Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation was a
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
emergency
shipyardShipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...
located in
PortlandPortland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
,
OregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, that built over 1000
LibertyLiberty ships were cargo ships built in the United States during World War II. Though British in conception, they were adapted by the U.S. as they were cheap and quick to build, and came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output. Based on vessels ordered by Britain to replace ships torpedoed by...
and
Victory shipThe Victory ship was a type of cargo ship produced in large numbers by North American shipyards during World War II to replace shipping losses caused by German submarines...
s between 1941 and 1945. It was closed after the war ended.
The shipyard, one of three
Kaiser ShipyardsThe Kaiser Shipyards were seven major shipbuilding yards located mostly on the U.S. west coast during World War II. They were owned by the Kaiser Shipbuilding Company, a creation of American industrialist Henry J...
in the area, was in
St. JohnsSt. Johns is a neighborhood of Portland, Oregon, United States located in North Portland on the tip of the peninsula formed by the confluence of the Willamette River and the Columbia River....
. The second, also known as
Swan Island Shipyard, was located on Swan Island and the third was across the
Columbia RiverThe Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
from Portland in
Vancouver, WashingtonVancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington. Incorporated in 1857, it is the fourth largest city in the state with a 2010 census population of 161,791 as of April 1, 2010...
.
Among the ships built by Oregon Shipbuilding was the
Star of OregonThe SS Star of Oregon was a Liberty ship. It launched on May 19, 1941, and was the first Liberty ship built in the Kaiser Shipyards in the Portland, Oregon area....
, which was launched on
Liberty Fleet Day27 September 1941 was dubbed as “Liberty Fleet Day” due to the 14 “Emergency” vessels that were launched in shipyards across the United States. This fleet included the first Liberty ship SS Patrick Henry, one troop transport, a tanker, a US Navy ammunition ship and a Royal Navy aircraft carrier...
, September 27, 1941.
The rapid expansion of Portland area shipyards during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and contraction afterward caused similar expansion and contraction of the population of Vanport City, Oregon, which was also built by
Henry J. KaiserHenry John Kaiser was an American industrialist who became known as the father of modern American shipbuilding. He established the Kaiser Shipyard which built Liberty ships during World War II, after which he formed Kaiser Aluminum and Kaiser Steel. Kaiser organized Kaiser Permanente health care...
to house the workers of the three area shipyards.
The former site of Oregon Shipbuilding in St. Johns is now
Schnitzer Steel IndustriesSchnitzer Steel Industries, Inc. is an American steel manufacturing company headquartered in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1906, the company deals mainly in recycled steel. In 2004, the company was ranked fourth in The Seattle Times Northwest 100 list of public companies. As of 2006, it was the...
.