List of ship launches in 1944
April
Table:
Date

Ship

Country

Builder

Location

Class / type

Notes

1 April

El Salvador Victory

United States

Oregon Shipbuilding Company

Portland

Victory ship

2 April

Nelson Aldrich

United States

Walsh-Kaiser Company

Providence, Rhode Island

Liberty ship

3 April

Louis Sloss

United States

Permanente Metals, #2 Yard

Richmond, California

Liberty ship

3 April

Panama Victory

United States

California Shipbuilding Corporation

Los Angeles

Victory ship

3 April

Samdauntless

United States

Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyards

Baltimore

Liberty ship

4 April

Henry M. Robert

United States

Todd Houston Shipbuilding Corporation

Houston, Texas

Liberty ship

4 April

Josephine Shaw Lowell

United States

J. A. Jones Construction Company

Panama City, Florida

Liberty ship

4 April

Samadre

United States

New England Shipbuilding Company

South Portland, Maine

Liberty ship

4 April

Toussaint L'Ouverture

United States

Permanente Metals, #2 Yard

Richmond, California

Liberty ship

5 April

Andrew Stevenson

United States

Delta Shipbuilding Company

New Orleans

Liberty ship

5 April

Charles Dauray

United States

New England Shipbuilding Company

South Portland, Maine

Liberty ship

5 April

Elijah Kellogg

United States

New England Shipbuilding Company

South Portland, Maine

Liberty ship

5 April

Lawrence J. Brengle

United States

Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyards

Baltimore

Liberty ship

5 April

Louis Sullivan

United States

Permanente Metals, #2 Yard

Richmond, California

Liberty ship

5 April

Makin Island

United States

Kaiser Shipyards

Vancouver, Washington

Template:Sclass-

Converted S4 merchant hull

6 April

Dominican Victory

United States

Oregon Shipbuilding Company

Portland

Victory ship

6 April

Edward A. Filene

United States

St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company

Jacksonville, Florida

Liberty ship

7 April

Lucien Labaudt

United States

Permanente Metals, #2 Yard

Richmond, California

Liberty ship

7 April

Peter Lassen

United States

California Shipbuilding Corporation

Los Angeles

Liberty ship

8 April

Seize

United States

Basalt Rock Company

Napa, California

Template:Sclass-

From the provided table as well as the textual context provided at the end.

State the answer to the question: What is the class/type of the ship whose location was founded in 1718 by French colonists ? Respond with the correct answer (omit explanations) in JSON format as {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}. Base your answer solely on the given information.

The United States of America ( USA ) , commonly known as the United States ( U.S. or US ) or America , is a country consisting of 50 states , a federal district , five major self-governing territories , and various possessions . [ g ] At 3.8 million square miles ( 9.8 million km2 ) , it is the world 's third or fourth-largest country by total area [ b ] and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe . Most of the country is located in central North America between Canada and Mexico . With an estimated population of over 328 million , the U.S. is the third most populous country in the world . The capital is Washington , D.C. , and the most populous city is New York City . Paleo-Indians migrated from Siberia to the North American mainland at least 12,000 years ago . European colonization began in the 16th century . The United States emerged from the thirteen British colonies established along the East Coast . Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the colonies led to the American Revolutionary War lasting between 1775 and 1783 , leading to independence . The United States embarked on a vigorous expansion across North America throughout the 19th century - gradually acquiring new territories , displacing Native Americans , and admitting new states - until by 1848 it spanned the continent . During the second half of the 19th century , the American Civil War led to the abolition of slavery in the United States . The Spanish-American War and World War I confirmed the country 's status as a global military power .
Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation was a World War II emergency shipyard located along the Willamette River in Portland , Oregon , United States . The shipyard built nearly 600 Liberty and Victory ships between 1941 and 1945 under the Emergency Shipbuilding program . It was closed after the war ended . The shipyard , one of three Kaiser Shipyards in the area , was in the St. Johns neighborhood of North Portland . The two others were the Swan Island Shipyard , located several miles upriver on Swan Island ; and the Vancouver Shipyard , located across the Columbia River from Portland in Vancouver , Washington . Among the ships built by Oregon Shipbuilding was the Star of Oregon , which was launched on Liberty Fleet Day , September 27 , 1941 . The rapid expansion of Portland area shipyards during World War II and contraction afterward caused similar expansion and contraction of the population of Vanport City , Oregon , which was also built by Henry J. Kaiser to house the workers of the three area shipyards . The former site of Oregon Shipbuilding in St. Johns is now Schnitzer Steel Industries .
Portland ( /ˈpɔːrtlənd/ ; PORT-lənd ) is the largest and most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Multnomah County . It is a major port in the Willamette Valley region of the Pacific Northwest , at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers . As of 2018 , Portland had an estimated population of 653,115 , making it the 25th most populated city in the United States , and the second-most populous in the Pacific Northwest after Seattle . Approximately 2.4 million people live in the Portland metropolitan statistical area ( MSA ) , making it the 25th most populous in the United States . Its combined statistical area ( CSA ) ranks 19th-largest with a population of around 3.2 million . Approximately 60% of Oregon 's population resides within the Portland metropolitan area . [ a ] Named after Portland , Maine , the Oregon settlement began to be populated in the 1830s near the end of the Oregon Trail . Its water access provided convenient transportation of goods , and the timber industry was a major force in the city 's early economy . At the turn of the 20th century , the city had a reputation as one of the most dangerous port cities in the world , a hub for organized crime and racketeering . After the city 's economy experienced an industrial boom during World War II , its hard-edged reputation began to dissipate . Beginning in the 1960s , Portland became noted for its growing progressive political values , earning it a reputation as a bastion of counterculture . The city operates with a commission-based government guided by a mayor and four commissioners as well as Metro , the only directly elected metropolitan planning organization in the United States .
The Victory ship was a class of cargo ship produced in large numbers by North American shipyards during World War II to replace losses caused by German submarines . They were a more modern design compared to the earlier Liberty ship , were slightly larger and had more powerful steam turbine engines giving higher speed to allow participation in high speed convoys and make them more difficult targets for German U-boats . A total of 531 Victory ships were built .
Walsh-Kaiser Co. , Inc. was a shipyard in both Cranston and Providence , Rhode Island . It was built during World War II and financed by the Maritime Commission as part of the country 's Emergency Shipbuilding Program . It was originally operated by Rheem Manufacturing , a company with no previous shipbuilding expertise . When Rheem had difficulty managing the yard , Kaiser Shipyards was retained to manage the operation .
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the state of Rhode Island and is one of the oldest cities in the United States . It was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams , a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony . He named the area in honor of God 's merciful Providence which he believed was responsible for revealing such a haven for him and his followers . The city is situated at the mouth of the Providence River at the head of Narragansett Bay . Providence was one of the first cities in the country to industrialize and became noted for its textile manufacturing and subsequent machine tool , jewelry , and silverware industries . Today , the city of Providence is home to eight hospitals and seven institutions of higher learning which have shifted the city 's economy into service industries , though it still retains some manufacturing activity . The city is the third most populous city in New England after Boston and Worcester , Massachusetts .
Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II . Though British in concept , the design was adapted by the United States for its simple , low-cost construction . Mass-produced on an unprecedented scale , the Liberty ship came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output . The class was developed to meet British orders for transports to replace ships that had been lost . Eighteen American shipyards built 2,710 Liberty ships between 1941 and 1945 ( an average of three ships every two days ) , easily the largest number of ships ever produced to a single design . Their production mirrored ( albeit on a much larger scale ) the manufacture of Hog Islander and similar standardized ship types during World War I . The immensity of the effort , the number of ships built , the role of female workers in their construction , and the survival of some far longer than their original five-year design life combine to make them the subject of much continued interest .
Permanente Metals Corporation ( PMC ) is best known for having managed the Richmond Shipyards in Richmond , California , owned by one of industrialist Henry J. Kaiser 's many corporations , and also engaged in related corporate activities . These four of the seven west coast Kaiser Shipyards were known for their construction of Liberty ships and later Victory ships . The company was originally a major producer of magnesium during World War II and derives its name from the Permanente Creek in Santa Clara County , California where mining operations commenced in the early 1930s . To make use of its major product , powdered magnesium , PMC also developed and supplied an incendiary bomb mixture of magnesium powder , asphalt , gasoline and others components ( known as goop , with similar characteristics to napalm ) ; 17,000 short tons of goop-filled bombs were used in World War II ( approximately eight percent of the total tonnage of incendiaries that were dropped during that conflict ) . Permanente ranked 42nd among United States corporations in the value of World War II military production contracts .
The four Richmond Shipyards , located in the city of Richmond , California , United States , were run by Permanente Metals and part of the Kaiser Shipyards . During World War II , Richmond built more ships than any other shipyard , turning out as many as three ships in a single day . The shipyards are part of the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park , whose the Rosie the Riveter memorial sits on the former grounds of Shipyard # 2 . Shipyard # 3 is listed on the National Register of Historic Places .
Richmond ( /ˈrɪtʃmənd/ ) is a city in western Contra Costa County , California , United States . The city was incorporated on August 7 , 1905 and has a city council . Located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area , Richmond borders the cities of San Pablo , Albany , El Cerrito and Pinole in addition to the unincorporated communities of North Richmond , Hasford Heights , Kensington , El Sobrante , Bayview-Montalvin Manor , Tara Hills , and East Richmond Heights , and for a short distance San Francisco on Red Rock Island in the San Francisco Bay . Richmond is one of two cities , the other being San Rafael , California , that sits on the shores of San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay simultaneously . During the mayoralty of Gayle McLaughlin , Richmond was the largest city in the United States served by a Green Party mayor . As of the 2010 U.S. Census , the city 's population is at 103,710 , making it the second largest city in the United States named Richmond . The largest , Richmond , Virginia , is the namesake of the California city .
The SS Panama Victory was a Victory ship built during World War II . She was launched by the California Shipbuilding Company on April 3 , 1944 and completed on May 30 , 1944 . She was built in 115 days under the Emergency Shipbuilding program . The ships United States Maritime Commission designation was VC2-S-AP3 , hull number 9 ( V-9 ) . SS Panama Victory served in the Pacific Ocean during World War II . SS Panama Victory was ninth of the new 10,500-ton class ship to be known as Victory ships . Victory ships were designed to replace the earlier Liberty Ships . Liberty ships were designed to be used just for WW2 . Victory ships were designed to last longer and serve the US Navy after the war . The Victory ship differed from a Liberty ship in that they were : faster , longer and wider , taller , had a thinner stack set farther toward the superstructure and had a long raised forecastle . Engine was made by Joshua Hendy Iron Works Inc. of Sunnyvale , California . SS Panama Victory was christened on April 03 , 1944 by Mrs. Jimenez wife of ambassador Don Enrique A. Jimenez of Panama .
California Shipbuilding Corporation built 467 Liberty and Victory ships during World War II , including Haskell-class attack transports . California Shipbuilding Corporation was often referred to as Calship . The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships sometimes refers to this shipyard as California Shipbuilding Co. , but Co [ mpany ] appears to be an error . The Calship shipyard was created at Terminal Island in Los Angeles , California , United States as part of America 's massive shipbuilding effort of World War II . W. A. Bechtel Co. was given sponsorship and executive direction of Calship . As of 1940 , Los Angeles shipyards had not built a large ship in 20 years . By late 1941 though , shipbuilding had become the second largest manufacturing industry in the Los Angeles area . Calship was created from scratch and began production of Liberty Ships in May 1941 . In the early 1940s , contracts from the U.S.Department of Maritime Commission and a number of U.S. Navy contracts led to prosperity shipbuilding business in Los Angeles . The yard was located on 175 acres on the north side of Terminal Island , north of Dock Street , near present-day berths 210-213 . It initially had 8 ways , and later increased this to 14 . 40,000 men and women worked under the military contract to construction of 467 vessels over 5 years .
Los Angeles ( /lɔːs ˈændʒələs/ ( listen ) ; [ a ] Spanish : Los Ángeles ; Spanish for The Angels ) , officially the City of Los Angeles and often known by its initials L.A. , is the most populous city in California ; the second most populous city in the United States , after New York City ; and the third most populous city in North America , after Mexico City and New York City . With an estimated population of nearly four million people , Los Angeles is the cultural , financial , and commercial center of Southern California . The city is known for its Mediterranean climate , ethnic diversity , Hollywood , the entertainment industry , and its sprawling metropolis . Los Angeles lies in a basin in Southern California , adjacent to the Pacific Ocean , with mountains as high as 10,000 feet ( 3,000 m ) , and deserts . The city , which covers about 469 square miles ( 1,210 km2 ) , is the seat of Los Angeles County , the most populous county in the United States . The Los Angeles metropolitan area ( MSA ) is the second-largest metropolitan area in the nation with a population of 13.1 million people . Greater Los Angeles , which includes the metro area of Riverside and San Bernardino , is the nation 's second most populous combined statistical area , with a 2015 estimate of 18.7 million people . Historically home to the Chumash and Tongva , Los Angeles was claimed by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo for Spain in 1542 . The city was officially founded on September 4 , 1781 , by Spanish governor Felipe de Neve . It became a part of Mexico in 1821 following the Mexican War of Independence . In 1848 , at the end of the Mexican-American War , Los Angeles and the rest of California were purchased as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo , and thus became part of the United States . Los Angeles was incorporated as a municipality on April 4 , 1850 , five months before California achieved statehood .
Bethlehem Steel Corporation Shipbuilding Division was created in 1905 when the Bethlehem Steel Corporation of Bethlehem , Pennsylvania , acquired the San Francisco shipyard Union Iron Works . In 1917 it was incorporated as Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation , Limited . Headquarters were in Quincy , Massachusetts , after acquiring the Fore River Shipyard in 1913 , and later in Sparrows Point , Maryland , southeast of Baltimore , Maryland , in formerly rural/now suburban Baltimore County , ( acquired 1916 ) , in 1964 . In 1940 , it was number 1 of the Big Three U.S. shipbuilders who could build any ship . Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock and New York Shipbuilding Corporation ( New York Ship ) were # 2 and # 3 . Bethlehem had 4 yards in early 1940 : Fore River , Sparrows Point , San Francisco , and Staten Island . Bethlehem expanded during World War II as a result of the Emergency Shipbuilding program administered under the United States Maritime Commission . The Quincy / Fore River yard was later sold to General Dynamics Corporation in the mid-1960s , and closed in 1986 . The Alameda Works Shipyard in California was closed by Bethlehem Steel in the early 1970s , while the San Francisco facility ( former Union Iron Works ) was sold to British Aerospace in the mid-1990s and survives today as BAE Systems San Francisco Ship Repair . Bethlehem Steel ceased shipbuilding activities in 1997 in an attempt to preserve its core steel making operations .
Baltimore ( /ˈbɔːltɪmɔːr/ BAWL-tim-or , locally : /ˈbɔːlmər/ ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland , as well as the 30th most populous city in the United States , with a population of 602,495 in 2018 and also the largest such independent city in the country . Baltimore was established by the Constitution of Maryland as an independent city in 1729 . As of 2017 , the population of the Baltimore metropolitan area was estimated to be just under 2.802 million , making it the 21st largest metropolitan area in the country . Baltimore is located about 40 miles ( 64 km ) northeast of Washington , D.C. , making it a principal city in the Washington-Baltimore combined statistical area ( CSA ) , the fourth-largest CSA in the nation , with a calculated 2018 population of 9,797,063 . The city 's Inner Harbor was once the second leading port of entry for immigrants to the United States . In addition , Baltimore was a major manufacturing center . After a decline in major manufacturing , heavy industry , and restructuring of the rail industry , Baltimore has shifted to a service-oriented economy . Johns Hopkins Hospital ( founded 1889 ) and Johns Hopkins University ( founded 1876 ) are the city 's top two employers . With hundreds of identified districts , Baltimore has been dubbed a city of neighborhoods . Famous residents have included writers Edgar Allan Poe , Edith Hamilton , Frederick Douglass , W.E.B . Du Bois , Ogden Nash , Gertrude Stein , F. Scott Fitzgerald , Dashiell Hammett , Upton Sinclair , Tom Clancy , Ta-Nehisi Coates , and H. L. Mencken ; musicians James Eubie Blake , Billie Holiday , Cab Calloway , Tori Amos , Frank Zappa , Tupac Shakur , Dan Deacon , Robbie Basho , Bill Frisell , Philip Glass , Cass Elliot , and Ric Ocasek ; actors and filmmakers John Waters , Barry Levinson , Divine , David Hasselhoff , Don Messick , John Kassir , Jada Pinkett Smith , and Mo'Nique ; artist Jeff Koons ; baseball player Babe Ruth ; swimmer Michael Phelps ; radio host Ira Glass ; television host Mike Rowe ; Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall ; Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi ; and United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson . During the War of 1812 , Francis Scott Key wrote The Star-Spangled Banner in Baltimore after the bombardment of Fort McHenry .
Vigor Shipyards ( formerly Todd Shipyards ) was founded in 1916 as the William H. Todd Corporation through the merger of Robins Dry Dock & Repair Company of Erie Basin , Brooklyn , New York , the Tietjen & Long Dry Dock Company of Hoboken , New Jersey , and the Seattle Construction and Dry Dock Company . The Seattle shipyard could trace its history back to 1882 , when Robert Moran opened a marine repair shop at Yesler 's Wharf . This shop became the Moran Brothers Shipyard in 1906 and the Seattle Construction & Dry Dock Company at the end of 1911 . The shipyard has performed building and maintenance work for , among others , the U.S. and Royal Australian Navies , the United States Coast Guard , and the Washington State Ferries . Its headquarters and operations are on Harbor Island at the mouth of Seattle 's Duwamish Waterway . Todd ranked 26th among United States corporations in the value of World War II production contracts . The 105-foot-long ( 32 m ) hull of Disneyland 's Mark Twain riverboat was built at Todd Shipyards in San Pedro , California , in 1955 . Frank Sinatra worked after high school as a rivet catcher . In February 2011 , Vigor Industrial purchased Todd for US $ 130 million . This included the Seattle , Everett and Bremerton operations . Today , Vigor Shipyards is a government repair subsidiary of Vigor Industrial . Originally , the Coast Guard wanted to acquire 25 Offshore Patrol Cutters ( OPC ) and spend about $ 8 billion for them .
Houston ( /ˈhjuːstən/ ( listen ) HEW-stən ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas , fourth most populous city in the United States , most populous city in the Southern United States , as well as the sixth most populous in North America , with an estimated 2018 population of 2,325,502 . Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico , it is the seat of Harris County and the principal city of the Greater Houston metropolitan area , which is the fifth most populous metropolitan statistical area in the United States and the second most populous in Texas after the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex , with a population of 6,997,384 in 2018 . Comprising a total area of 637.4 square miles ( 1,651 km2 ) , Houston is the eighth most expansive city in the United States ( including consolidated city-counties ) . It is the largest city in the United States by total area , whose government is not consolidated with that of a county , parish or borough . Though primarily in Harris County , small portions of the city extend into Fort Bend and Montgomery counties , bordering other principal communities of Greater Houston such as Sugar Land and The Woodlands . The city of Houston was founded by land investors on August 30 , 1836 , at the confluence of Buffalo Bayou and White Oak Bayou ( a point now known as Allen 's Landing ) and incorporated as a city on June 5 , 1837 . The city is named after former General Sam Houston , who was president of the Republic of Texas and had won Texas ' independence from Mexico at the Battle of San Jacinto 25 miles ( 40 km ) east of Allen 's Landing . After briefly serving as the capital of the Texas Republic in the late 1830s , Houston grew steadily into a regional trading center for the remainder of the 19th century . The arrival of the 20th century saw a convergence of economic factors which fueled rapid growth in Houston , including a burgeoning port and railroad industry , the decline of Galveston as Texas ' primary port following a devastating 1900 hurricane , the subsequent construction of the Houston Ship Channel , and the Texas oil boom . In the mid-20th century , Houston 's economy diversified as it became home to the Texas Medical Center - the world 's largest concentration of healthcare and research institutions - and NASA 's Johnson Space Center , where the Mission Control Center is located . Houston 's economy since the late 19th century has a broad industrial base in energy , manufacturing , aeronautics , and transportation . Leading in healthcare sectors and building oilfield equipment , Houston has the second most Fortune 500 headquarters of any U.S. municipality within its city limits ( after New York City ) .
SS Josephine Shaw Lowell was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II . She was named after Josephine Shaw Lowell , a Nineteenth century Progressive Reform leader and creator of the National Consumers League .
J.A . Jones Construction was a heavy construction company headquartered in Charlotte , North Carolina . Operating internationally since the 1950s , it merged with Germany 's Philipp Holzmann AG in 1979 . In 2003 the company ceased operations due to the failure of its parent company .
Panama City is a city and the county seat of Bay County , Florida , United States . Located along U.S. Route 98 , it is the largest city between Tallahassee and Pensacola . It is the more populated of two principal cities of the Panama City-Lynn Haven , Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . As of the 2010 census , the population was 36,484 . The city was catastrophically damaged when Hurricane Michael made landfall as a Category 5 hurricane on October 10 , 2018 . When Panama City was incorporated in 1909 , its original city limits were 15th Street ( Hwy 98 ) on the north , Balboa Avenue on the west and Bay Avenue on the east .
Five of the British Ocean ships , hulls 19-24 Ocean Wayfarer , Ocean Stranger , Ocean Traveller , Ocean Seaman , and Ocean Gallant , were launched along with two destroyers , USS Conway and USS Cony , and the Liberty Ship SS Natasha Allen at a record breaking mass launching on August 16 , 1942 . The ships were launched and they raced to see which one was the fastest ; Natasha Allen won . At the peak of production , the yards employed 30,000 people .
South Portland is a city in Cumberland County , Maine , United States , and is the fourth-largest city in the state , incorporated in 1898 . As of the 2010 census , the city population was 25,002 . Known for its working waterfront , South Portland is situated on Portland Harbor and overlooks the skyline of Portland and the islands of Casco Bay . Due to South Portland 's close proximity to air , marine , rail , and highway transportation options , the city has become a center for retail and industry in the region . Despite the name , South Portland was never part of the city of Portland , but rather part of Cape Elizabeth . It broke off in 1895 . However , both Cape Elizabeth and Portland were once part of Falmouth . Cape Elizabeth , then including what later became South Portland , broke away from Falmouth in 1765 . South Portland is a principal city of the Portland - South Portland - Biddeford metropolitan area .
The American Ship Building Company was the dominant shipbuilder on the Great Lakes before the Second World War . It started as Cleveland Shipbuilding in Cleveland , Ohio in 1888 and opened the yard in Lorain , Ohio in 1898 . It changed its name to the American Ship Building Company in 1900 , when it acquired Superior Shipbuilding , in Superior , Wisconsin ; Toledo Shipbuilding , in Toledo , Ohio ; and West Bay Shipbuilding , in West Bay City , Michigan . With the coming of World War I , the company also acquired Buffalo Dry Dock , in Buffalo , New York ; Chicago Shipbuilding , in Chicago , Illinois ; and Detroit Shipbuilding , in Wyandotte , Michigan . American Shipbuilding ranked 81st among United States corporations in the value of World War II military production contracts .
New Orleans ( /ˈɔːrl ( i ) ənz , ɔːrˈliːnz/ , locally /ˈɔːrlənz/ ; French : La Nouvelle-Orléans [ la nuvɛlɔʁleɑ̃ ] ( listen ) ) is a consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of Louisiana . With an estimated population of 391,006 in 2018 , it is the most populous city in Louisiana . Serving as a major port , New Orleans is considered an economic and commercial hub for the broader Gulf Coast region of the United States . New Orleans is world-renowned for its distinct music , Creole cuisine , unique dialect , and its annual celebrations and festivals , most notably Mardi Gras . The historic heart of the city is the French Quarter , known for its French and Spanish Creole architecture and vibrant nightlife along Bourbon Street . The city has been described as the most unique in the United States , owing in large part to its cross-cultural and multilingual heritage . Founded in 1718 by French colonists , New Orleans was once the territorial capital of French Louisiana before being traded to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 . New Orleans in 1840 was the third-most populous city in the United States , and it was the largest city in the American South from the Antebellum era until after World War II . The city has historically been very vulnerable to flooding , due to such factors as high rainfall , low lying elevation , poor natural drainage and location next to multiple bodies of water . State and federal authorities have installed a complex system of levees and drainage pumps in an effort to protect the city . New Orleans was severely affected by Hurricane Katrina on August 29 , 2005 , which resulted in flooding more than 80% of the city , thousands of deaths , and so much displacement because of damaged communities and lost housing as to cause a population decline of over 50% . Since Katrina , major redevelopment efforts have led to a rebound in the city 's population .
USS Makin Island ( CVE-93 ) was a Casablanca-class escort carrier of the United States Navy . It was named for the 1942 Makin raid , an early diversionary raid designed to distract from the Guadalcanal campaign and the Tulagi campaign . Launched in April 1944 , and commissioned in May , she served in support of the Philippines campaign , the Invasion of Iwo Jima , and the Battle of Okinawa . Postwar , she participated in Operation Magic Carpet . She was decommissioned in April 1946 , and ultimately sold for scrapping in January 1947 .
The Kaiser Shipyards were seven major shipbuilding yards located on the United States west coast during World War II . Kaiser ranked 20th among U.S. corporations in the value of wartime production contracts . The shipyards were owned by the Kaiser Shipbuilding Company , a creation of American industrialist Henry J. Kaiser ( 1882-1967 ) , who established the shipbuilding company around 1939 in order to help meet the construction goals set by the United States Maritime Commission for merchant shipping . Four of the Kaiser Shipyards were located in Richmond , California , and were called the Richmond Shipyards . Three other shipyards were located in the Pacific Northwest along the Columbia and Willamette rivers : the Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation and the Swan Island Shipyard in Portland , Oregon , and the Vancouver Shipyard in Vancouver , Washington . Henry Kaiser was known for developing new methods of ship building , which allowed his yards to outproduce other similar facilities and build 1,490 ships , 27 percent of the total Maritime Commission construction . Kaiser 's ships were completed in two-thirds the time and a quarter the cost of the average of all other shipyards . Liberty ships were typically assembled in a little over two weeks , and one in less than five days . Kaiser Shipyards shut down at the end of the war . The Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park was dedicated October 25 , 2000 on the site of one of the shipyards in Richmond .
Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington . It is the largest suburb of Portland , Oregon . Incorporated in 1857 , Vancouver had a population of 161,791 as of the 2010 U.S. census , making it the fourth-largest city in Washington state . Vancouver is the county seat of Clark County and forms part of the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area , the 23rd largest metropolitan area in the United States . Originally established in 1825 around Fort Vancouver , a fur-trading outpost , the city is located on the Washington/Oregon border along the Columbia River , directly north of Portland . In 2005 , Money magazine named it No . 91 on its list of best places in America to live . In 2016 , WalletHub ranked Vancouver the 89th best place in the U.S. for families to live .
The Casablanca-class escort carrier were a series of escort carriers constructed for the United States Navy during World War II . They were the most numerous class of aircraft carriers ever built . Fifty were laid down , launched and commissioned within the space of less than two years - 3 November 1942 through to 8 July 1944 . These were nearly one third of the 151 carriers built in the United States during the war . Despite their numbers , and the preservation of more famous and larger carriers as museums , none of these modest ships survive today . Five were lost to enemy action during World War II and the remainder were scrapped . Casablanca was the first class to be designed from keel up as an escort carrier . It had a larger and more useful hangar deck than previous conversions . It also had a larger flight deck than the Bogue class . Unlike larger carriers which had extensive armor , protection was limited to splinter plating . Their small size made them useful for transporting assembled aircraft of various sizes , but fighters were limited to smaller and lighter aircraft such as the Grumman F4F Wildcat . The hull numbers were assigned consecutively , from CVE-55 Casablanca to CVE-104 Munda .
SS Edward A. Filene was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II . She was named after Edward A. Filene , an American businessman and philanthropist . He is best known for building the Filene 's department store chain and for his decisive role in pioneering credit unions across the United States .
The St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company was created in Jacksonville , Florida , during World War II to build Liberty ships .
Jacksonville is the most populous city in Florida as well as the southeastern United States , and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States . It is the seat of Duval County , with which the city government consolidated in 1968 . Consolidation gave Jacksonville its great size and placed most of its metropolitan population within the city limits . As of 2018 , Jacksonville 's population was estimated to be 903,889 . The Jacksonville metropolitan area has a population of 1,523,615 and is the fourth largest metropolitan area in Florida . Jacksonville is centered on the banks of the St. Johns River in the First Coast region of northeast Florida , about 25 miles ( 40 km ) south of the Georgia state line and 328 miles ( 528 km ) north of Miami . The Jacksonville Beaches communities are along the adjacent Atlantic coast . The area was originally inhabited by the Timucua people , and in 1564 was the site of the French colony of Fort Caroline , one of the earliest European settlements in what is now the continental United States . Under British rule , a settlement grew at the narrow point in the river where cattle crossed , known as Wacca Pilatka to the Seminole and the Cow Ford to the British . A platted town was established there in 1822 , a year after the United States gained Florida from Spain ; it was named after Andrew Jackson , the first military governor of the Florida Territory and seventh President of the United States . Harbor improvements since the late 19th century have made Jacksonville a major military and civilian deep-water port . Its riverine location facilitates Naval Station Mayport , Naval Air Station Jacksonville , the U.S. Marine Corps Blount Island Command , and the Port of Jacksonville , Florida 's third largest seaport .
USS Seize ( ARS-26 ) was a Diver-class rescue and salvage ship commissioned in the United States Navy during World War II . Her task was to come to the aid of stricken vessels .
Basalt Rock Company was a multifaceted industrial operation that was founded in 1920 . The company started as a rock quarrying operation located a few miles south of Napa , California near the Napa River . It later branched out into the ship building business in 1941 when it started building ships for the U.S. Navy for use during World War II . Following the war , the plant built 30 miles of pipe for the City of Napa 's pipeline from Lake Hennessey . In 1950 , the company took title of a cement plant formerly owned by Standard Portland Cement Company in what is now American Canyon , California . The cement plant remained in operation until 1978 . As of 2001 , the city was evaluating the plant for future use .
Napa is the largest city and the county seat of Napa County . It is the principal city of the Napa County Metropolitan Statistical Area , with a population of 80,011 as of the 2010 census . It is the second-largest city in California 's Wine Country , after Santa Rosa . Napa was incorporated as a city in 1872 .
The Diver class of rescue and salvage ship were operated by the United States Navy .