Building Battleship USS Washington BB56

P.N.Y. Builds A Battleship
Tracing a Battleship in the Philadelphia Navy Yard through its various stages from its designation, design and keel laying to its launching and commissioning.
April 1942

Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox, following a tour of inspection, discusses with the Commandant, Admiral A. E. Watson, the battleship which the Philadelphia Navy Yard has been designated to build.

The Commandant's Aide, Lieutenant Commander T. A. Gaylord, delivers a dispatch to the Commandant which notifies him that the battleship has been authorized by Congress and work is to begin at once.

Admiral A. J. Chantry, Manager of the Industrial Department, discusses a blueprint with his department managers, left to right, Capt. E. F. Enright, Planning; Capt. Gaylord Church, Public Works; Capt. H. A. Seiller, Planning; and Capt. C. A. Bonvillian, Testing.

Specifications, planning, estimating and preliminary details of hundreds of the parts of the ship are undertaken by the various planning sections who must complete tons of vital paper work before the first rivet is heated or the keel laid.

Captain Seiller and Captain T. L. Schumacher, Design Superintendent, go over the detail of a blueprint with a draftsman.

A large design and drafting section draws thousands of blueprints for all of the delicate mechanisms of the ship.

Captain W. D. Sharp, Supply Officer, tells members of his staff of the supplies and materials which must be contracted for and purchased in the shortest possible time.

Girls in the Supply Department send out bids, check specifications and review invoices for the raw and processed materials which eventually will become a battleship.

Other girls in the Supply Department check the order so that all materials will be available as they are needed, and that bills can be passed for payment.

The Test Laboratory conducts experiments and test the materials which go into the battleship for strength, pressure, weight and a thousand and one other properties so essential to their proper functioning.

Captain E. F. Enright, Production Officer, calls a meeting of his assistants and shop masters for the purpose of explaining the work and allocating tasks to each.

The shop masters make known their personnel requirements to the Labor Board, which announces that vacancies are open in various trades, and takes applications.

The Labor Board classifies, checks and rates all applications so that citizens of the United States are called in to work on the basis of their previous experience, qualifications, adaptability, and the requirements of the various shops.