Bath Iron Works

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Incorporated: 1884 as Bath Iron Works, Ltd.
NAIC: 336611 Ship Building and Repairing; 54133 Engineering
SIC: 3731 Ship Building & Repairing; 8711 Engineering Services

For more than a century, Bath Iron Works (BIW) has been building ships, chiefly for the U.S. Navy. From its mile-long stretch of waterfront along the Kennebec River have come more oceangoing vessels than from any area of similar size in the world. In its busiest period, BIW built a quarter of the Navy's destroyers launched during World War II. The fourth largest shipyard in the United States and the largest private employer in Maine, BIW has not built a commercial vessel since 1984 and, with the end of the Cold War and diminishing naval contracts, has sought to supplement its business, investigating, for example, the prospect of building large carriers to transport automobiles and trucks. Its 1995 acquisition by General Dynamics Corp., however, has allowed the company to focus on Navy vessels.

The history of Bath Iron Works is a vital chapter in Maine's seafaring history. Not more than a dozen miles away from the town of Bath, settlers established the first colony in New England--13 years before the landing of the Mayflower--and built the first oceangoing vessel made by Englishmen in America in order to take themselves home. But curiously, the company owes its origin to a soldier rather than a sailor. The scion of a prosperous Bath merchant family, Thomas Worcester Hyde was a Civil War army officer who rose to the rank of brigadier general in the Union Army at the age of 23. Hyde leased a local iron foundry after returning home and opened Bath Iron Works, Ltd. in 1884 as a family enterprise.

Starting with capital of just a little more than $40,000, Hyde raised another $60,000, purchased a defunct iron works along the Bath riverfront, and equipped it to make steel ships, which were rarities at the time. Producing a wooden steamer in 1890, before obtaining his first naval contract, Hyde delivered to the Navy the first steel vessels built in Maine--two gunboats with auxiliary sails--in 1893. Two years later the Navy ordered two more such gunboats. During this time, BIW built other wooden steamers, lightships for the United States Bureau of Lighthouses, and private yachts as well. In 1894 Bath built the largest and most luxurious American-built yacht of its time, the Eleanor, for William A. Slater, at a cost of $300,000. The ship immediately embarked on a two-year, around-the-world voyage with a crew of 30. The company also built the 302-foot-long Aphrodite in 1898 for Colonel Oliver Payne.

But the Navy remained Bath's primary customer. Between 1899 and 1901 the company delivered five very light and high-speed torpedo boats to the Navy. These pioneering craft were the Navy's first of this type until World War II's PT boats. A cruiser, the Cleveland, was built in 1904, and BIW's only battleship, the Georgia, was completed the same year.

The hull of the Georgia, however, was barely able to clear the riverbed in Bath, and as battleships graduated into the larger Dreadnought class, it became clear that Bath would have to confine itself to building smaller ships. BIW's scout cruiser Chester, completed in 1908, was the first turbine-propelled ship in the Navy and its fastest vessel, except for torpedo boats. In a race against two other ships of this type, it averaged 25.8 knots over 24 hours.

In 1909 BIW built its first two torpedo boat destroyers. This new type of craft was designed to counter the smaller torpedo boat, yet carry its basic weapon. The name was soon shortened to simply 'destroyer,' and by 1912 BIW was the Navy's chief specialist for this kind of light, fast warship, which would become the most versatile of modern naval vessels. The destroyer has served as an escort ship on convoy duty and performed many other essential functions, but its chief mandate--especially since World War II--has been to detect, hunt down, and destroy submarines.

BIW briefly came under the control of Charles Schwab's U.S. Shipbuilding Trust between 1902 and 1905, and when this enterprise failed it was sold to John S. Hyde, the late general's younger son, for $275,000. Hyde died in 1917 while the shipyard was awash in World War I orders, and his heirs promptly sold out to a banking syndicate for $3 million. The investors awarded themselves big dividends during the fat war years, however, leaving BIW no margin for coping with the inevitable postwar bust. The naval disarmament treaty of 1921 sealed the company's doom. BIW went into receivership in 1924 and shut down operations the following year. In 1927 the idle facilities were slated for conversion--to the task of turning out paper pie plates.

Nevertheless, the shipyard was saved from this fate by its former works manager, William S. 'Pete' Newell. He leased it for $17,000 a year, established the Bath Iron Works Corp. with $125,000 in borrowed capital, successfully bid on three fishing trawlers, and won an order for a 240-foot yacht. Between 1928 and 1937 BIW built and delivered 18 trawlers. The company also constructed seven Coast Guard cutters designated for combating rumrunners during the Prohibition years. In 1931 BIW won the contract for the Dewey and Farragut, the first destroyers authorized by the Navy since 1918.

Building yachts for captains of industry proved a profitable sideline. For J.P. Morgan II, BIW built the 343-foot-long Corsair IV, which was launched in 1930. Although the Great Depression ended, in large part, Bath's yachtbuilding operations, in 1936 Harold S. Vanderbilt commissioned the company to build a racer to defend the America's Cup. The resulting Ranger was the last of the J class sloops to defend the Cup, defeating the Endeavor II in four straight 1937 races.

In 1936 BIW offered stock to the public, for the first time, on the New York Curb Exchange (later the American Stock Exchange). This action placed the company on a sounder financial basis, enabling Newell to pay off the company's outstanding first mortgage bonds and to augment its working capital. By the time BIW was registered on the New York Stock Exchange in 1940, it had paid off all its bank loans.

During World War II, BIW employment peaked at 12,000 (1,600 of whom were women) in 1943, compared with 300 a decade earlier. Between Pearl Harbor and the war's end, BIW built 82 destroyers--one-fourth of the total ordered by the Navy--launching one on an average of every 17 days. Only eight of the ships were sunk during the war. Bath also established, jointly with Todd Shipyard Corp., a facility in South Portland to build 30 British cargo ships. This yard, which turned out Liberty ships for the U.S. Maritime Commission, was closed after the war.

Following a familiar pattern, employment sank to 350 in 1947. But BIW had already begun work on the first of 32 trawlers commissioned by the French government. Moreover, the company soon received new orders for destroyers from the Navy as well as contracts for frigates, ocean escorts, and LSTs (landing ship-tanks). Yachtbuilding also resumed. John R. Newell succeeded his father as the company's president in 1950.

By 1968, however, the company was beset by managerial and economic problems. That year the parent holding company, Bath Industries Inc., merged with Congoleum-Nairn Inc., a manufacturer of flooring materials. Troubles continued, with BIW losing out on major naval contracts and incurring losses on others because its fixed prices did not allow for the rapidly rising inflation of the early 1970s. In 1974 the shipyard lost $10 million.

The following year the parent company (now called Congoleum Corp.) brought in John R. Sullivan, Jr., a chemical engineer, to run the yard. Although Sullivan had never seen a shipyard, he set about putting Bath on a sounder basis. Sullivan made the yard's modular construction system, which had been adopted from Japanese practice, effective at BIW for the first time. Bath was the first U.S. shipyard to employ this technique, which involved building a hull out of modules constructed indoors and fitted there with electrical wiring, plumbing, ventilation, and hydraulic equipment. These modules were then hauled outdoors by crane and welded together. By 1981, Bath's safety record, once one of the worst in the industry, had become one of the best.

By this time BIW had built 13 of 24 FFG 7-class guided-missile frigates for the Navy, completing each in less than two years. The project was 99 weeks ahead of schedule and $44 million under budget. Bath's operations were comfortably profitable, and there was a backlog of $800 million in military orders.

In early 1980 Congoleum went private in a leveraged buyout. Several insurance companies joined the company's management in borrowing heavily to buy all the outstanding publicly held stock for about $450 million. Prudential secured 29 percent of the company, with Aetna, Travelers, and Connecticut General investing as well.

A Forbes article published in September 1984 indicated that this move was paying off. BIW's frigates were still coming in ahead of schedule and under budget, and the company's earnings for the past five years were estimated at about 15 percent on sales of about $400 million annually. In 1982 Bath won a contract to build the Thomas S. Gates, the first of eight Ticonderoga-class Aegis cruisers it was to build through 1991. More good news came on April 2, 1985, when Bath won an order worth about $322 million to build the Arleigh Burke, first of the DDG 51 Aegis destroyer class. By mid-1986, BIW had a $1.4 billion backlog in naval orders, including these Aegis-class cruisers and destroyers.

On this prosperous note, Congoleum's investors were ready to cash in, but before doing so management determined to make BIW even more attractive by putting a lid on labor costs. This initiative met with protest, however, as BIW workers walked out for 14 weeks in 1985. Labor and management eventually agreed to a wage freeze, with bonuses equivalent to an increase of three percent over three years.

In another leveraged buyout, announced August 21, 1986, the closely held New York investment firm of Gibbons, Green, Van Amerongen Ltd. bought BIW for an estimated $500 million. BIW then became a subsidiary of the new Bath Holding Corp., which itself became a subsidiary of the Fulcrum II Limited Partnership, the managing partners of which were Edward Gibbons, Todd Goodwin, and Louis van Amerongen.

By late 1992 BIW had a backlog of $2 billion worth of orders carried through 1997; in 1994, the backlog of 14 Burke-class destroyers extended through the year 2000. Aware, however, of impending defense cuts in the wake of the Cold War, company managers began looking for ways to solicit civilian work. Bath had not built a civilian craft since 1985 and had 'no contingency plan whatsoever,' according to its president, Duane D. 'Buzz' Fitzgerald, who sent a four-man team to Holland to 'benchmark' ten shipyards there.

Fitzgerald replaced William Haggett as BIW's chief executive officer in September 1991, when Haggett opted to resign his posts as CEO and chairperson. A BIW official for 23 years, Haggett announced at a news conference that year that he had violated business ethics, admitting that he had ordered the photocopying of a government document, inadvertently left behind at the BIW shipyard by Navy officials. Although the document, which had included cost reviews of work performed by Bath and its chief competitor, Ingalls Shipbuilding of Pascagoula, Mississippi, had reportedly not been used to BIW's advantage, Haggett and two BIW vice-presidents involved in the photocopying resigned in 1991.

Under the leadership of Buzz Fitzgerald, BIW continued to be a major supplier to the Pentagon. The company was asked to build three $850 million Burke-class Aegis destroyers for the Navy in June 1994. Moreover, in an effort to diversify, BIW joined with American Automar Inc. and Great American Lines Inc. in 1993 to develop carriers of automobiles and other vehicles that could also meet military needs. Also participating in the $14 million project were a giant Japanese shipbuilder and the Canadian ship-designing subsidiary of a Finnish group. This program received a $5 million federal grant and was being coordinated by a special Pentagon agency intended to foster ties between shipyards, carriers, university research centers, and the federal government. According to a 1994 Bath press release, the company was 'on course to be competitive in the world commercial shipbuilding market by 1997.'

Employment at BIW fell from 12,000 in 1989 to 8,300 in 1995 as military procurement slowed in the wake of the Cold War and consolidation spread throughout the defense sector. Prudential Insurance Co., BIW's largest shareholder, began looking for a buyer in April 1995 and specifically targeted General Dynamics Corp. (GD), the $3 billion defense conglomerate based in Falls Church, Virginia. In August, GD announced plans to buy BIW for $300 million.

GD's purchase, considered a bargain, allowed BIW to remain focused on military ships, said Duane 'Buzz' Fitzgerald, BIW president. The commercial market had been saturated anyway. The previous owners, laden with debt, had not invested much in modernization, while GD invested $200 million in updating BIW's facilities between 1997 and 2000.

GD already supplied the Navy through its Electric Boat division, which built nuclear submarines. It had sold off its computer, missile, aircraft, and rocket divisions over the previous four years but was attracted to BIW for its $2 billion backlog (orders for 11 Arleigh Burke-class DDG-51 destroyers). In spite of a recent labor accord aimed at raising productivity, GD planned to cut costs at BIW even further to become more competitive.

The BIW acquisition helped GD raise profits 35 percent in 1995, even as business declined at its other divisions. Operating profits at BIW were $50 million on revenues of $830 million. The unit's performance was sluggish in 1996, however, leading GD to reorganize steel fabrication and materials handling operations there.

BIW had won, though, a $217 million contract to build an amphibious assault vehicle (AAV) for the Marine Corps that had the potential of bringing in $4 billion through 2014. It also won a $9.6 billion contract to build 12 LPD-17 transport ships for the U.S. Navy. BIW won that bid over a consortium including Lockheed Martin, Litton Industries, and Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. BIW was part of a consortium led by Avondale Industries of New Orleans that won the LPD-17 contract in December 1996. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, hoping to secure work for his constituents in Mississippi (home of Ingalls), vigorously protested the Navy's selection.

In October 1998, General Dynamics announced that it was buying its third shipyard (after BIW and Electric Boat). It paid $370 million in cash and assumed $45 million in debt to acquire Nassco Holdings Inc., parent of National Steel & Shipbuilding Co. in San Diego. Nassco repaired combat ships and built smaller Navy vessels and commercial ships.

BIW teamed with Energy Research Corporation in 1999 to develop new fuel cells to bring electric power to military ships. The Direct FuelCell Ship Service Power Plant promised to be efficient, quiet, and clean to run. Another high-tech joint venture launched in 2000 tested HyperSonic Sound Technology (HSS) aboard an Aegis destroyer under construction. American Technology Corp.'s proprietary HSS system could focus sound in a tight beam, like light through a lens. Still another project announced in June 2000 teamed BIW with Kronos Air Technologies in studying electronic wind generation for use in bunk installations. The Kronos device used no moving parts yet could circulate and clean air silently.

In December 1999, BIW won a $324 million contract modification to build an additional Arleigh Burke Aegis Class guided missile destroyer in 2000. Nine DDG 51 class destroyers remained in BIW's backlog, with 16 having been delivered. BIW joined Ingalls in the two-member DD-21 Shipbuilder Alliance, charged with designing the next generation of surface combatants.

Principal Divisions

Engineering; Purchasing; Shipbuilding.

Principal Competitors

Ingalls Shipbuilding (Litton); Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.

Further Reading

Alpert, Bruce, 'Billion-Dollar Contracts Ignite Heated Struggles; Avondale Victory Pits Lott Vs. Livingston,' Times-Picayune, June 2, 1997, p. A1.

Biesada, Alexandra, 'Strategic Benchmarking,' Financial World, September 29, 1992, pp. 30-31.

Buell, Barbara, 'Bath: A Tight Ship That Could Spring a Leak,' Business Week, May 20, 1985, pp. 88-90.

'City of Ships,' American Heritage, September 1991, pp. 28-30.

DeMott, John S., 'Bath's Fighting Company,' Time, October 12, 1981, p. 82.

Eskew, Garrett Laidlaw, Cradle of Ships, New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1958.

Frank, Allen Dodds, 'The Bath Money Works,' Forbes, September 10, 1984, pp. 58-62.

Lewis, Diane, 'Bath Shipyard Accord Reflects Fight to Remain Competitive,' Boston Globe, September 5, 1994, pp. 1, 5.

Mintz, John, 'General Dynamics to Buy Shipyard for $300 Million; Deal for Bath Iron Works Called Shrewd Bargain for Defense Firm,' Washington Post, August 18, 1995, p. D1.

Payne, Seth, 'A Yard Sale Worth $600 Million?,' Business Week, June 23, 1986, p. 47.

Ricks, Thomas E., 'Navy Allocates Ship Contracts in Policy Shift,' Wall Street Journal, June 9, 1994, p. A16.

Rosenberg, Ronald, 'Company Buys Bath Iron Works; General Dynamics to Spend $300 million,' Boston Globe, Economy Sec., August 18, 1995, p. 35.

Shorrock, Tim, 'Maine Yard Gets US Aid in Designing Cargo Vessels,' Journal of Commerce, December 16, 1993, pp. 1A, 10A.

Stevens, David Weld, 'Floating the Navy the Bath Way,' Fortune, October 6, 1981, pp. 160-63.

'Vote of Merger Plan,' Wall Street Journal, September 9, 1968, p. 22.

Williams, John D., and Jan Wong, 'Congoleum Sells Bath Iron Works Unit in Buyout Valued at About $500 Million,' Wall Street Journal, August 22, 1986, p. 4.

— Robert Halasz; Updated by Frederick C. Ingram

Bath Iron Works from NAS Brunswick photo gallery

On June 15, 2009, U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus toured BIW's shipbuilding facilities.

Bath Iron Works (BIW) is a major American shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine, United States. Since its founding in 1884 (as Bath Iron Works, Limited), BIW has built private, commercial and military vessels, most of which have been ordered by the United States Navy. The shipyard has built and sometimes designed battleships, frigates, cruisers and destroyers, including the Arleigh Burke class, which are currently among the world's most advanced surface warships.

Since 1995, Bath Iron Works has been a subsidiary of General Dynamics, the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world (as of 2008). During World War II, ships built at BIW were considered by sailors and Navy officials to be of superior toughness, giving rise to the phrase "Bath-built is best-built." ^[1]

Contents 1 History 2 Notable ships built 3 References 4 Further reading 5 External links

History

Bath Iron Works was incorporated in 1884 by General Thomas W. Hyde, a native of Bath who served in the American Civil War. After the war, Hyde bought a local shop that helped make windlasses and other iron hardware for the wooden ships built in Bath's many shipyards. He expanded the business by improving its practices, entering new markets, and acquiring other local businesses.

By 1882, Hyde Windlass was eyeing the new and growing business of iron shipbuilding; two years later, it incorporated as Bath Iron Works. On February 28, 1890, BIW won its first contract for complete vessels, two iron gunboats for the U.S. Navy. The Machias, one of these 190-foot (58 m) gunboats, was the first ship launched by the company. (Historian Snow (see "Further Reading") says the gunboat was commanded during World War I by Chester Nimitz, an assertion that is not supported by Nimitz's biographers.^{[citation needed]})

In 1892, the yard won its first commercial contract for a steel vessel, the 2,500-ton steel passenger steamer City of Lowell. In the 1890s, the company built several yachts for wealthy sailors.

In 1899, General Hyde, suffering from the Bright's Disease that would kill him later that year, resigned from management of the shipyard, leaving his sons Edward and John in charge. That year the shipyard began construction of the Georgia, the only battleship to be built in Bath. The ship dominated the yard for five years until its launching in 1904, and was at times the only ship under construction. The yard faced numerous challenges because of the weight of armor and weapons. In sea trials, the Georgia averaged 19.26 knots (35.67 km/h) for four hours, making her the fastest ship in her class and the fastest battleship in the Navy.

The company continued to rely on Navy contracts, which provided 86% of the value of new contracts between 1905 and 1917. The yard also produced fishing trawlers, freighters, and yachts throughout the first half of the century.

At peak production during World War II (1943–1944), the shipyard launched a destroyer every 17 days.

In 1981, Falcon Transport ordered two tankers, the last commercial vessels built by BIW.

MV Mighty Servant 2 carrying mine-damaged Roberts on 31 July 1988

In 1988, the USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58), commissioned two years earlier at Bath, survived a mine explosion that tore a hole in its engine room and flooded two compartments. Over the next two years, BIW repaired the Roberts in unique fashion. The guided missile frigate was towed to the company's dry dock in Portland, Maine, and put up on blocks, where its damaged engine room was cut out of the ship. Meanwhile, workers in Bath built a 315-ton replacement. When it was ready, the module was floated south to Portland, placed on the dry dock, slid into place under the Roberts, jacked up, and welded into place.^[2] By surviving a hit that Naval Sea Systems Command engineers thought should have sunk her, the Roberts validated the penny-pinching design of the Oliver Hazard Perry class, the U.S. Navy's largest post-WWII class until the Burkes^{[citation needed]}; and validated the Navy's against-the-odds decision to have picked BIW to design it.

In 2001, BIW wrapped up a four-year effort to build an enormous concrete platform, the Land Level Transfer Facility, for final assembly of its ships. Instead of being built on a sloping way so that they could slide into the Kennebec at launch, hulls were henceforth moved by rail from the platform horizontally onto a moveable dry dock. This greatly reduced the work involved in building and launching the ships.^[3] The 750-foot, 28,000-ton dry dock was built by China's Jiangdu Yuchai Shipbuilding Company for $27 million.^[4]

Notable ships built

USS Chester (CL-1) was the first United States cruiser of the numbering series used through the first half of the 20th century.

The last of the "four-stack" destroyers, USS Pruitt (DD-347) being launched from Bath Iron Works in 1920.

• Yachts
  • Ranger successful America's Cup defender
  • Motor Yacht Haida
• Lightvessels
  • Diamond Shoal Lightship No. 71 (LV-71)
  • Nantucket Lightship 66
  • Nantucket Lightship 106
• Naval ram
  • USS Katahdin
• Denver-class protected cruiser
  • USS Cleveland (C-19) World War I
• Virginia-class battleship
  • USS Georgia (BB-15), launched in 1904
• Chester class cruiser
  • USS Chester (CL-1) World War I
• Smith class destroyers
  • USS Flusser (DD-20) World War I
  • USS Reid (DD-21) World War I
• Paulding class destroyers
  • USS Paulding (DD-22) World War I - Rum Patrol
  • USS Drayton (DD-23) World War I
  • USS Trippe (DD-33) World War I - Rum Patrol
  • USS Jouett (DD-41) World War I - Rum Patrol
  • USS Jenkins (DD-42) World War I
• Cassin class destroyers
  • USS Cassin (DD-43) World War I - Rum Patrol
  • USS Cummings (DD-44) World War I - Rum Patrol
• O'Brien class destroyer
  • USS McDougal (DD-54) World War I - Rum Patrol
• Tucker class destroyer
  • USS Wadsworth (DD-60) World War I
• Sampson class destroyers
  • USS Davis (DD-65) World War I - Rum Patrol
  • USS Allen (DD-66)^[5] World War I - Attack on Pearl Harbor
• Caldwell class destroyer
  • USS Manley (DD-74)^[6] World War I - Guadalcanal Campaign - Operation Flintlock - Battle of Saipan - Philippines campaign (1944-45)

Two of the seven Bath Iron Works destroyers transferred to the Royal Navy in the Destroyers for Bases Agreement. The outboard ship made the St. Nazaire Raid.

• Wickes class destroyers
  • USS Wickes (DD-75)^[7] World War I - Destroyers for Bases Agreement
  • USS Philip (DD-76)^[7] World War I - Destroyers for Bases Agreement
  • USS Woolsey (DD-77)^[7] World War I
  • USS Evans (DD-78)^[7] Destroyers for Bases Agreement
  • USS Buchanan (DD-131)^[7] Destroyers for Bases Agreement - St. Nazaire Raid
  • USS Aaron Ward (DD-132)^[7] Destroyers for Bases Agreement
  • USS Hale (DD-133)^[7] Destroyers for Bases Agreement
  • USS Crowninshield (DD-134)^[7] Destroyers for Bases Agreement
• Clemson class destroyers
  • USS Preble (DD-345)^[8] Attack on Pearl Harbor - Guadalcanal Campaign
  • USS Sicard (DD-346)^[8] Attack on Pearl Harbor - Battle of Empress Augusta Bay
  • USS Pruitt (DD-347)^[8] Attack on Pearl Harbor

USCGC Icarus (WPC-110) delivers prisoners from U-352 to Charleston Navy Yard on 10 May 1942.

• Thetis class patrol boat
  • USCGC Aurora (WPC-103)^[9]
  • USCGC Calypso (WPC-104)^[9]
  • USCGC Daphne (WPC-106)^[10]
  • USCGC Hermes (WPC-109)^[10]
  • USCGC Icarus (WPC-110)^[10] sank U-352
  • USCGC Perseus (WPC-114)^[10]
  • USCGC Thetis (WPC-115)^[10] sank U-157
• Farragut class destroyer (1934)
  • USS Dewey (DD-349)^[11] Attack on Pearl Harbor - Battle of the Coral Sea^[12] - Battle of Midway - Guadalcanal Campaign - Battle of the Eastern Solomons - Battle of the Philippine Sea^[13]
• The J-class yacht Ranger, 1936
• Mahan class destroyers
  • USS Drayton (DD-366)^[14] Battle of Tassafaronga^[15] Philippines campaign (1944-45)
  • USS Lamson (DD-367)^[14] Battle of Tassafaronga^[15] - Philippines campaign (1944-45) - sunk in test Able of Operation Crossroads
• Somers class destroyers
  • USS Sampson (DD-394)^[14]
  • USS Davis (DD-395)^[14]
  • USS Jouett (DD-396)^[14] Invasion of Normandy
• Sims class destroyers
  • USS Sims (DD-409)^[16] Battle of the Coral Sea^[17]
  • USS Hughes (DD-410)^[16] Battle of Midway^[18] - Battle of Santa Cruz^[19] - Naval Battle of Guadalcanal^[20] - Philippines campaign (1944-45)
• Gleaves class destroyers
  • USS Gleaves (DD-423)^[16] invasions of Sicily, Italy and Southern France
  • USS Niblack (DD-424)^[16] invasions of Sicily, Italy and Southern France
  • USS Livermore (DD-429)^[21] invasions of North Africa and Southern France
  • USS Eberle (DD-430)^[21] invasions of North Africa and Southern France
  • USS Woolsey (DD-437)^[21] invasions of North Africa, Sicily and Italy
  • USS Ludlow (DD-438)^[21] invasions of North Africa, Sicily, Italy and Southern France
  • USS Emmons (DD-457)^[22] invasions of North Africa, Normandy, Southern France and Okinawa
  • USS Macomb (DD-458)^[22] invasions of North Africa, Southern France and Okinawa

Nicholas holds the United States Navy record for battle stars with 16 from World War II, 5 from the Korean War and 9 from the Vietnam War

• Fletcher class destroyers
  • USS Nicholas (DD-449)^[23] Guadalcanal campaign - Philippines campaign (1944-45) - Korean War - Vietnam War
  • USS O'Bannon (DD-450)^[23] Naval Battle of Guadalcanal^[24] Guadalcanal campaign - Naval Battle of Vella Lavella^[25] - Philippines campaign (1944-45) - Korean War - Vietnam War
  • USS Chevalier (DD-451)^[23] Guadalcanal campaign - Naval Battle of Vella Lavella^[25]
  • USS Strong (DD-467)^[23] Guadalcanal campaign
  • USS Taylor (DD-468)^[23] Guadalcanal campaign - Philippines campaign (1944-45) - Korean War - Vietnam War
  • USS De Haven (DD-469)^[23] Guadalcanal campaign
  • USS Conway (DD-507)^[26] Guadalcanal campaign - Philippines campaign (1944-45) - Korean War
  • USS Cony (DD-508)^[26] Guadalcanal campaign - Philippines campaign (1944-45) - Battle of Surigao Strait - Korean War
  • USS Converse (DD-509)^[26] Guadalcanal campaign - Battle of Empress Augusta Bay^[27] Battle of Cape St. George^[28] - Battle of the Philippine Sea^[13] - Philippines campaign (1944-45)
  • USS Eaton (DD-510)^[26] Guadalcanal campaign - Philippines campaign (1944-45)
  • USS Foote (DD-511)^[26] Guadalcanal campaign - Battle of Empress Augusta Bay^[27] - Philippines campaign (1944-45) - Battle of Okinawa
  • USS Spence (DD-512)^[26] Guadalcanal campaign - Battle of Empress Augusta Bay^[27] - Battle of Cape St. George^[28] - Battle of the Philippine Sea^[13] - Philippines campaign (1944-45)
  • USS Terry (DD-513)^[26] Guadalcanal campaign - Battle of the Philippine Sea^[13] - Battle of Iwo Jima
  • USS Thatcher (DD-514)^[26] Guadalcanal campaign - Battle of Empress Augusta Bay^[27] - Battle of the Philippine Sea^[13] - Philippines campaign (1944-45) - Battle of Okinawa
  • USS Anthony (DD-515)^[26] Guadalcanal campaign - Battle of the Philippine Sea^[13] - Battle of Okinawa
  • USS Wadsworth (DD-516)^[26] Guadalcanal campaign - Battle of the Philippine Sea^[13] - Philippines campaign (1944-45) - Battle of Okinawa
  • USS Walker (DD-517)^[26] Philippines campaign (1944-45) - Battle of Okinawa - Korean War - Vietnam War
  • USS Abbot (DD-629)^[29] Philippines campaign (1944-45)
  • USS Braine (DD-630)^[29] Battle of the Philippine Sea^[13] - Philippines campaign (1944-45) - Battle of Okinawa
  • USS Erben (DD-631)^[29] Philippines campaign (1944-45) - Battle of Okinawa - Korean War
  • USS Hale (DD-642)^[29] Philippines campaign (1944-45) - Battle of Okinawa
  • USS Sigourney (DD-643)^[29] Guadalcanal campaign - Philippines campaign (1944-45) - Battle of Surigao Strait
  • USS Stembel (DD-644)^[29] Philippines campaign (1944-45) - Battle of Okinawa - Korean War
  • USS Caperton (DD-650)^[29] Battle of the Philippine Sea^[13] - Philippines campaign (1944-45)
  • USS Cogswell (DD-651)^[29] Battle of the Philippine Sea^[13] - Philippines campaign (1944-45) - Vietnam War
  • USS Ingersoll (DD-652)^[29] Philippines campaign (1944-45)^[13] - Vietnam War
  • USS Knapp (DD-653)^[29] Battle of the Philippine Sea^[13] - Philippines campaign (1944-45)
  • USS Remey (DD-688)^[30] Battle of Saipan - Philippines campaign (1944-45) - Battle of Surigao Strait - Battle of Okinawa
  • USS Wadleigh (DD-689)^[30] Battle of Saipan
  • USS Norman Scott (DD-690)^[30] Battle of Saipan
  • USS Mertz (DD-691)^[30] Philippines campaign (1944-45)
• Allen M. Sumner class destroyers
  • USS Barton (DD-722)^[31] Invasion of Normandy - Philippines campaign (1944-45) - Korean War
  • USS Walke (DD-723)^[31] Invasion of Normandy - Philippines campaign (1944-45) - Battle of Okinawa - Korean War - Vietnam War
  • USS Laffey (DD-724)^[31] Invasion of Normandy - Philippines campaign (1944-45) - Battle of Okinawa - Korean War - preserved National Historic Landmark in Charleston, South Carolina
  • USS O'Brien (DD-725)^[31] Invasion of Normandy - Philippines campaign (1944-45) - Korean War - Vietnam War
  • USS Meredith (DD-726)^[31] Invasion of Normandy
  • USS De Haven (DD-727)^[31] Philippines campaign (1944-45) - Battle of Okinawa - Korean War
  • USS Mansfield (DD-728)^[31] Philippines campaign (1944-45) - Korean War - Vietnam War
  • USS Lyman K. Swenson (DD-729)^[31] Philippines campaign (1944-45) - Battle of Okinawa - Korean War - Vietnam War
  • USS Collett (DD-730)^[31] Philippines campaign (1944-45) - Korean War
  • USS Maddox (DD-731)^[31] Battle of Okinawa - Korean War - Gulf of Tonkin Incident - Vietnam War
  • USS Hyman (DD-732)^[31] Battle of Okinawa - Korean War
  • USS Mannert L. Abele (DD-733)^[31] Battle of Okinawa
  • USS Purdy (DD-734)^[31] Battle of Okinawa - Korean War
  • USS Robert H. Smith (DM-23)^[8] Battle of Okinawa
  • USS Thomas E. Fraser (DM-24)^[8] Battle of Okinawa
  • USS Shannon (DM-25)^[8] Battle of Okinawa
  • USS Harry F. Bauer (DM-26)^[8] Battle of Okinawa
  • USS Adams (DM-27)^[8] Battle of Okinawa
  • USS Tolman (DM-28)^[8] Battle of Okinawa
  • USS Drexler (DD-741)^[31] Battle of Okinawa

Agerholm launched an ASROC anti-submarine rocket armed with a nuclear depth bomb during the Swordfish test of 1962

• Gearing class destroyers
  • USS Frank Knox (DD-742)^[32] World War II - Korean War - Vietnam War
  • USS Southerland (DD-743)^[32] World War II - Korean War - Vietnam War
  • USS Chevalier (DD-805)^[33] Korean War
  • USS Higbee (DD-806)^[33] World War II - Korean War - Vietnam War - Battle of Dong Hoi
  • USS Benner (DD-807)^[33] World War II - Vietnam War
  • USS Dennis J. Buckley (DD-808)^[33] Vietnam War
  • USS Agerholm (DD-826)^[33] Korean War - Vietnam War
  • USS Robert A. Owens (DD-827)^[33]
  • USS Timmerman (DD-828)^[33] (Experimental ship completed with aluminum superstructure and high-horsepower engines)
  • USS Myles C. Fox (DD-829)^[33] Vietnam War
  • USS Everett F. Larson (DD-830)^[33] Vietnam War
  • USS Goodrich (DD-831)^[33]
  • USS Hanson (DD-832)^[33] Korean War - Vietnam War
  • USS Herbert J. Thomas (DD-833)^[33] Korean War - Vietnam War
  • USS Turner (DD-834)^[33]
  • USS Charles P. Cecil (DD-835)^[33] Vietnam War
  • USS George K. MacKenzie (DD-836)^[33] Korean War - Vietnam War
  • USS Sarsfield (DD-837)^[33] Vietnam War
  • USS Ernest G. Small (DD-838)^[33] Korean War
  • USS Power (DD-839)^[33] Vietnam War
  • USS Glennon (DD-840)^[33]
  • USS Noa (DD-841)^[33] Recovered astronaut John Glenn in Friendship 7 on 20 February 1962
  • USS Fiske (DD-842)^[33] Korean War - Vietnam War
  • USS Warrington (DD-843)^[33]
  • USS Perry (DD-844)^[33] Vietnam War
  • USS Bausell (DD-845)^[33] Korean War - Vietnam War
  • USS Ozbourn (DD-846)^[33] Korean War - Vietnam War
  • USS Robert L. Wilson (DD-847)^[33] Vietnam War
  • USS Witek (DD-848)^[34] (no overseas deployments - used exclusively for ASW research)
  • USS Richard E. Kraus (DD-849)^[34] Vietnam War
• Dealey class destroyer escorts
  • USS Dealey (DE-1006)^[35]
  • USS Cromwell (DE-1014)^[35]
  • USS Hammerberg (DE-1015)^[35]

The second Cold War destroyer built by Bath Iron Works was named for the grandfather of Republican 2008 presidential candidate John S. McCain III.

• Mitscher class destroyers
  • USS Mitscher (DL-2)^[36]
  • USS John S. McCain (DL-3)^[36] Vietnam War
• Forrest Sherman class destroyers
  • USS Forrest Sherman (DD-931)^[37]
  • USS John Paul Jones (DD-932)^[37]
  • USS Barry (DD-933)^[37] Vietnam War
  • USS Manley (DD-940)^[37] Vietnam War
  • USS Dupont (DD-941)^[37]
  • USS Bigelow (DD-942)^[37] Vietnam War
  • USS Hull (DD-945)^[37] Vietnam War
  • USS Edson (DD-946)^[37] Vietnam War
  • USS Somers (DD-947)^[37] Vietnam War
• Charles F. Adams class destroyers
  • USS Charles F. Adams (DDG-2)^[38]
  • USS John King (DDG-3)^[38]
  • USS Sampson (DDG-10)^[38]
  • USS Sellers (DDG-11)^[38]
• Farragut class destroyers
  • USS Dewey (DDG-45)^[39]
  • USS Preble (DDG-46)^[39] Vietnam War
• Leahy class cruisers
  • USS Leahy (CG-16)^[40]
  • USS Harry E. Yarnell (CG-17)^[40]
  • USS Worden (CG-18)^[40] Vietnam War
• Belknap class cruisers
  • USS Belknap (CG-26)^[41]
  • USS Josephus Daniels (CG-27)^[41]
  • USS Wainwright (CG-28)^[41] Vietnam War
  • USS William H. Standley (CG-32)^[41] Vietnam War
  • USS Biddle (CG-34)^[41] Vietnam War
• Garcia class frigate
  • USS Glover (FF-1098)^[42]
• Brooke class frigates
  • USS Talbot (FFG-4)^[43]
  • USS Richard L. Page (FFG-5)^[43]
  • USS Julius A. Furer (FFG-6)^[43]
• Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates
  • USS Oliver Hazard Perry (FFG-7)^[44]
  • USS McInerney (FFG-8)^[44]
  • USS Clark (FFG-11)^[44]
  • USS Samuel Eliot Morison (FFG-13)^[44]
  • USS Estocin (FFG-15)^[44]
  • USS Clifton Sprague (FFG-16)^[44]
  • USS Flatley (FFG-21)^[44]
  • USS Jack Williams (FFG-24)^[44]
  • USS Gallery (FFG-26)^[44]
  • USS Stephen W. Groves (FFG-29)^[44]
  • USS John L. Hall (FFG-32)^[44]
  • USS Aubrey Fitch (FFG-34)^[44]
  • USS Underwood (FFG-36)^[44]
  • USS Doyle (FFG-39)^[44]
  • USS Klakring (FFG-42)^[44]
  • USS Dewert (FFG-45)^[44]
  • USS Nicholas (FFG-47)^[44]
  • USS Robert G. Bradley (FFG-49)^[44]
  • USS Taylor (FFG-50)
  • USS Hawes (FFG-53)
  • USS Elrod (FFG-55)
  • USS Simpson (FFG-56), launched August 31, 1984. One of four U.S. Navy ships in commission to have sunk an enemy vessel with shipboard weaponry, the others being the USS Constitution, USS Porter (DDG-78), and USS Carter Hall (LSD-50),
  • USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58), launched in 1984 and repaired after being punctured by a mine in 1988
  • USS Kauffman (FFG-59)
• Ticonderoga-class cruisers
  • USS Thomas S. Gates (CG-51)
  • USS Philippine Sea (CG-58)
  • USS Normandy (CG-60)
  • USS Monterey (CG-61)
  • USS Cowpens (CG-63)
  • USS Gettysburg (CG-64)
  • USS Shiloh (CG-67)
  • USS Lake Erie (CG-70), 21 Feb 2008 shot down the errant USA 193 satellite with a modified SM3 missile.
• Arleigh Burke-class destroyers
  • USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51), commissioned July 4, 1991.
  • USS John Paul Jones (DDG-53)
  • USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG-54)
  • USS John S. McCain (DDG-56)
  • USS Laboon (DDG-58)
  • USS Paul Hamilton (DDG-60)
  • USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62)
  • USS Carney (DDG-64)
  • USS Gonzalez (DDG-66)
  • USS The Sullivans (DDG-68)
  • USS Hopper (DDG-70)
  • USS Mahan (DDG-72)
  • USS Decatur (DDG-73)
  • USS Donald Cook (DDG-75)
  • USS Higgins (DDG-76)
  • USS O'Kane (DDG-77)
  • USS Oscar Austin (DDG-79)
  • USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG-81)
  • USS Howard (DDG-83)
  • USS McCampbell (DDG-85)
  • USS Mason (DDG-87)
  • USS Chafee (DDG-90)
  • USS Momsen (DDG-92)
  • USS Nitze (DDG-94)
  • USS Bainbridge (DDG-96), launched in 2005
  • USS Farragut (DDG-99)
  • USS Gridley (DDG-101), launched in 2006
  • USS Sampson (DDG-102)
  • USS Sterett (DDG-104)
  • USS Stockdale (DDG-106)
  • USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG-108)
• Zumwalt-class destroyers
  • USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000)

References

1. ^ See Peniston, Sanders, Snow.
2. ^ No Higher Honor: FFG 58 Repair
3. ^ GDBIW.com
4. ^ "Bath Iron Works picks Chinese firm". United Press International. 1998-09-14. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-17538952.html. Retrieved 2008-10-18. 
5. ^ Silverstone, Paul H. U.S. Warships of World War II Doubleday & Company (1968) p.103
6. ^ Silverstone, Paul H. U.S. Warships of World War II Doubleday & Company (1968) p.276
7. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Fahey, James C. The Ships and Aircraft of the United States Fleet Ships and Aircraft (1939) p.17
8. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i} Silverstone, Paul H. U.S. Warships of World War II Doubleday & Company (1968) p.212
9. ^ ^{a b} Silverstone, Paul H. U.S. Warships of World War II Doubleday & Company (1968) p.380
10. ^ ^{a b c d e} Silverstone, Paul H. U.S. Warships of World War II Doubleday & Company (1968) p.383
11. ^ Silverstone, Paul H. U.S. Warships of World War II Doubleday & Company (1968) p.114
12. ^ Oftsie, R.A., RADM USN The Campaigns of the Pacific War United States Government Printing Office (1946) p.55
13. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l} Tillman, Barrett Clash of the Carriers (2005) ISBN 978-0-451-21965-5 pp.301-306
14. ^ ^{a b c d e} Silverstone, Paul H. U.S. Warships of World War II Doubleday & Company (1968) p.118
15. ^ ^{a b} Oftsie, R.A., RADM USN The Campaigns of the Pacific War United States Government Printing Office (1946) p.140
16. ^ ^{a b c d} Silverstone, Paul H. U.S. Warships of World War II Doubleday & Company (1968) p.126
17. ^ Oftsie, R.A., RADM USN The Campaigns of the Pacific War United States Government Printing Office (1946) p.54
18. ^ Oftsie, R.A., RADM USN The Campaigns of the Pacific War United States Government Printing Office (1946) p.74
19. ^ Oftsie, R.A., RADM USN The Campaigns of the Pacific War United States Government Printing Office (1946) p.122
20. ^ Oftsie, R.A., RADM USN The Campaigns of the Pacific War United States Government Printing Office (1946) p.128
21. ^ ^{a b c d} Silverstone, Paul H. U.S. Warships of World War II Doubleday & Company (1968) p.129
22. ^ ^{a b} Silverstone, Paul H. U.S. Warships of World War II Doubleday & Company (1968) p.132
23. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Silverstone, Paul H. U.S. Warships of World War II Doubleday & Company (1968) p.135
24. ^ Oftsie, R.A., RADM USN The Campaigns of the Pacific War United States Government Printing Office (1946) p.127
25. ^ ^{a b} Oftsie, R.A., RADM USN The Campaigns of the Pacific War United States Government Printing Office (1946) p.148
26. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k} Silverstone, Paul H. U.S. Warships of World War II Doubleday & Company (1968) p.138
27. ^ ^{a b c d} Oftsie, R.A., RADM USN The Campaigns of the Pacific War United States Government Printing Office (1946) p.153
28. ^ ^{a b} Oftsie, R.A., RADM USN The Campaigns of the Pacific War United States Government Printing Office (1946) p.159
29. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} Silverstone, Paul H. U.S. Warships of World War II Doubleday & Company (1968) p.141
30. ^ ^{a b c d} Silverstone, Paul H. U.S. Warships of World War II Doubleday & Company (1968) p.143
31. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n} Silverstone, Paul H. U.S. Warships of World War II Doubleday & Company (1968) pp.146-7
32. ^ ^{a b} Silverstone, Paul H. U.S. Warships of World War II Doubleday & Company (1968) p.148
33. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z} Silverstone, Paul H. U.S. Warships of World War II Doubleday & Company (1968) p.150
34. ^ ^{a b} Silverstone, Paul H. U.S. Warships of World War II Doubleday & Company (1968) p.152
35. ^ ^{a b c} Blackman, Raymond V. B. Jane's Fighting Ships (1970/71) p.458
36. ^ ^{a b} Blackman, Raymond V. B. Jane's Fighting Ships (1970/71) p.435
37. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i} Blackman, Raymond V. B. Jane's Fighting Ships (1970/71) p.439
38. ^ ^{a b c d} Blackman, Raymond V. B. Jane's Fighting Ships (1970/71) p.437
39. ^ ^{a b} Blackman, Raymond V. B. Jane's Fighting Ships (1970/71) p.432
40. ^ ^{a b c} Blackman, Raymond V. B. Jane's Fighting Ships (1970/71) p.431
41. ^ ^{a b c d e} Blackman, Raymond V. B. Jane's Fighting Ships (1970/71) p.429
42. ^ Blackman, Raymond V. B. Jane's Fighting Ships (1970/71) p.456
43. ^ ^{a b c} Blackman, Raymond V. B. Jane's Fighting Ships (1970/71) p.452
44. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r} Clement, Janet Ann, LT USNR "The FFG-7 Program: A Shipbuilding Status Report" United States Naval Institute Proceedings (June 1981) p.109

Further reading

• Eskew, Garnett Laidlaw (1958). Cradle of Ships. New York: Putnam. ASIN B0007E5VY4.  (First general history of BIW.)
• Peniston, Bradley (2006). No Higher Honor: Saving the USS Samuel B. Roberts in the Persian Gulf. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-661-5. http://www.navybook.com/nohigherhonor.  (Describes the construction of a Perry-class guided missile frigate, the training of its precommissioning crew at BIW, and the complex repair job that returned it to duty.)
• Sanders, Michael S. (1999). The Yard: Building a Destroyer at the Bath Iron Works. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-019246-1.  (Describes the construction of USS Donald Cook (DDG-75) at BIW.)
• Snow, Ralph L. (1987). Bath Iron Works: The First Hundred Years. Bath, Maine: Maine Maritime Museum. ISBN 0-9619449-0-0.  (The definitive work on BIW from 1884-1987.)
• Toppan, Andrew (2002). Bath Iron Works (Images of America: Maine). South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0-7385-1059-9.  (Historic and contemporary photos of BIW.)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bath Iron Works

• Bath Iron Works website
• USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58) under repair at BIW's Portland dry dock

Coordinates: 43°54′16″N 69°48′53″W / 43.904494°N 69.814746°W / 43.904494; -69.814746

v t e General Dynamics Corporation Corporate Directors Nicholas Chabraja James Crown Lester Crown William Fricks Charles Goodman Jay Johnson George Joulwan Paul Kaminski Jack Keane Lester Lyles Carl Mundy Robert Walmsley Subsidiaries Bath Iron Works C4 Systems Electric Boat Land Systems Gulfstream NASSCO MOWAG Products Arleigh Burke-class destroyer Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle Expeditionary tank F-111 F-16 Los Angeles-class submarine M1 Abrams Ohio-class submarine Seawolf-class submarine Virginia-class submarine Stryker Bowman Annual Revenue: $29 billion USD (23% FY 2008) Employees: 81,900 Stock Symbol: NYSE: GD Website: gendyn.com

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