The city deeded 288 additional acres to the Navy.īetween 19, 140 ships and 40,000 personnel were homeported at Long Beach. Subsequently the city and the oil operators began fully implementing the remedial water injection program. The problem of the sinking land surface was addressed by a water injection program to replace the pumped out oil and stabilize the surface at the site.īy 1958, the Navy sued Long Beach and oil operators who were not cooperating with the water injection program. On 4 January 1951, Long Beach Naval Shipyard was reactivated to support the ships engaged in the Korean War, and by 1952, a growing Navy fleet was again homeported at Long Beach. However, with the outbreak of the Korean War several weeks later, there was a renewed need for ship overhaul and repair facilities. On 1 June 1950, partly due to concerns about sinking of the land surface, the shipyard and naval station were placed in inactive status. Over time, the removal of the underlying oil caused the surface of the land to sink as much as ten feet in some areas of the site. Through the war years, Long Beach and other oil operators had continued to pump out oil from under the Terminal Island site. 'Herman the German') was placed in operation. On 31 December 1948, the world's largest self-propelled floating crane TITAN (YD 171) (a.k.a. The Naval Station was established on 15 November 1946, as a homeport for Pacific Fleet ships, providing port facilities, fleet support personnel, and recreational facilities. By August 1945, the shipyard's wartime employment level topped out at 16,091.

Naval Dry Docks activity (later to be renamed Long Beach Naval Shipyard) was established to encompass the existing Terminal Island facilities, with the mission to perform routine and battle-damage repairs to naval ships. The first major ship drydocking was in September 1942. 1) permitted shipwork to begin on 7 April 1942. Completion of the Moreell Drydock (Drydock No. The shipyard was established in 1940 with an initial funding of $19.8M for land acquisition, a harbor breakwater, and buildings. In 1940, the city of Long Beach ceded 108 acres of land on Terminal Island for Navy use, retaining the mineral rights to the recently discovered oilfield under the site and extending offshore. Immediately before the start of World War II, it became apparent that a major anchorage and operation area was needed in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-San Pedro area. *Īpproximate Boundaries of the Former Naval Station and Naval Shipyard

In 1933, more than 4,500 sailors and marines came ashore to provide rescue units and patrols to assist local authorities in dealing with the destruction, injuries and breakdown of order in the aftermath of a massive earthquake. By the next year, there were over 50 ships and 30,000 sailors at Long Beach. In 1932, Long Beach built a large Navy Landing at the foot of Pico Avenue. In 1928, Long Beach became the home port for the Navy's first two aircraft carriers: USS SARATOGA and USS LEXINGTON. Navy was divided into Atlantic and Pacific Fleets, Long Beach became the West Coast home port for Pacific Fleet battleships and their support ships.

(Please see the figure to your right for the approximate boundaries of the former installations.). The former Long Beach Naval Complex was comprised of the Long Beach Naval Station and the adjacent Long Beach Naval Shipyard. Marine Corps Support Activity Kansas City.Former Naval Surface Warfare Center Annapolis.Former Naval Air Warfare Center Trenton.Former Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove.Former Naval Surface Warfare Center White Oak.Former Naval Air Warfare Center Warminster.Former Naval Air Station South Weymouth.Former Naval Construction Battalion Davisville.Former Naval Auxiliary Landing Field (NALF), Crows Landing.Former Fleet and Industrial Supply Center Oakland /Alameda Annex.Former DoD Housing Facility Novato/Hamilton Army Airfield.Former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro.Former Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach Detachment Concord.

Long beach war ship