Not to be confused with Cramp & Co., builder of schools in Philadelphia.
William Cramp & SonsShipbuilding Company (also known as William Cramp & Sons Ship & Engine Building Company) of Philadelphia was founded in 1830 by William Cramp, and was the preeminent U.S. iron shipbuilder of the late 19th century.
William Cramp was born in Kensington, Philadelphia in 1807. In 1855, his sons Charles Henry (born 1828)[1] and William C., became partners with their father. In 1872, his other sons Samuel H., Jacob C. and Theodore were taken into the firm. The company was incorporated under the name "The William Cramp and Sons' Iron Shipbuilding and Engineering Company."[2]
In 1940, the Navy spent $22 million to reopen the yard as Cramp Shipbuilding to build cruisers and submarines. Cramp used the long slipways to construct two submarines at a time, with the intention of launching them simultaneously. However, the shipyard's submarine construction program was not especially successful, as poor management hindered the delivery of the boats.[6] The first delivery was made two years after keel laying, and fitting out was then done by Portsmouth Navy Yard. The best construction time for a submarine was 644 days.[7]
Cramp closed in 1947 and the site, on the Delaware River in Philadelphia's Port Richmond neighborhood still sits empty.
Aerial view of Cramp shipyard
Notable projects
1899 advertisement for William Cramp & Sons
SS Valencia, a small ocean liner built for the Red D Line in 1882.[8] She was wrecked on the coastline of Vancouver Island, on January 22, 1906, killing around 116 people.[9]Valencia's loss is considered one of the worst shipwrecks in the region known as the Graveyard of the Pacific.[10][11]
SS St. Louis(1894) and SS St. Paul(1895)—the first major ocean liners built in the United States after the collapse of the Collins Line in the 1850s. On 15 November 1899, St. Paul, en route from New York to England with Guglielmo Marconi on board supervising the ship's new wireless telegraph equipment, became the first liner to report her imminent arrival by radio.
USS Iowa(BB-4), Battleship No. 4 of the US Navy, launched 28 March 1896
SS Malolo, an American ocean liner and cruise ship built in 1927 for the Matson Line in its Pacific/Hawaiian services and the largest passenger ship built in the United States up to that time at 17,226 registered tones (only the German-built SS Leviathan of the United States Lines was larger in the 1920s). The Matson ship was scrapped in 1977 in Greece after being sold in the meantime.
SS Evangeline, a coastal passenger liner built in 1927 for the Eastern Steamship Company.[12] While operating as the cruise ship Yarmouth Castle in 1965, she caught fire, killing 87 people.[13]
On 6 September 1941, the keel for the Cleveland-class light cruiser designated CL-90 was laid down by the Cramp Shipbuilding Company.
On 8 December 1942, the keel to the Cleveland-classlight cruiser designated CL-91, was laid down by the Cramp Shipbuilding Company. On 22 April 1943, Oklahomans were outraged, having just learned that the Japanese had executed the captured American pilots from Jimmy Doolittle's bombing raid over Tokyo. That same day, booths were set up in Oklahoma City with a goal to sell $40 million in War Bonds to fund the construction of a cruiser. That goal was topped by $5 million when the booths closed that night. CL-91 then became the USS Oklahoma City.
^Preble, George H. (1895). A Chronological History of the Origin and Development of Steam Navigation. Reprinted. L.R. Hamersly & Company. p. 398. Retrieved 9 September 2013. Valencia maiden voyage May 1882.
^Belyk, Robert C. Great Shipwrecks of the Pacific Coast. New York: Wiley, 2001. ISBN0-471-38420-8
^Paterson, T. W. (1967). . Langley, BC: Stagecoach Publishing. pp. 72–76. Archived from the original on 2006-09-05. Retrieved 2006-08-26.
^Scott, R. Bruce; A.G. Brown. . Breakers Ahead. Archived from the original on October 8, 2007. Retrieved 2006-08-26.
^. Shipbuilding History. Archived from the original on 20 December 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
^"Some Notable Early Cruise Ships from Miami". Original. GetCruising.com. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
Farr, Gail E., Brett F. Bostwick, and Merville Willis. Shipbuilding at Cramp & Sons: A History and Guide to Collections of the William Cramp & Sons Ship and Engine Building Company (1830–1927) and the Cramp Shipbuilding Company (1941–46) of Philadelphia. Philadelphia, PA: Philadelphia Maritime Museum, 1991.
External links
Media related to William Cramp & Sons at Wikimedia Commons
Images of Philadelphia, Pa., Cramp's Shipyard at the Library of Congress
"William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 2007-04-29.
"Cramp & Sons". Builders. Destroyer History Foundation. 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-05.
. www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. Archived from the original on 20 December 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
January 25, 2023
william, cramp, sons, confused, with, cramp, builder, schools, philadelphia, shipbuilding, company, also, known, ship, engine, building, company, philadelphia, founded, 1830, william, cramp, preeminent, iron, shipbuilder, late, 19th, century, william, crampwil. Not to be confused with Cramp amp Co builder of schools in Philadelphia William Cramp amp Sons Shipbuilding Company also known as William Cramp amp Sons Ship amp Engine Building Company of Philadelphia was founded in 1830 by William Cramp and was the preeminent U S iron shipbuilder of the late 19th century William CrampWilliam Cramp patriarch of the firm circa 1870 IndustryShipbuildingFounded1830 1830 FoundersWilliam CrampDefunct1947 1947 HeadquartersPhiladelphia Contents 1 Company history 2 Notable projects 3 See also 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksCompany history EditWilliam Cramp was born in Kensington Philadelphia in 1807 In 1855 his sons Charles Henry born 1828 1 and William C became partners with their father In 1872 his other sons Samuel H Jacob C and Theodore were taken into the firm The company was incorporated under the name The William Cramp and Sons Iron Shipbuilding and Engineering Company 2 The pilot boat Thomas Howard was built by the Cramp shipyard in 1870 for the Delaware Bay amp River pilots She was one of the Philadelphia port s fastest pilot boats 3 In 1890 the company built the battleships USS Indiana and USS Massachusetts armored cruiser USS New York and protected cruiser USS Columbia Three of these ships took a part in the battle with the Spanish fleet in 1898 at Santiago de Cuba The victory in this battle heralded America s emergence as a great power 4 The American Shipping and Commercial Corporation bought the yard in 1919 but closed it in 1927 5 as fewer ships were ordered by the U S Navy after passage of the Naval Limitations Treaty in 1923 Charles H Cramp circa 1900 In 1940 the Navy spent 22 million to reopen the yard as Cramp Shipbuilding to build cruisers and submarines Cramp used the long slipways to construct two submarines at a time with the intention of launching them simultaneously However the shipyard s submarine construction program was not especially successful as poor management hindered the delivery of the boats 6 The first delivery was made two years after keel laying and fitting out was then done by Portsmouth Navy Yard The best construction time for a submarine was 644 days 7 Cramp closed in 1947 and the site on the Delaware River in Philadelphia s Port Richmond neighborhood still sits empty Aerial view of Cramp shipyardNotable projects Edit 1899 advertisement for William Cramp amp Sons SS Valencia a small ocean liner built for the Red D Line in 1882 8 She was wrecked on the coastline of Vancouver Island on January 22 1906 killing around 116 people 9 Valencia s loss is considered one of the worst shipwrecks in the region known as the Graveyard of the Pacific 10 11 Atalanta 1883 Atalanta was built for financier Jay Gould in the same year that the American Yacht Club was founded SS Philadelphia a small ocean liner of 2 499 tons built for the Red D Line in 1885 USS Baltimore C 3 was launched on 6 October 1888 and played a major role in the Baltimore crisis and took part in the Spanish American War USS New York was launched on 2 December 1891 and became flagship of Admiral William T Sampson s squadron during the Spanish American War USS Indiana BB 1 Battleship No 1 of the United States Navy launched 28 February 1893 SS St Louis 1894 and SS St Paul 1895 the first major ocean liners built in the United States after the collapse of the Collins Line in the 1850s On 15 November 1899 St Paul en route from New York to England with Guglielmo Marconi on board supervising the ship s new wireless telegraph equipment became the first liner to report her imminent arrival by radio USS Iowa BB 4 Battleship No 4 of the US Navy launched 28 March 1896 Varyag contracted by Russian Imperial Admiralty launched October 31 1899 The cruiser was sunk by the crew in Russo Japanese War salvaged by the Japanese and then reclaimed by the Russians USS South Carolina BB 26 America s first all big gun battleship or dreadnought was laid down in 1906 launched on 11 July 1908 and completed in 1910 SS Malolo an American ocean liner and cruise ship built in 1927 for the Matson Line in its Pacific Hawaiian services and the largest passenger ship built in the United States up to that time at 17 226 registered tones only the German built SS Leviathan of the United States Lines was larger in the 1920s The Matson ship was scrapped in 1977 in Greece after being sold in the meantime SS Evangeline a coastal passenger liner built in 1927 for the Eastern Steamship Company 12 While operating as the cruise ship Yarmouth Castle in 1965 she caught fire killing 87 people 13 On 6 September 1941 the keel for the Cleveland class light cruiser designated CL 90 was laid down by the Cramp Shipbuilding Company On 8 December 1942 the keel to the Cleveland class light cruiser designated CL 91 was laid down by the Cramp Shipbuilding Company On 22 April 1943 Oklahomans were outraged having just learned that the Japanese had executed the captured American pilots from Jimmy Doolittle s bombing raid over Tokyo That same day booths were set up in Oklahoma City with a goal to sell 40 million in War Bonds to fund the construction of a cruiser That goal was topped by 5 million when the booths closed that night CL 91 then became the USS Oklahoma City On 6 March 1943 USS Astoria CL 90 was launched The last ship Cramp s built was the cruiser USS Galveston CLG 3 launched on April 22 1945 Vessels built by the firm that are listed on the U S National Register of Historic Places include SS Aleutian Shipwreck Amook Island Larsen Bay Alaska NRHP listed in Kodiak Island Borough Alaska 14 USS Ling SS 297 Hackensack River at 150 River St Hackensack New Jersey 14 USS Lionfish SS 298 National Historic Landmark Battleship Cove Fall River Massachusetts 14 USS Massachusetts BB 2 Shipwreck 1 mi SSW of Pensacola Pass Pensacola Florida 14 See also EditPhiladelphia Naval Shipyard Lewis Nixon and Arthur Leopold Busch naval architects who worked with Cramp amp SonsCoordinates 39 58 19 34 N 75 7 4 13 W 39 9720389 N 75 1178139 W 39 9720389 75 1178139References Edit Chisholm Hugh ed 1911 Cramp Charles Henry Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 7 11th ed Cambridge University Press p 363 William Cramp the Ship Builder Bedford County Press and Everett Press Everett Pennsylvania 15 Jul 1870 p 1 Retrieved 2021 08 17 Launch The Evening Telegraph Philadelphia Pennsylvania 26 Apr 1870 p 8 Retrieved 2021 08 16 William Cramp amp Sons Shipbuilding Company Retrieved 11 July 2016 Ships for the Seven Seas Philadelphia Shipbuilding in the Age of Industrial Capitalism Economic History Association 1997 Stefan Terzibaschitsch Submarines of the US Navy Arms and Armour Press 1991 p 70 71 Terzibaschitsch p 70 71 Preble George H 1895 A Chronological History of the Origin and Development of Steam Navigation Reprinted L R Hamersly amp Company p 398 Retrieved 9 September 2013 Valencia maiden voyage May 1882 Belyk Robert C Great Shipwrecks of the Pacific Coast New York Wiley 2001 ISBN 0 471 38420 8 Paterson T W 1967 British Columbia Shipwrecks Langley BC Stagecoach Publishing pp 72 76 Archived from the original on 2006 09 05 Retrieved 2006 08 26 Scott R Bruce A G Brown The History of the Sinking of the Valencia Breakers Ahead Archived from the original on October 8 2007 Retrieved 2006 08 26 William Cramp amp Sons Shipbuilders Shipbuilding History Archived from the original on 20 December 2014 Retrieved 8 October 2013 Some Notable Early Cruise Ships from Miami Original GetCruising com Retrieved 8 October 2013 a b c d National Register Information System National Register of Historic Places National Park Service March 13 2009 Further reading EditFarr Gail E Brett F Bostwick and Merville Willis Shipbuilding at Cramp amp Sons A History and Guide to Collections of the William Cramp amp Sons Ship and Engine Building Company 1830 1927 and the Cramp Shipbuilding Company 1941 46 of Philadelphia Philadelphia PA Philadelphia Maritime Museum 1991 ArchivedExternal links Edit Media related to William Cramp amp Sons at Wikimedia Commons Images of Philadelphia Pa Cramp s Shipyard at the Library of Congress William Cramp amp Sons Shipbuilding Company GlobalSecurity org Retrieved 2007 04 29 Cramp amp Sons Builders Destroyer History Foundation 2007 Retrieved 2007 11 05 Ships Built Cramp Shipbuilding Philadelphia www ShipbuildingHistory com Archived from the original on 20 December 2014 Retrieved 23 January 2012 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title William Cramp 26 Sons amp oldid 1127939662, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
