Terence M. Lee / CalShip

Finding aid created by Los Angeles Maritime Museum staff using RecordEXPRESS
Los Angeles Maritime Museum
Berth 84, Foot of 6th St
San Pedro, California 90731
(310) 548-7618
http://www.lamaritimemuseum.org/
2019


Descriptive Summary

Title: Terence M. Lee / CalShip
Dates: 1941-1976 (bulk 1941-1945)
Collection Number: Collection # 75
Creator/Collector: John A. McCone (1902-1991) Terence M. Lee (1913-?) California Shipbuilding Corporation CalShip
Extent: 10.5 cu. ft. (8 boxes 4 x 5” negatives; 10 boxes 4 x 6” photographic prints; 3 record cartons); 8.75 linear ft. (large oversized print boxes); and 9 linear ft. (oversized photographic prints in folders).
Online items available
Repository: Los Angeles Maritime Museum
San Pedro, California 90731
Abstract: The Papers of the California Shipbuilding Corporation were created by and are about the California Shipbuilding Corporation, which built Liberty and Victory ships during World War II. The shipyard was located at Terminal Island, near Long Beach and San Pedro, California. The manuscript materials, photographs, and audio/visual materials were generated for public relations, to announce ship launchings in local newspapers and to keep employees informed about company events and news in their publication, CalShip Log, between 1941 and 1945.
Language of Material: English

Access

The collection is open for research. Please make an appointment with the Museum Archivist or Director for access to the collection.

Publication Rights

The material in this collection is the property of the Los Angeles Maritime Museum. The material is subject to copyright restrictions and may not be used without prior permission from the Los Angeles Maritime Museum.

Preferred Citation

Terence M. Lee / CalShip. Los Angeles Maritime Museum

Acquisition Information

The material was donated to the Museum in 2003.

Biography/Administrative History

California Shipbuilding Corporation was created by the United States Maritime Commission as an emergency shipyard to build liberty ships during World War II. Its facilities were built on Terminal Island, California in early 1941, and included fourteen shipways and ten outfitting docks, warehouses, equipment buildings, administrative offices, and more. During its years of operation, The California Shipbuilding Corporation built 467 cargo and transport ships. Ground was broken at Terminal Island in January of 1941. Nine months later S.S. JOHN C. FREMONT became the first ship to be completed and launched. It took nearly eight months to build, but was completed 45 days ahead of schedule. It launched on September 27, 1941, called “Liberty Fleet Day”, a day celebrated as launching day for 11 other liberty ships at shipyards around the country. After launching S.S. JOHN C. FREMONT, the shipbuilding process began to move much faster. Four additional ships were launched in the last three months of 1941. The fastest vessel to be constructed was S.S. FINLEY P. DUNNE, which only took 31 days to construct. The final ship built at California Shipbuilding Corporation, S.S. COUNCIL BLUFFS VICTORY, was launched on September 27, 1945. Each completed ship was launched with pomp and circumstance. Each ship had a sponsor, who was in charge of christening the ship traditionally with a champagne bottle. Sponsors ranged from wives of employees and personnel to contest winners to film and radio stars. Notable sponsors included movie star Bette Davis, singer Marian Anderson, and Mrs. Walt Disney, wife of the entertainment industry entrepreneur.

Scope and Content of Collection

Papers of California Shipbuilding Corporation is a collection of manuscript materials, photographs, negatives, publications, and audio/visual materials. These materials were created by and are about the California Shipbuilding Corporation, which built 467 cargo transports and tankers as Liberty and Victory ships during World War II. The corporation, sponsored by the W.A. Bechtel Corporation and other investors, was built on Terminal Island, near Long Beach and San Pedro, California in 1941. Underscoring their role in the social history of laborers during World War II, is the fact that California Shipbuilding Corporation employed women in historically non-traditional roles in construction and welding as well as in administrative work. Evidence of work done by women is documented in photographic prints in the collection. Terence M. Lee, assistant to the company President, John A. McCone, assembled this collection of papers and photographs which spans the operating years of the corporation (1941-1945) and beyond. These materials include administrative papers, personnel lists, correspondence, and newspaper clippings, as well as photographs and negatives which represent the company, its business, employee and public relations. A full run of the California Shipbuilding Corporation publication, Calship Log, which was published weekly until September 1941 when it became a bi-monthly publication, informs a series in the collection. Additionally, materials are included about the investigation into California Shipbuilding Corporation in 1946, when the company was accused of spending government money on gifts for the ship sponsors. Post-dating the operations of the California Shipbuilding Corporation, a collection of folders and an album containing data and biographic statements about John McCone, including his years at California Shipbuilding Corporation, were written by his assistant, Terence Lee.

Indexing Terms

Arc welding
Cargo ships
Liberty ships
Ship building
Ship christenings
Ship construction
Ship launchings
Shipyards
Victory ships
Welders
S.S. JOHN C. FREMONT
S.S. PAUL DUNBAR
S.S. BILLY MITCHELL
S.S. FINLEY DUNNE
S.S. THEODORE PARKER
United States Maritime Commission
W.A. Bechtel Corporation
Terminal Island, California
Los Angeles Harbor, Calif.
Photographic prints
Black-and-white negatives
Administrative documents
Correspondence
Administrative assistant
Construction workers
Photographer

Additional collection guides