A two stage multi located in Elizabeth River Boat Landing and Park
Looking across the river from the park you will see the US Navy’s oldest and largest shipyard. Norfolk Naval Shipyard has been building and repairing ships for almost 250 years.
Known for most of its first century as “Gosport”, it was renamed
“Norfolk” in 1862 after the largest city in the area.
The Gosport Shipyard was found on November 1, 1767 by Andrew Sprowle. The shipyard was a prosperous naval and merchant facility for the British Crown. Sprowle stayed loyal to the Crown and fled Virginia in 1775. Virginia confiscated all of his property, including the shipyard.
In 1974, United States Congress passed “an Act to Provide a Naval Armament”, allowing the Federal Government to lease the Gosport Shipyard from Virginia. In 1799 the keel of the USS Chesapeake was laid, making her the first ship built in Gosport for the US Navy.
The federal government purchased the shipyard from Virginia in 1801.
The first dry-dock in the Americas opened here on June 17, 1833 by hosting the 74-gun ship-of-the-line USS DELAWARE. Dry Dock One is still in use.
In 1861 Conferderate forces took over the shipyard. In early 1862, the ironclad CSS VIRGINIA was rebuilt using the burned out hulk of USS MERIMAC. Union forces recaptured the shipyard in May 1862.
The first US naval battleship to be commissioned, the USS TEXAS, was built here in 1889 – 1892.
The shipyard’s employment peak of nearly 43,000 workers was reached during World War II. The yard built nearly 30 major vessels, including the USS ALABAMA (BB-60), launched February 16, 1942, and the USS SHANGRI-LA (CV-38), launched February 24, 1944. It also built 20 tank landing ships, 50 medium craft and repaired more than 6850 US and Allied ships.
After World War II the shipyard shifted from being a ship construction facility to an overhaul and repair facility. The last two ships built at the yard were wooden minesweepers. USS BOLD (AM-424) and USS BULWARK (AM-425) were christened on March 28, 1953 during the Korean War.
The shipyard joined the nuclear age in early 1965 when USS SKATE (SSN 578)
underwent a major overhaul here.
Shipyarders here have built a tradition of professional leadership through hard work and technological innovation. As sailing ships yield to steam-powered ironclads, they learned new skills. From the early experiments with Polaris missiles to the latest installation of complex weapons systems, shipyarders have come up with productive ways to get their jobs done. That is why today Norfolk Naval Shipyard’s ability to repair and overhaul ships with speed and efficiency has earned it numerous awards and the reputation of being the nation’s number one shipyard.
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✿ ´¯`✿ FTF Honor goes to Skydive121 and SBlookers ✿ ´¯`✿