Bethlehem Wilmington ~ Shipbuilding History

Bethlehem Wilmington

Wilmington DE

Most recent update: November 17, 2021.

Bethlehem Steel's shipyard in Wilmington DE started life in 1837 as Betts, Harlan & Hollingsworth, a railcar manufacturer. They expanded into shipbuilding in 1843 and were one of the earliest iron shipbuilders, becoming Harlan & Hollingsworth in 1849. They were bought by Bethlehem Steel in 1904 but did not become known as Bethlehem Steel, Wilmington, until WWI. Bethlehem closed the yard in 1926 and most of the property was sold to Dravo Corporation. At the outset of WWII, Bethlehem reopened the balance of the yard and the two companies teamed up for wartime construction. See Harlan & Hollingsworth's construction record here and Dravo's Wilmington construction record here. See the site of the shipyard from the air on Google here. It is now a public space called Riverfront Wilmington, part of which is called Dravo Plaza: all that's left of the shipyard are two whirly cranes but you can still see the ends of the launchways sticking out into the river.

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	O/N	Name	Customer	Type	GT	LOA	Delivered	Notes
348	201685	Goshen	Erie RR Co Inc	ferry	1,457	205	Mar 1905	to USN 1942 as YFB-48, struck 1946
349	201355	Wilkes-Barre	Central RR of New Jersey	ferry	1,197	191	Sep 1904	scrapped 1965
350	201490	Elizabeth	Central RR of New Jersey	ferry	1,197	191	Nov 1904	scrapped 1947
351		Reid Whitford	USACE	dredge	318		1905	later Cheraw
352		Immigrant	US Bureau of Immigration	Boarding Vessel	267		1905
353		Pure Oil Co. No. 3	Pure Oil Co.	tank barge	754		May 1905
354	202037	Firefighter	City of Washington DC	fireboat	192	91	June 1905
355	202467	Virginia	Baltimore S.P.Co	passenger freighter	2,027		Oct 1905	burned 1919
356		Car Float No. 1	NY, NH & H RR	car float	4,304		1905
357		Car Float No. 2	NY, NH & H RR	car float	4,304		1905
358		Car Float No. 3	NY, NH & H RR	car float	4,304		1905
359		Car Float No. 4	NY, NH & H RR	car float	4,304		1905
360	202552	Woodbury	Norfolk & Washington SB Co	ferry	857	177	Oct 1905	later Lackawanna 1907, to Delaware interests 1948, scrapped 1983
361	202704	Cranford	Central RR Co of New Jersey	ferry	1,197	191	Dec 1906	restaurant 1966, reefed off NJ 1981
362	202713	Somerville	Central RR Co of New Jersey	ferry	1,197	191	Jan 1906	scrapped 1965
363		Sunflower	US Lighthouse Service	tender	1,100	191	Mar 1907	sold 1947
364	163838	Silverthorne	Sun Oil. Co.	barge	191		1905
365	203052	Callahan	Norfolk & Washington SB Co	ferry	989	206	May 1906	later Hopatcong 1907, scrapped 1948
366	203246	Ashley	Central RR of NJ	tugboat	240	109	July 1906
367	203341	Bridgeton	Central RR of NJ	tugboat	240	109	July 1906
368	203401	Sea Bright	Central RR of NJ	tugboat	240	109	Aug 1906
369	203988	Relief	Merritt & Chapman	salvage tugboat	828	184	Jan 1907	scrapped 1953
370	203468	Babylon	Long Island RR Co	ferry	1,310	188	Aug 1906	later Tenafly 1921, scrapped 1946
371	203563	Hempstead	Long Island RR Co	ferry	1,310	188	Oct 1906	later Hackensack 1921, Islander 1945, scrapped 1957
372		No. 35	Central RR of NJ	car float	850		1906
373		No. 36	Central RR of NJ	car float	850		1906
374		No. 37	Central RR of NJ	car float	850		1906
375	203847	El Toro	Southern Pacific Co.	tugboat	266	81	Mar 1907
376	203846	El Chico	Southern Pacific Co.	tugboat	152	81	Feb 1907
377	203811	Delaware	Clyde SS Co	freighter	1,907	250	Jan 1907	scrapped 1935
378	203925	Pawnee	Clyde SS Co	freighter	1,908	250	Mar 1907	later Pan Orleans 1940, Ascona 1948, scrapped 1959
379	204213	Bay Ridge	City of NY	ferry	862	182	July 1907	later Rappahannock River 1941, scrapped 1948
380	204339	Gowanus	City of NY	ferry	862	182	Aug 1907	burned 1939
381	204561	Nassau	City of NY	ferry	862	182	July 1907	burned 1939
382	204445	St. Helens	E. J. Dodge Co	freighter	1,497	224	Aug 1907	torpedoed and lost 1917
383	204444	Olson & Mahony	Olson & Mahony	freighter	1,497	224	Aug 1907	later Providencia 1916, Santa Agueda 1940, Rivadavia 1947, barge 1956
384		No. 38	Central RR of NJ	car float	850		Aug 1907
385		No. 39	Central RR of NJ	car float	850		Aug 1907
386		No. 40	Central RR of NJ	car float	850		Sep 1907
387		Elevator No. 2	Girard Point Storage Co.	Grain Elevator			Sep 1908
388	205859	Bayonne	Central RR of NJ	barge	325	100	Nov 1908
389	205883	Easton	Central RR of NJ	barge	325	100	Dec 1908
390	205898	Keyport	Central RR of NJ	barge	325	100	Dec 1908
391	205916	Westfield	Central RR of NJ	barge	325	100	Dec 1908
392	206082	New London	Central Vermont Tptn Co	passenger freighter	2,818	278	June 1909	scrapped 1947
393	206239	New York	Central Vermont Tptn Co	passenger freighter	2,818	278	June 1909	scrapped 1947
394	206271	Georgianna II	Alfred L. Ainscow	yacht	28		1909
395	207201	City of Philadelphia	Wilm SB Co	passenger freighter	731	193	Apr 1910	later Liberty Belle 1938, Asbury Park 1947, Tolchester 1949, Freestone 1957, Potomac 1961, scrapped 1974
396	207202	City of Wilmington	Wilm SB Co	passenger freighter	749	193	Apr 1910	later Bay Belle 1944, Duchess 1990, deleted 1976, sank 1991
397	207282	North Land	Maine SS Co Inc	passenger freighter	3,282	304	Apr 1910	scrapped 1934
398		No. 41	Central RR of NJ	car float	850		Dec 1910
399		No. 42	Central RR of NJ	car float	850		Dec 1910
400		Ellicott Dredge No. 1	Ellicott Machine Corporation	dredge	570		Mar 1910
401		No. 167N	Balto & Ohio R.R. Co.	car float	850		May 1910
402		No. 168N	Balto & Ohio R.R. Co.	car float	850		May 1910
403	164503	Paulus	Del River Lightering	freight barge	121		June 1910
404		No. 400	Lehigh Valley R R Co.	car float	745		1911
405		No. 401	Lehigh Valley R R Co.	car float	745		1911
406	208448	Benjamin B. Odell	Central Hudson SB Co	passenger freighter	2,011	264	June 1911	burned 1937
407	208377	Northland	Norfolk & Washington SB Co	passenger freighter	2,055	291	Mar 1911	later Leyden 1944, Hung Chong 1947, scrapped 1955
408	208271	Pure Oil Co. No. 5	Pure Oil Co.	tank barge	223		Dec 1910
409		No. 43	Central RR of NJ	car float	850		1911
410		No. 44	Central RR of NJ	car float	850		1911
411	208674	Westfield	Central RR of NJ	ferry	1,238	192	June 1911	scrapped 1955
412	209655	California/Cordova	Alaska SS Co	passenger freighter	2,273	243	Mar 1912	later Lee Kung 1947, Cordova 1949, scrapped 1951
413	209822	Rose Standish	Nantasket Beach SB Co	passenger freighter	993	205	May 1912	burned 1929
414	209908	Henry Williams	Baltimore & Carolina SS Co	freighter	1,861	239	June 1912	later Constable Hook 1916, Margarcia 1917, Grace 1917, torpedoed and lost 1917
415	210291	Columbia	Wilson Bros & Co	freighter	1,923	239	July 1912	wrecked 1924
416	210767	John A. Hooper	Sudden & Christensen	freighter	2,244	203	Nov 1912	later Santa Alicia 1917, Edna Christenson 1922, Kwang Yuan 1937, Edna 1941, Hu Kiang 1946, wrecked 1947
417	210585	Mauch Chunk	Central RR of NJ	barge	287		Sep 1912	later Limpet 1915, T.I.C.Limpet 1922, Disperser 1937, scrapped 1953
418	210760	Germantown	Reading Co	tugboat	619	158	Dec 1912	scrapped 1936
419	210869	Oliver J. Olson	Olson & Mahony	freighter	1,881	239	Jan 1913	later El Capitan 1917, Lakina 1926, Ping Hsing 1947, Norbay 1950, Osco 1951, scrapped 1952
420	211533	Narragansett	Central Vermont Tptn Co	passenger freighter	3,539	320	Sep 1913	later Richelieu 1923, Passenger No. 3 1966, scrapped 1966
421	211734	Manhattan	Central Vermont Tptn Co	passenger freighter	3,539	320	Oct 1913	later Nopatin 1918, De Witt Clinton 1929, Col. Frederick C. Johnson 1942, Galilah 1948, scrapped 1953
422	211559	Bayonne	Central RR of NJ	ferry	1,344	183	Aug 1913	scrapped 1947
423		No. 45	Central RR of NJ	car float	850		1913
424		No. 46	Central RR of NJ	car float	850		1913
425	211805	Bridgeton	Phila & Camden Ferry Co	ferry	774	143	Dec 1913	scrapped 1952
426	211806	Salem	Phila & Camden Ferry Co	ferry	774	143	Dec 1913	scrapped 1951
427			Lehigh Valley R R Co.	car float	745		1913
428		No. 47	Central RR of NJ	car float	850		1913
429	212140	Delaware	Del River Ferry Co of NJ	ferry	807	140	1914	later Atlantic City 1922, scrapped 1952
430	212235	Hanover		ferry	466		1914
431	170191	Commonwealth		barge	258		1914
432	212806	Weehawken	NY Central RR Co	ferry	1,402	187	Nov 1914	foundered 1965
433	212805	Francis Hanify	J. R. Hanify Co	tanker	2,588	294	Nov 1914	later Freeport Sulphur No. 1 1918, Riva Sarda 1927, Alberto Fassio 1936, mined and lost 1943
434	213752	Silver Shell	Shell Co of California	tanker	5,836	412	Dec 1915	later Soli 1930, bombed and beached 1942, scrapped 1952
435	213165	Marion	Bethlehem Steel Co.	ferry	146	108	June 1915
436	165874	Pyrrhus	Commercial Co.	barge	283	146	Mar 1915
437	213873	Gold Shell	Shell Co of California	tanker	5,614	412	Feb 1916	later Willy 1929, Itamaraty 1942, exploded 1949 and scrapped
438	213656	Fort Lee	Riverside & Fort Lee Ferry Co.	ferry	1,080	177	Oct 1915	to Norfolk interests 1944, scrapped 1950
439	213752	Pearl Shell	Shell Co of California Inc	tanker	5,845	412	Dec 1916	scrapped 1932
440	214161	George E. Paddleford	Petroleum Tpt Co	tanker	4,788	392	June 1916	later Oscar D. Bennett 1921, Henry M. Dawes 1932, Ionian Pioneer 1948, scrapped 1953
441	215002	Benjamin Brewster	Standard Oil Co	tanker	5,580	412	May 1917	torpedoed and lost 1942
3442	215856	W. H. Tilford	Standard Oil Co	tanker	5,673	412	Dec 1917	scrapped 1936
3443	214055	City of Camden	Wilmington SB Co	passenger	730	193	May 1916	later Mount Vernon 1940, Charles S. Zimmerman 1969, River Princess 1987
3444	214587	Georgeanna Weems	Baltimore & Carolina SS Co	freighter	2,089	242	Nov 1916	later Georgeanna 1931, scrapped 1951
3445	216608	J. A. Bostwick	Standard Oil/USSB	tanker	12,650	465	5 Aug 2018	later Cities Service Toledo 1929, torpedoed and lost 1942
3446	216770	O. T. Waring	Standard Oil/USSB	tanker	12,650	465	24 Sep 2018	later Maturines 1935, scrapped 1949
3447	214160	Georgiana III	William G. Coxe	yacht	82	93	July 1916	later Whitemarsh, Rosinco, wrecked off Kenosha WI 1928
3448	215362	Olean	Vacuum Oil	tanker	5,025	299	23 Jun 2017	later C. A. Snider 1919, T. A. D. Jones 1929, Neti 1937, Ucayali 1937, El Cholo 1960, scrapped 1962
3449	217130	Charles M. Everest	Vacuum Oil/USSB	tanker	8,650	412	13 Dec 2018	later Naeco 1933, torpedoed and lost 1942
3450	217676	Cabrille	USSB	tanker	7,500	328	July 1919	later Chilbar 1927, scrapped 1947
3451	218003	Romulus	USSB	tanker	7,500	328	July 1919	later Spencer Kellogg 1929, Rawleigh Warner 1945, scrapped 1955
3452	215269	Stony Point	NY Central RR Co	ferry	1,391	196	June 1917	scrapped 1963
3453	215965	Saetia	United Fruit/USSB	freighter	2,873	309	Feb 1918	sunk by a mine 1918
3454	216079	Guaro	United Fruit/USSB	freighter	2,873	309	Apr 1918	later Isabel Weems 1926, Guaro 1936, scrapped 1937
3455	216402	Biran	United Fruit/USSB	freighter	2,873	309	June 1918	later Dorothy 1924, in collision and sank 1929
3456	216488	Pilon/Garibaldi	United Fruit/USSB	freighter	2,873	309	June 1918	later Catherine Weems 1926, Fairfield 1928, Hallfried 1939, torpedoed and lost 1943
3457	217134	Tipton	United Fruit/USSB	freighter	2,873	309	Nov 1918	later Esther Weems 1923, Admiral Benson 1927, wrecked 1930
3458	217399	Norma	United Fruit/USSB	freighter	2,873	309	Dec 1918	later Northern Sword 1942, in collision and lost 1943
3459	220371	Benwood/Gold Star	USSB	freighter	4,871	392	July 1919	later Arcturus (AK-12) 1921, Gold Star (AG-12) 1922, scrapped 1947
3460	220644	Benclair/Glenora	USSB	freighter	4,980	392	Sep 1919	later Regulus (AK-14) 1921, scrapped 1947
3461	220819	Bencarnot/Natirar	USSB	freighter	4,659	392	Dec 1919	torpedoed and lost 1943
3462	218983	Benbrook/Salem County	USSB	tanker	5,102	392	Oct 1919	later Galena 1923, Arizona 1929, scrapped 1950
3463	218816	Muskegot/Delco	USSB	freighter	3,170	328	Sep 1919	later Domino 1922, scrapped 1950
3464	219174	Siasconset/Bethnor	USSB	freighter	3,482	328	Nov 1919	later Irene 1922, Nidarholm 1939, torpedoed and lost 1942
3465	219322	Macomet	USSB	freighter	3,483	328	Dec 1919	later Elizabeth 1922, wrecked 1935
3466	219715	Sames/Mason City	USSB	freighter	3,483	328	Apr 1920	later Ellenor 1922, Marcella 1946, wrecked 1958
3467	219716	Maddequet	USSB	freighter	3,482	328	May 1920	later Lillian 1922, in collision and sank 1939
3468		Nanquitt	USSB	freighter				transferred to Elizabethport
3469		Nanshun	USSB	freighter				transferred to Elizabethport
3470	219636	Weweantic/Liberty Minquas	USSB	tanker	5,056	392	Mar 1920	later Republic 1923, torpedoed and lost 1942
3471	219919	Kehuku	USSB	tanker	5,107	392	June 1920	later Chiloil 1926, scrapped 1947
3472	220686	Kekoskee	USSB	tanker	5,124	392	Oct 1920	later Santa Rita 1948, scrapped 1955
3473	220907	Eugene V. R. Thayer	USSB	tanker	7,138	430	Dec 1920	shelled and lost 1942
3474	221038	Albert E. Watts	Sinclair Refining	tanker	7,138	438	Feb 1921	later L. V. Stanford 1941, Sandrift 1953, scrapped 1955
3475	221107	E. R. Kemp	Sinclair Refining	tanker	4,887	375	Mar 1921	scrapped 1950
3476	221210	E. W. Sinclair	Sinclair Refining	tanker	4,887	375	Apr 1921	later Daniel Pierce 1941, Shikellamy 1943, Daniel Pierce 1946, beached 1964
3477	221897	R. D. Leonard	Atlantic Refining	tanker	1,778	266	Feb 1922	scrapped 1947
3478	222692	Goodwill	Keith Spalding	yacht	312		Dec 1922
3479			Bush Terminal	car float			Dec 1922
3480		No. 41	Bush Terminal	car float			1923
3481		No. 42	Bush Terminal	car float			July 1923
3482		No. 117	Balto & Ohio R.R. Co.	car float			Mar 1923
3483	223272	Moby Dick	F. S. Fish	yacht	198		Nov 1923
3484			USACE	barge			Aug 1923
3485			USACE	barge			Aug 1923
3486			USACE	barge			Aug 1923
3487			USACE	barge			Feb 1924
3488			USACE	barge			Feb 1924
3489			USACE	barge			May 1924
3490		No. 48	Central RR of NJ	car float	850		Aug 1924
3491		No. 49	Central RR of NJ	car float	850		Aug 1924
3492	169125	No. 3724	Erie R R Co.	car float	1,052	325	Nov 1924
3493	169126	No. 3824	Erie R R Co.	car float	1,052	325	Dec 1924
3494		No. 43	Bush Terminal	car float			Nov 1924
3495		No. 44	Bush Terminal	car float			Jan 1925
3496	225257	Newton	Del, Lacka & Western RR Co.	tugboat	195		Oct 1925	(Hull only, subcontract from J.W. Sullivan of NY)
3497	225256	Stroudsburg	Del, Lacka & Western RR Co.	tugboat	195		Nov 1925	(Hull only, subcontract from J.W. Sullivan of NY) later Big Mama, reefed off NJ 1995
3498		D. L. & W. No. 34	Del, Lacka & Western RR Co.	car float	1,006		Aug 1925
3499		D. L. & W. No. 35	Del, Lacka & Western RR Co	car float	1,006		Aug 1925
3500	225465	Port Houston	Houston Port Authority	fireboat	284	118	June 1926
3501	225575	Cape May	Reading Co. Inc.	ferry	1,028	189	June 1926	scrapped 1965
3502	225813	Philadelphia	Reading Co. Inc.	ferry	1,028	189	1926	later Thomas N. McCarter 1936, Newport News 1943, beached 1967
3503		Mantua	USACE	dredge	250		Mar 1926
3504	226004	Fishers Island	Fisher's Island Nav. Co.	ferry	862	150	Aug 1926	later Col John E. Baxter 1942, Fisher's Island 1957, Block Island 1960, Americana 1988, Lucian Queen 1991, scrapped in 1990s
3505		LIRR No. 20	Long Island R.R. Co.	car float			Aug 1926
3506		LIRR No. 21	Long Island R.R. Co.	car float			Nov 1926
3507		No. 9	USACE	barge	44		Oct 1926
3508		Oil Barge No. 5	USACE	barge			Oct 1926
3509		derrick Boat No. 5	USACE	barge			Oct 1926
3510		Southern No. 28	Southern Tptn Co.	car float			Nov 1926
	169569	Seaboard No. 25	Seaboard Shipping Corp.	scow	329	115	1926
3511	169610	Seaboard No. 55	Seaboard Shipping Corp.	tank barge	650	170	Dec 1926