Photograph of Hog Island
date: label: date made
content: 1919
notes: label: Description
content: The United States entered World War I in April 1917. Within days, the federal government created the Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) to construct a fleet of merchant ships. The EFC hired the American International Shipbuilding Corporation to build and operate the largest shipyard in the world: Hog Island, near Philadelphia.
label: Description
content: Hog Island’s 50 shipways stretched a mile and a quarter along the Delaware River near Philadelphia. It abutted 846 acres with 250 buildings and 28 outfitting docks, on what is now the site of the Philadelphia International Airport. At its peak, the yard employed around 30,000 workers. Most were men, but some 650 women worked in the yard. Many of the workers had no factory experience, so they were trained on the job.
label: Description
content: At its peak, Hog Island launched a vessel every 5½ days, and its workers built 122 cargo and troop transport ships in four years. Although none saw service before the end of the war, the United States learned how to build large ships quickly on a grand scale from prefabricated parts. This valuable experience would expedite the Liberty and Victory ship building programs of World War II.
topic: label: Subject
content: Fishing
label: related event
content: The Emergence of Modern America
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Maritime
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content: Military
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content: Work
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content: Engineering, Building, and Architecture
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content: Transportation
label: Exhibition
content: On the Water
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
publisher: label: Related Publication
content: National Museum of American History. On the Water exhibition website
label: Related Web Publication
content: http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthewater
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of J. D. Andrew, Jr.
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: TR.335550.2
label: catalog number
content: 335550.2
label: accession number
content: 1977.0003
objectType: label: Object Name
content: photograph
label: Other Terms
content: photograph; Maritime
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: paper (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall in frame: 18 in x 153 in x 2 in; 45.72 cm x 388.62 cm x 5.08 cm