped sharply at that point.

The Baker Iron Works had its start at Los Angeles, California, about 1874,[203][204] when Milo Stannard Baker (1828-1894) acquired a small machine shop there. The business, begun on a small scale as M.S. Baker & Company, grew quite rapidly.

A much larger facility was erected in 1886 and in June of that year the business was incorporated as the Baker Iron Works with capital stock of $75,000. Five Directors were named: Milo S. Baker, E.H. Booth, Charles F. Kimball, Fred L. Baker (Milo's son), and H.T. Neuree.

Less than a year later, Baker erected a $15,000 building [equivalent to $300,000 in today's buying power] on Buena Vista Street near College.

Baker Iron Works had a great many different products, manufacturing mining, milling, pumping, hoisting, oil and well drilling machinery, streetcars, boilers, oven and heating furnaces, as well as a line of architectural iron. It seems to have been especially noteworthy for steam boiler fabrication, installation and maintenance.

According to one authority, in 1889 Baker produced the first locomotive built in Los Angeles, designed by Milo's son Fred, vice president of the firm.

Another authority {106} says Baker built horse cars and perhaps street cars for Los Angeles, Pasadena and other communities in the Los Angeles area and that they built some larger cars for the Santa Ana & Orange Motor Road in 1898. According to this authority, after Pacific Electric bought this line, the cars were revamped and continued in service until 1920. It is claimed that in the early 1890s, Street Railway Journal reportedly ranked Baker "among the principal car builders on the Pacific Coast."

In 1887, Baker constructed six street cars for the City & Central Street Railway. {107}

According to an article in the 1 January 1890 issue of the Los Angeles Times, the Baker Works then occupied some 25,000 square feet (2,300 m²) and provided employment to 75 men. A large variety of manufacturing was being done. The foundry was making iron and brass castings to fit nearly all kinds of machinery for mining and milling purposes, besides pumping plants for large and small waterworks, and steam plants for all the variety of uses to which steam was put. They manufactured their own boilers. They were also manufacturing oil-boring tools and rigs, and constructing elevators—both passenger and freight—in all varieties: hydraulic steam or hand. It was claimed by the newspaper that Baker had installed nearly all the first class passenger elevators in Southern California. The article said they manufacture street-cars and did other railroad work to order and claimed to make the best gang plows and road and field rollers that could be obtained anywhere. They also installed heating and ventilating plants for public buildings, both steam, hot water and hot air. And they did architectural iron-work. Milo S. Baker was then President, J.E. Sills was vice-president and Treasurer, and Fred L. Baker (Milo's son) was Secretary and Plant Superintendent.

In 1891, Baker was awarded the contract to build the Santa Ana Water Works. In six months, for a total price of $58,000, Baker put in nine miles (14 km) of street mains, sixty fire hydrants and gates valves, one reservoir 10×78×78 feet (3.0×23.8×23.8 m), build one fire-proof power house, two sixty-horsepower (45 kW) boilers and brick stock, two 10 by 16 by 10+1⁄2 by 10 feet (3.0 m × 4.9 m × 3.2 m × 3.0 m) compound condensing engines of 2,060,000 US gallons (7,800 m³) capacity every 24 hours, All this complete and functioning: truly a "turn-key" operation. {109}

After the turn of the 20th century, Baker seems to have specialized in steel fabrication and elevator building. Fred L.Baker headed the company as president after his father's death.[203] Over the next 30 years they did the steel work and/or elevators for—among many others— Los Angeles' first skyscraper, the twelve-story Union Trust Building, the Public Service Building, the Queen of Angels Hospital, the YWCA Hotel, the United Artists-California Petroleum Building, the University of California at Westwood, The Masonic Temple at Glendale, the Los Angeles-First National Bank at Glendale, the Los Angeles-First National Bank at Hollywood and the University of Redlands at Redlands.

Erection of the Hotel Alexandria from prefabricated materials.[203]

Fred L. Baker acted as president of the Los Angeles Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company. The keels for the first 3 ships hastily laid down in the yard in July 1917 were fabricated in the Baker Iron Works shops.[205]

Baker had a machine shop on North Broadway near Castelar street (34.06403°N 118.23864°W / 34.06403; -118.23864).[206]

• California during World War II
• Maritime history of California

• youtube.com, World War II Shipyards: Orange, Texas
• youtube.com, Launch of Cape Mendocino (the last few seconds look like they might be in Tezas)
• youtube.com, Oil Across Arabia (at 11:00)

• Wilmington, California shipbuilding record

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