Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company

Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company was a shipbuilding enterprise based in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, on Lake Michigan. Established in 1902 through the purchase of the Burger & Burger Shipyard, a predecessor associated with The Burger Boat Company, it became one of the significant shipbuilders serving the Great Lakes and the wider United States maritime economy. Its early and interwar work centered on steel ferries, ore carriers, cargo ships, scows, tugboats, barges, dredges, and other working vessels suited to inland and coastal transportation. The company’s importance expanded during the two world wars. During World War I and the postwar period, it built cargo ships under United States Shipping Board contracts, including vessels in the Design 1044 series. It also produced patrol craft and other specialized vessels for public agencies and commercial operators. Notable later projects included the 1934 presidential yacht USS Potomac, a large floating drydock completed in 1947, and substantial Great Lakes vessels such as MV Saginaw and SS Edward L. Ryerson. Manitowoc’s defining industrial achievement came during World War II. In 1939, company president Charles C. West proposed that the yard build destroyers that could be transported inland through the Chicago River, the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, the Illinois River, and the Mississippi River. The United States Navy evaluated the proposal and concluded that the site was better suited to submarine construction. Manitowoc had no previous submarine-building experience, but it was selected as a follow yard to Electric Boat and received an initial contract for ten fleet submarines in September 1940. The submarine program required an unusual logistics solution. The vessels had to pass beneath bridges and through shallow sections of the inland waterway system. Their masts and other upper fittings were removed for transit, and submarines were moved in a floating drydock through restricted sections, including the Chain of Rocks Channel. Components were reinstalled after the boats reached deeper water near New Orleans. Despite the technical and logistical challenges, the yard completed its first submarine 228 days ahead of the contractual delivery date. The program ultimately produced 28 fleet submarines, including boats of the Gato and Balao classes, for less than the contract price. Several Manitowoc-built submarines achieved notable wartime records in Pacific operations. The yard also built 36 Landing Craft Tank vessels, designated LCT(5) 1 through LCT(5) 36. Many participated in the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944, although nine of the Manitowoc-built craft were lost in action. In addition, the wartime facility produced self-propelled fuel barges known as YOs and other landing and support craft. Employment reached approximately 7,000 during the military production peak. After 1945, Manitowoc returned primarily to commercial and municipal marine construction, including ships, barges, dredges, and other vessels in the roughly 150-to-649-deadweight-ton range. The company remained part of the industrial maritime landscape of the Great Lakes, but changing market conditions and corporate strategy eventually brought the Manitowoc yard’s shipbuilding activities to an end. The yard closed in the late 1960s; The Manitowoc Company acquired Bay Shipbuilding Company in Sturgeon Bay and transferred its shipbuilding operation there. The Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company therefore survives chiefly through its vessels, wartime production record, and role in the development of Wisconsin shipbuilding rather than as an active brand.

Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company was founded in 1902 when the Manitowoc operation acquired the Burger & Burger Shipyard, an earlier yard connected with the Burger boatbuilding tradition. Its location on Lake Michigan gave it access to the Great Lakes commercial network and positioned it to serve operators requiring durable steel vessels for bulk cargo, passenger transport, towing, dredging, and harbor work. During its first decades, the yard concentrated on ferries, ore haulers, cargo vessels, and other working ships rather than luxury or blue-water naval construction. World War I expanded the yard’s government-related work. Between 1917 and 1920, it built cargo ships for the United States Shipping Board, including Design 1044 vessels. Several ships constructed in this broader period later entered military, governmental, or commercial service. In the years after World War I, Manitowoc diversified into scows, tugboats, barges, ferries, dredges, patrol boats, and other specialized craft. The yard also built three patrol boats for the United States Coast Guard and constructed USS Potomac, launched in 1934 as the presidential yacht of Franklin D. Roosevelt. The company’s largest technological transition occurred immediately before World War II. In 1939, President Charles C. West approached the Bureau of Construction and Repair with a proposal to build destroyers at Manitowoc and move them through the inland waterways to the Gulf of Mexico. The Navy rejected destroyer construction at the site in favor of submarines after surveying the yard and considering the transportation route. Manitowoc received a contract for ten submarines on September 9, 1940. Submarine construction was unprecedented for the yard and demanded both manufacturing discipline and innovative transportation planning. Electric Boat supplied the design basis, making Manitowoc a follow yard rather than an independent submarine-design center. The vessels had to navigate a route containing bridges, shallow channels, and the difficult Chain of Rocks Channel near the meeting of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. A floating drydock was used to carry submarines through sections where their draft exceeded available depth. Periscopes, radar masts, and other upper structures were removed for passage beneath bridges and reinstalled after the submarines reached deep water near New Orleans. Manitowoc completed its first submarine 228 days before its contractual due date. Additional Navy orders followed, and the yard completed 28 fleet submarines. Four boats initially associated with Balao-class hull-number ranges were completed as Gato-class vessels because of delays in the availability of Balao-class drawings. Manitowoc’s submarines served in the Pacific, where several recorded substantial wartime sinkings and patrol activity. The complete program was reportedly delivered for $5,190,681 below the contract price. The wartime workforce grew to approximately 7,000 employees. Alongside submarines, Manitowoc constructed 36 LCT(5) Landing Craft Tank vessels. These 114-foot amphibious craft carried tanks and other heavy loads from ship to shore, and many were used during the Normandy invasion from June 6 to June 25, 1944. Nine of the 36 Manitowoc-built LCTs were lost in action. The yard also produced self-propelled fuel barges known as YOs and other support craft required by the expanding naval fleet. Following the war, the company resumed a more varied commercial program. It built ships, barges, and dredges generally ranging from about 150 to 649 deadweight tons, and in 1947 it completed a 900-ton floating drydock for Buffalo, New York. Later notable vessels included MV Saginaw, completed in 1953, and SS Edward L. Ryerson, completed in 1960. These projects reflected the yard’s continuing role in Great Lakes bulk transportation and industrial marine infrastructure. The Manitowoc yard eventually ceased operations in the late 1960s. The commonly cited closure date is 1968, although some summaries describe the wider postwar shipbuilding activity as continuing into the early 1970s. The Manitowoc Company subsequently acquired Bay Shipbuilding Company at Sturgeon Bay and moved its shipbuilding operation there. The original Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company is consequently a defunct shipbuilding brand whose historical significance rests on Great Lakes production, wartime employment, the construction of 28 submarines, and its contribution to amphibious and naval logistics.

1. 1968Manitowoc yard closes

   The Manitowoc shipyard closed, after which The Manitowoc Company shifted shipbuilding activity to Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay.

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2. 1960SS Edward L. Ryerson completed

   The company delivered SS Edward L. Ryerson, a notable later Great Lakes vessel.

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3. 1953MV Saginaw completed

   The yard completed MV Saginaw as part of its postwar Great Lakes production.

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4. 1947Large floating drydock completed

   The company built a 900-ton floating drydock for Buffalo, New York.

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5. 1944Landing craft production supports Normandy operations

   Manitowoc-built Landing Craft Tank vessels were among the craft used in the Normandy invasion period.

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6. 1942First Manitowoc-built submarines launched

   The yard launched its first group of Gato-class submarines, including USS Peto, USS Pogy, USS Pompon, and USS Puffer.

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7. 1940Initial submarine contract awarded

   The Navy awarded Manitowoc a contract for ten submarines on September 9.

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8. 1939Submarine-building proposal submitted

   President Charles C. West proposed naval construction at Manitowoc and outlined an inland-waterway transportation plan.

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9. 1934USS Potomac completed

   The yard built USS Potomac, a presidential yacht later associated with Franklin D. Roosevelt.

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10. 1917United States Shipping Board cargo-ship work begins

    The yard began building cargo ships under United States Shipping Board contracts during World War I.

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11. 1902Shipyard established

    The company was formed through the purchase of the Burger & Burger Shipyard in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

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A heavy industrial shipyard serving Great Lakes commerce, government customers, and wartime naval production, with particular distinction for innovative inland delivery of ocean-going submarines.

• Great Lakes commercial vesselsCommercial shipbuilding1902

  The yard’s core commercial output included steel ferries, ore haulers, cargo ships, tugboats, barges, scows, and dredges. These vessels supported bulk-material transport, passenger movement, harbor operations, and industrial maintenance across the Great Lakes and connected waterways. The work established Manitowoc as a regional builder of practical, durable vessels rather than a narrowly specialized naval contractor.

• Fleet submarinesNaval shipbuilding1942

  During World War II, Manitowoc built 28 fleet submarines as a follow yard to Electric Boat. The program included Gato-class boats and boats completed in the Balao-class hull-number range but finished to Gato-class specifications because of drawing availability. Construction was paired with an unusual inland transportation system using a floating drydock and temporary removal of masts and other fittings.

• LCT(5) Landing Craft TankAmphibious warfare craft1943

  Manitowoc built 36 LCT(5) Landing Craft Tank vessels, numbered LCT(5) 1 through LCT(5) 36 rather than given individual names. Designed to carry heavy vehicles and cargo from larger ships to shore, the craft were approximately 114 feet long and were used in World War II operations, including the Normandy invasion. Nine of the Manitowoc-built craft were lost in action.

• Self-propelled fuel barges (YOs)Naval support vessels

  The company constructed self-propelled fuel barges known as YOs for wartime naval logistics. These vessels formed part of the support infrastructure needed to supply combat ships and bases, complementing the yard’s submarine and landing-craft production.

• USS Potomac (AG-25)Government and presidential vessel1934

  Completed in 1934, USS Potomac was a notable noncommercial project from the yard. The vessel served as the presidential yacht associated with Franklin D. Roosevelt and is one of the best-known individual ships built by Manitowoc before its World War II naval expansion.

• Floating drydocksMarine infrastructure1947

  Manitowoc built floating drydocks for ship maintenance and construction support. A 900-ton drydock delivered to Buffalo in 1947 demonstrated the yard’s ability to produce large marine infrastructure in addition to self-propelled vessels.

• 1968Closure and transfer of shipbuilding operationsStrategy

  The original Manitowoc yard ended operations after decades of commercial and naval shipbuilding.

  What changed. The Manitowoc Company acquired Bay Shipbuilding Company in Sturgeon Bay and moved its shipbuilding operation there.

  Aftermath. The original Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company became a defunct historical brand, while shipbuilding continued under the successor Sturgeon Bay operation.

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• 1939Proposed naval construction and inland submarine transportStrategy

  The company sought to enter major naval production by proposing destroyer construction at Manitowoc and transportation through the Midwest waterway system to the Gulf of Mexico.

  What changed. After reviewing the site and route, the Navy redirected the proposal toward submarine construction. Manitowoc accepted the resulting role as a follow yard to Electric Boat.

  Aftermath. The decision produced the company’s most important wartime program: 28 fleet submarines built through an innovative floating-drydock transportation process.

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1. Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company