Long Beach Naval Shipyard
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remained a productive asset of the shipyard until 1996 when it was overhauled and leased to Balboa, Panama. On 22 May 1996, "TITAN" was lifted aboard the heavy lift ship SEA SWAN and sailed to Panama.
Since its establishment, Long Beach Naval Shipyard has played a vital role, not only in Fleet support, but also in industrial support to research, development, test and evaluation programs devoted to improving Fleet capabilities and expanding oceanographic knowledge.
Long Beach Naval Shipyard provided industrial support to the Naval Ordnance Test Station, Pasadena, which contributed significantly to the first successful launching of the Polaris missile at San Clemente in April 1960. In support of the POSEIDON program, the shipyard prepared the staging vessel and many major accessories. The shipyard successfully converted the ARD-20 to a bathyscaph support ship for undersea research, and performed outfitting work on SEALAB II.
Long Beach Naval Shipyard played a large role in the Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM) Program of the early sixties. It provided support to allied Navies under the Military Assistance Program (MAP)and Foreign Military Lease (FML) Program. Long Beach Naval Shipyard was the first shipyard to establish a Missile Age Combat Systems Division. In the mid-sixties, the shipyard became the primary guided missile ship overhaul yard in the Pacific area. The shipyard developed capabilities in the TARTAR, TALOS, and TERRIER missile systems; the ASROC and DASH anti-submarine systems; the Naval Tactical Data System (NTDS), utilizing high speed digital computer complexes to revolutionize concepts of anti-air warfare; and other systems of modern weaponry and weapons control. The shipyard performed its first thorough guided missile ship overhaul in USS PREBLE which completed in November 1962.
In the early 1980's, the Shipyard brought back to life the first of the four Battleships directed by President Reagan, to bolster a 600 ship Navy. USS NEW JERSEY (BB-62) was completely overhauled and state of the art weapons systems and electronics were added. On 28 December 1982 USS NEW JERSEY was recommissioned at Long Beach Naval Shipyard.
In 1995 Long Beach Naval Shipyard completed the overhaul of the first AEGIS cruiser to be overhauled in a public yard. USS ANTIETAM was successfully completed ahead of schedule and within budget.
Long Beach Naval Shipyard, with its facilities and associated crafts and skills, was capable of performing all structural, sheet-metal, boiler, rigging, electronics, electrical, lagging, ordnance, sandblasting, welding, machining, wood working, painting, pipefitting, and other work incidental to the overhaul and repair of surface ships. The shipyard possessed complete design, engineering, combat systems, quality assurance, planning and public works capabilities to support its industrial work.
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On 1 October 1994, Long Beach Naval Shipyard assumed responsibility, from disestablished Naval Station, Long Beach, for ship support in the form of a Chapel, Commissary, Dental Clinic, Medical Clinic, as well as a Galley, Bachelor Quarters, Navy Exchange, Family Service Center, Family Housing and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Division.
Through its colorful history, the Shipyard supported the City of Long Beach with some major accomplishments. In the forties, Long Beach Naval Shipyard personnel constructed the infamous "Pontoon Bridge" between Terminal Island and downtown Long Beach. A sometimes precarious undertaking to cross, this bridge, for many years offered many shipyard employees a shorter and more direct route to work. In the fifties, the "Commodore Heim" bridge was constructed entirely by shipyard personnel. This bridge was built to improve the access to the island from the north across the Cerritos Channel. Today it serves a an integral part of the flow of commercial trucking from the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. In the sixties, having the only Dry Dock large enough, the Shipyard dry docked the commercial liner QUEEN MARY. QUEEN MARY subsequently became an integral part of the City's tourism industry. In 1982 the Shipyard's own TITAN (YD-171) set a world's record for the heaviest lift, when it moved the "Hughes Flying Boat" from Pier J to Long Beach. The total weight of this lift was 440,000 LBS.
On 23 June 1995, the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission voted to close Long Beach Naval Shipyard. On 29 September 1995, this decision became law.
On 14 July 1996 USS KINKAID (DD-965) completed regular overhaul and became the last ship to be repaired in the 56 year history of the yard. Particularly significant is that from June 1995 to July 1996, Long Beach Naval Shipyard started and completed four ship availabilities on site. Shipyard personnel completed the second half of a major availability and assisted in an additional major availability at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, while undergoing a drastic workforce reduction. With a workforce of approximately 3,000 in June 1995 and less than 1800 in July 1996, Long Beach Naval Shipyard accomplished close to 260,000 mandays of work on four DD-963 Class overhauls, on the service craft overhaul of a floating dry dock and one Post Shakedown Availability of a new LHD, Amphibious Helicopter Carrier.
After completion of the shipyard's ship repair function, efforts were turned to support its people in finding new jobs. Long Beach Naval Shipyard developed a first rate Transition Assistance effort. With the support of programs such as the Priority Placement Program (nationwide Federal job placements) and Jobs Training Partnership Act (JTPA) along with support of the State of California's Governor's Office of Community Relations, the shipyard successfully placed over 1600 shipyard employees in employment throughout the country.
Long Beach Naval Shipyard ... "Can Do"!
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