Fabricated parts

Photographer

Berns, Harry

Date

• January 25, 1942

Summary

• This view looking southwest from atop a gantry crane at the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company shows what the busy shipyard looked like at the beginning of January 1942 when the firm's World War II submarine program was well under way. At the left, one of the company's new prototype Model 3900 Speedcranes is positioned to work on the superstructure of the submarine U.S.S. Pogy in Building Berth B. The Pogy (SS 266) was the second submarine to be laid down at the yards; the first - the U.S.S. Peto - was already under construction in Building Berth A, which is out of sight beyond the large fabricating shop at the upper right, and the keel for a third submarine had also been laid. Between the gantry crane rails in the center of the image are numerous fabricated parts for these and future Manitowoc submarines, which would eventually total twenty-eight. In the distance beyond the gantry crane, across the Manitowoc River, is the large Northern Grain Elevator A. In the upper left, the steamer "Otto M. Reiss" is tied up. Another Reiss bulk carrier with the distinctive "R" on its stack is positioned alongside the Pogy, possibly to shield the submarine from view as it is under construction. A worker walks on scaffolding at the top of the Pogy, just under the crane boom, and others are visible on the shipyard grounds, which are scattered with patches of light snow. On the Pogy's deck, at the far end, is a small frame building with a window. This portable structure housed submarine blueprints. When one submarine was ready for launching, the little "house" was moved to the next submarine under construction.