Moore Dry Dock Company facts for kids

Moore Dry Dock Company was a big company in Oakland, California. They were experts at fixing ships and building new ones.

The company started in 1905. Two brothers, Robert S. Moore and Joseph A. Moore, teamed up with John Thomas Scott. They bought a company called National Iron Works in San Francisco and named their new business Moore & Scott Iron Works.

But disaster struck in 1906! The famous 1906 San Francisco earthquake caused a fire that destroyed their new business. Luckily, they recovered quickly. By the end of 1906, they bought another shipyard in Oakland called Boole & Sons. This new location was on Union Street, right by the Oakland Estuary.

In 1917, Robert Moore bought out John Scott. He changed the company's name to Moore Shipbuilding Company. During World War I, the company built many cargo ships for the United States Shipping Board.

After World War I, in 1922, the company changed its name again to Moore Dry Dock Company. It mostly focused on repairing ships. But when World War II started, they greatly expanded their shipbuilding. They built over 100 ships for the U.S. Navy and for merchant shipping. Moore Dry Dock Company was a very important company during the war.

The company was also special because it hired thousands of African Americans. This was a time when many people faced unfair job treatment. Moore Dry Dock gave them important jobs, both skilled and unskilled.

The company's hard work during World War II is even honored at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park. A sign there says that Moore Dry Dock "handled the difficult jobs of production, repair and conversion that slowed overall output in other yards." This means they took on the toughest tasks that other shipyards struggled with.

In 1950, the company was involved in a legal case about union picketing. This led to important rules called the Moore Dry Dock Standards. These rules helped explain when workers could protest at a location that wasn't their main workplace.

Moore Dry Dock Company finally closed its doors in 1961. Today, a large metal recycling company, Schnitzer Steel Industries, is located where the shipyard used to be.

Building Ships for World War II

During World War II, Moore Dry Dock Company built many different kinds of ships to help the war effort. They built:

• Cargo Ships: They built many C2 and C3-class cargo ships. These ships carried supplies and goods across the oceans. Some were even turned into Troopships to carry soldiers.
• Dock Landing Ships: These were special Amphibious warfare ships called Ashland-class dock landing ships. They could carry smaller landing crafts and help troops get to shore.
• Refrigerated Cargo Ships: These ships, also called Reefer ships, were designed to carry food and other items that needed to stay cold.
• Seaplane Derricks: These were special Crane Ships used to lift and move seaplanes. They were called YSD-11 class.
• Submarine Tenders: These large ships acted like floating repair shops for submarines. Moore Dry Dock built two of the seven Fulton-class submarine tenders.
• Submarine Rescue Ships: They also built five of the nine Chanticleer-class Submarine rescue ships. These ships were used to help rescue sailors from damaged submarines.

World War I Contributions

Moore Shipbuilding Company also played a role in World War I. They built several ships for the U.S. Shipping Board, including some that later became known as Empire ships. These ships were important for carrying supplies and goods during the war.

Images for kids

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  USS Fir (WAGL 212)

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  USS Greenlet leaving Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in 1963

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  USS Sirius (AF-60)

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  Moore Dry Dock Company in 1943

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  Seaplane Wrecking Derrick - YSD