Norfolk Naval Shipyard

Norfolk Naval Shipyard reached its employment peak of 43,000 workers during World War II, when it built nearly 30 major vessels, 20 tank-landing ships, and 50 medium-landing craft, while repairing 6,850 U.S. and Allied ships. The shipyard expanded from 352 acres to 747 acres with more than four miles of waterfront, and Dry Dock 8 was built to accommodate the Navy’s largest ships. Landing craft received high priority as the Allies prepared for amphibious assaults on European shores and Japanese-held Pacific islands. In 1944, more than 100,000 people watched and millions listened by radio as the Navy launched the aircraft carrier Shangri-La on February 24 after shipyard workers had spent 750,000 man-days building it; named in connection with America’s first air raid on Japan from the aircraft carrier Hornet, Shangri-La later launched its own attack on Tokyo. With the close of World War II, the shipyard resumed a peacetime role, accompanied by reduced activity and fewer employees.

Portsmouth, Virginia · United States