Ingalls Shipbuilding

Coordinates: 30°20′51″N 88°34′30″W / 30.347371°N 88.575017°W / 30.347371; -88.575017

Aerial view of Ingalls Shipbuilding in 1985. Visible in this photo are (pierside, left to right): USS Yorktown (CG-48), USS Vincennes (CG-49), USS Valley Forge (CG-50) and USS Bunker Hill (CG-52). Under construction on shore are USS Mobile Bay (CG-53) and USS Antietam (CG-54).

Ingalls Shipbuilding is a shipyard located in Pascagoula, Mississippi, United States, originally established in 1938, and is now part of Huntington Ingalls Industries. It is a leading producer of ships for the United States Navy, and at 12,500 employees and going to hire 1,500 more employees, the largest private employer in Mississippi.

History

A view of a section of the Ingalls Shipbuilding Company showing various United States Navy ships under construction. Pictured are (from left to right): USS Boxer (LHD-4), USS Ramage (DDG-61) and USS Benfold (DDG-65) and the Israeli guided missile corvette, Hanit (503).

In 1938, Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation was founded by Robert Ingersoll Ingalls, Sr. (1882–1951) of Birmingham, Alabama, on the East Bank of the Pascagoula River in Mississippi.[1] Ingalls was located where the Pascagoula River runs into the Gulf of Mexico. It started out building commercial ships including the USS George Clymer (APA-27), which took part in Liberty Fleet Day 27 September 1941. In the 1950s Ingalls started bidding on Navy work, winning a contract in 1957 to build 12 nuclear-powered attack submarines.

Litton Industries acquired Ingalls in 1961, and in 1968 expanded its facilities to the other side of the river. Ingalls reached a high point of employment in 1977, with 27,280 workers. In April 2001, Litton was acquired by the Northrop Grumman Corporation.[2]

On 29 August 2005, Ingalls facilities were damaged by Hurricane Katrina; most of the ships in dock and construction escaped serious harm. While shipbuilding was halted for a while due to the destruction of many buildings, most vehicles and the large overhead cranes, the facility continues to run today.

On March 31, 2011, Northrop Grumman spun off its shipbuilding sector (including Ingalls Shipbuilding) into a new corporation, Huntington Ingalls Industries.

Products

Ingalls' primary product has been naval ships, although it also produces offshore drilling rigs and cruise ships, and has done naval projects for Egypt, Israel, and Venezuela. In the 1950s, Ingalls attempted to enter the diesel locomotive market. They catalogued an extensive product line, but only one example, known as the model 4-S, was produced. It was sold to the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Railroad. Ingalls also manufactured covered hopper railroad cars in the early 1980s, producing around 4,000 units, primarily for the lease market via North American Car.

Ships built

Ships built by Ingalls include:

Submarines

Destroyers

Cruisers

Cutters

Amphibious transport dock

Amphibious assault ship

Attack transport

Bayfield-class attack transports[3]

Corvette

Tankers

T5 Tanker prototype, 615-foot vessel intended for possible conversion to atomic power, 1958

Cruise ships and ocean liners

Ships refitted

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Fact Sheet. Northrup Grumman Shipbuilding. Retrieved 2009-09-23
  2. ↑ "Northrop Grumman to Acquire Litton Industries for $80 Per Share Cash". Maritme Reporter and Engineering News, 2000-12-22. Retrieved 2009-09-23
  3. ↑ Bayfield and Windsor-class attack transports, per List as of 3-6-15, may not be exhaustive.

External links

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