virginia the 350 ton hammerhead crane at norfolk naval shipyard type shipyard site information controlled by united states navy site history built 1767 as gosport shipyard royal navy ; current name since 1862 us navy in use 1767 present garrison information past commanders capt. mark bridenstine the norfolk naval shipyard often called the norfolk navy yard and abbreviated as nnsy is a u.s. navy facility in portsmouth virginia for building remodeling and repairing the navy s ships . it is the oldest and largest industrial facility that belongs to the u.s. navy as well as the most multifaceted . located on the elizabeth river the yard is just a short distance upriver from its mouth at hampton roads . it was established as gosport shipyard in 1767 . destroyed during the american revolutionary war it was rebuilt and became home to the first operational drydock in the united states in the 1820s . changing hands during the american civil war it served the confederate states navy until it was again destroyed in 1862 when it was given its current name . the shipyard was again rebuilt and has continued operation through the present day . contents 1 history 1.1 british control 1.2 american control 1.3 american civil war 1.4 modern shipyard 2 notable ships 3 museum 4 see also 5 references 6 external links history edit british control edit the gosport shipyard was founded on november 1 1767 by andrew sprowle on the western shore of the elizabeth river in norfolk county in the virginia colony . this shipyard became a prosperous naval and merchant facility for the british crown . in 1775 at the beginning of the american revolution sprowle stayed loyal to the crown and fled virginia which confiscated all of his properties including the shipyard . in 1779 while the newly formed commonwealth of virginia was operating the shipyard it was burned by british troops . 1 american control edit in 1794 united states congress passed an act to provide a naval armament allowing the federal government to lease the gosport shipyard from virginia . in 1799 the keel of uss chesapeake one of the first six frigates authorized by congress was laid making her the first ship built in gosport for the u.s. navy . the federal government purchased the shipyard from virginia in 1801 for 12 000 . this tract of land measured 16 acres 65 000 m and now makes up the northeastern corner of the current shipyard . in 1827 construction began on the first of what would be the first two dry docks in the united states . the first one was completed three weeks ahead of similar projects in both boston massachusetts and south america making it the first functional dry dock in the americas . dry dock one as it is referred to today is still operational and is listed as historical landmark in portsmouth va. officer s quarters a b and c were built about 1837 . additional land on the eastern side of the elizabeth river was purchased in 1845 . the shipyard and neighboring towns suffered from a severe yellow fever epidemic in 1855 which killed about a quarter of the population including james chisholm whose account was published shortly after his death in the epidemic . american civil war edit ruins of the shipyard after the civil war 1864 ; photo by james gardner . from the collection of the national archives & records administration . in 1861 virginia joined the confederate states of america . fearing that the confederacy would take control of the facility the shipyard commander charles stewart mccauley ordered the burning of the shipyard . the confederate forces did in fact take over the shipyard and did so without armed conflict through an elaborate ruse orchestrated by civilian railroad builder william mahone then president of the norfolk and petersburg railroad and soon to become a famous confederate officer . the capture of the shipyard allowed a tremendous amount of war material to fall into confederate hands . 1 195 heavy guns were taken for the defense of the confederacy and employed in many areas from hampton roads all the way to fort donelson tennessee port hudson and fort de russy louisiana . the union forces withdrew to fort monroe across hampton roads which was the only land in the area which remained under union control . 2 30 in early 1862 the confederate ironclad warship css virginia was rebuilt using the burned out hulk of uss merrimack . in the haste to abandon the shipyard the merrimack had only been destroyed above the waterline and an innovative armored superstructure was built upon the remaining portion . the virginia which was still called the merrimack by union forces and in many historical accounts sank the uss cumberland the uss congress and engaged the union ironclad uss monitor in the famous battle of hampton roads during the union blockade of hampton roads . the confederates burned the shipyard again when they left in may 1862 . following its recapture of norfolk and portsmouth and the shipyard by the union forces the name of the shipyard was changed to norfolk after the county in which it was located outside the city limits of portsmouth at the time . this choice of name was probably to minimize any confusion with the pre existing portsmouth naval shipyard in kittery maine near portsmouth new hampshire . modern shipyard edit aerial view of the shipyard looking north towards norfolk from the reconstruction era until 1917 the shipyard was used both for ship repair and construction and for ship stationing ; the current major naval base for the region naval station norfolk did not yet exist . as such the then norfolk navy yard served as the official homeport for ships stationed in the hampton roads region . no major expansion occurred at the facility until world war i when it was expanded to accommodate 11 000 employees and their families . the shipyard was again expanded in world war ii doubling its physical size and greatly expanding its productive capacity . during its peak from 1940 to 1945 43 000 personnel were employed and 6 850 vessels were built . after world war ii the shipyard shifted from being a ship construction facility to an overhaul and repair facility . work on the iowa class battleship uss kentucky bb 66 was suspended in 1950 . its last two ships uss bold and her sister ship bulwark wooden minesweepers were christened on march 28 1953 during the korean war . currently the shipyard is composed of several noncontiguous areas totaling 1 275 acres 5.2 km . norfolk naval shipyard provides repair and modernization services for every type of ship that the u.s. navy has in service which includes amphibious vessels submarines guided missile cruisers and supercarriers although in recent years the shipyard has primarily focused on nuclear ships and nuclear support ships . the norfolk yard is one of the few facilities on the east coast capable of dry docking nuclear aircraft carriers . another facility capable of drydocking such carriers is huntington ingalls industries hii located on the other side of hampton roads in newport news which is the only u.s. shipyard that currently builds and refuels nuclear aircraft carriers . captain william kiestler commanding officer of norfolk naval shipyard was relieved of duty on july 1 2010 by order of vice admiral kevin m. mccoy commander of naval sea systems command after a year on the job because of a loss of confidence in his ability to command . 3 captain greg thomas was permanently relieved of command on october 26 2011 . 4 rear admiral joseph campbell held the post as acting shipyard commander until february 16 2012 when the command was assumed by captain mark bridenstine . 5 in january 2016 shipyard and penn state university have developed a new submarine oil storage tank cleaning tool that will improve production processes . 6 notable ships edit uss arizona bb 39 during a refit at norfolk naval shipyard in 1931 uss enterprise uss chesapeake 38 gun frigate contemporary to uss constitution fought in the war of 1812 . uss delaware first ship to be dry docked in the western hemisphere . css virginia first confederate ironclad warship rebuilt from burned out hulk of uss merrimack ; participant in battle of hampton roads against uss monitor uss texas first u.s. naval battleship to be commissioned . uss raleigh first modern cruiser completely built by the u.s. government . uss langley first u.s. aircraft carrier ; converted from uss jupiter . uss shangri la only u.s. aircraft carrier paid for solely by u.s. warbonds and subscriptions . uss alabama uss arizona uss enterprise cvn 65 longest naval ship in the world and world s first nuclear powered aircraft carrier . museum edit main article portsmouth naval shipyard museum outside the facility on the nearby old town portsmouth waterfront is the portsmouth naval shipyard museum which features displays and artifacts from its history . see also edit nautical portal virginia portal rear admiral walter mclean commander of the shipyard during world war i john h. burroughs superintendent of the shipyard during the union occupation of the american civil war references edit nobles robert . nnsy history . navsea . retrieved 11 november 2012 . page dave 1994 . ships versus shore civil war engagements along southern shores and rivers . rutledge hill press . isbn 1 55853 267 6 . sizemore bill . norfolk naval shipyard commander sacked . hamptonroads.com . the virginian pilot 1 july 2010 . web . 11 july 2010 . hamptonroads.com 2010 06 norfolk naval shipyard commander sacked . sizemore bill . norfolk naval shipyard commander removed from post hamptonroads.com . the virginian pilot 26 october 2011 . http hamptonroads.com 2011 10 commander norfolk naval shipyard removed post . kruse meredith . new commander to take over at norfolk naval shipyard hamptonroads.com . the virginian pilot 3 december 2011 . http hamptonroads.com 2011 12 new commander take over norfolk naval shipyard . nnsy and penn state university develop new tank cleaning tool . retrieved 8 july 2016 . external links edit wikimedia commons has media related to norfolk naval shipyard . official website historic american engineering record haer no . va 65 a norfolk naval shipyard mast house west side of warrington avenue between shubrick & breeze streets portsmouth portsmouth va haer no . va 65 b norfolk naval shipyard building no. 28a adjoining buildings no. 28 & 29 on shubrick & breeze streets portsmouth portsmouth va v t e operational military installations of virginia department of defense headquarters the pentagon activity camp peary warrenton training center school joint forces staff college army fort fort a.p. hill fort belvoir fort eustis fort lee fort myer airfield davison a.p. hill blackstone plant radford army ammunition plant marines air station marine corps air facility quantico base marine corps base quantico henderson hall camp camp allen navy station naval station norfolk naval weapons station yorktown cheatham annex lambert s point deperming station base naval amphibious base little creek fleet electronic warfare center fewc joint expeditionary base east shipyard norfolk naval shipyard naval air station nas oceana auxiliary landing field nalf fentress medical center naval medical center portsmouth school training support center hampton roads air force air base joint base langley eustis langley field national guard army fort pickett camp pendleton air langley air force base state reserve old city hall school virginia military institute coast guard sector hampton roads station little creek cape charles milford haven chincoteague portsmouth wachapreague school training center yorktown coordinates 36 48 55 n 76 17 50 w 36.81528 n 76.29722 w 36.81528 ; 76.29722 retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title norfolk naval shipyard & oldid 744542224 categories military facilities in virginiamilitary superfund sitesbuildings and structures in portsmouth virginiaunited states navy basesunited states navy shipyardssuperfund sites in virginiahistoric american engineering record in virginia1767 establishments