The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia

San Pedro

Photograph of military funeral at San Pedro Naval Station

Naval History and Heritage Command #NH 105813

San Pedro (118.223W 33.759N) is the port of Los Angeles. The port is largely artificial, with only slight shelter from the Palos Verdes hills to the west. San Pedro Naval Shipyard and the Maritime Commission's Terminal Island shipyard were located here. The port of Long Beach is located adjacent to Terminal Island and can be regarded as part of the same port complex.

San Pedro was a major Navy refueling station, due to the proximity of the Wilmington oil field and refinery. The shipyard was run by Bethlehem Steel and was originally a repair station, but was upgraded for merchant ship construction and then for naval construction. However, the small size of the anchorage and the utter lack of protection from observation to seaward prevented Los Angeles from becoming an important naval base. At the time war broke out, tankers Tippecanoe and Platte, coastal minesweepers Plover, Courier, Firecrest, Road Runner, and Bateleur and tugboat Pinola were docked here.

The port became the Port of Embarkation for men and supplies to the China-Burma-India theater.

Production schedule, San Pedro

DD Boyd	Completed 1943-5-8
AK Murzim	Completed 1943-5-14
APA Doyen	Completed 1943-5-22
DD Bradford	Completed 1943-6-12
APA Feland	Completed 1943-6-21
DD Brown	Completed 1943-7-10
AK Naos	Completed 1943-8-17
DD Cowell	Completed 1943-8-23
DE Roberts	Completed 1943-9-2
DD Hopewell	Completed 1943-9-30
DE Bangust	Completed 1943-10-30
DD Porterfield	Completed 1943-10-30
IX Armadillo	Completed 1943-11-18
IX Beagle	Completed 1943-11-20
IX Camel	Completed 1943-11-22
IX Caribou	Completed 1943-11-25
IX Elk	Completed 1943-11-26
DD Callaghan	Completed 1943-11-27
IX Gazelle	Completed 1943-11-29
DE Waterman	Completed 1943-11-30
IX Gemsbok	Completed 1943-12-3
IX Giraffe	Completed 1943-12-12
IX Ibex	Completed 1943-12-13
IX Jaguar	Completed 1943-12-15
DD Cassin Young	Completed 1943-12-31
DE Weaver	Completed 1943-12-31
AK Pavo	Completed 1944-1-14
DD Irwin	Completed 1944-2-14
DE Bisbee	Completed 1944-2-15
DE Lamons	Completed 1944-2-29
DD Preston	Completed 1944-3-30
DE Kyne	Completed 1944-4-4
DE Snyder	Completed 1944-5-5
AH Comfort	Completed 1944-5-5
DE Bright	Completed 1944-6-30
AH Mercy	Completed 1944-8-7
DE Tills	Completed 1944-8-8
DM Lindsey	completed 1944-8-20
DE McClelland	Completed 1944-9-19
DM Gwin	completed 1944-9-20
DM Aaron Ward	completed 1944-10-28
DD Hugh W. Hadley	Completed 1944-11-25
APA Carlisle	Completed 1944-11-28
APA Colusa	Completed 1944-12-20
DD Willard Keith	Completed 1944-12-27
AV Norton Sound	Completed 1945-1-8
DD James C. Owens	Completed 1945-2-17
AV Pine Island	Completed 1945-4-26

Terminal Island was run by California Shipbuilding Corporation and had eight ways in late 1941. It was sometimes known as Wilmington due to its proximity to that city.

Production schedule, Terminal Island

PF Coronado	Completed 1943-6-17
AK Bootes	Completed 1943-7-15
AK Lynx	Completed 1943-7-26
AK Sculptor	Completed 1943-8-10
PF Long Beach	Completed 1943-9-8
PF Glendale	Completed 1943-10-1
AK Caelum	Completed 1943-10-22
PF San Pedro	Completed 1943-10-23
AK Megrez	Completed 1943-10-26
AK Lesuth	Completed 1943-11-1
AK Livingston	Completed 1943-11-10
AK Kenmore	Completed 1943-11-14
AK Rotanin	Completed 1943-11-23
PF Belfast	Completed 1943-11-24
PF El Paso	Completed 1943-12-1
PF Van Buren	Completed 1943-12-17
PF Orange	Completed 1944-1-1
AK Ara	Completed 1944-1-4
AK Ascella	Completed 1944-1-7
PF Eugene	Completed 1944-1-15
PF Corpus Christi	Completed 1944-1-19
PF Hutchinson	Completed 1944-2-3
PF Gallup	Completed 1944-2-29
PF Rockford	Completed 1944-3-5
PF Muskogee	Completed 1944-3-16
PF Carson City	Completed 1944-3-24
APA Gilliam	Completed 1944-8-1
AH Hope	Completed 1944-8-15
APA Appling	Completed 1944-8-22
APA Audrain	Completed 1944-9-2
APA Laurens	Completed 1944-9-7
APA Haskell	Completed 1944-9-11
APA Banner	Completed 1944-9-16
APA Barrow	Completed 1944-9-28
APA Hendry	Completed 1944-9-29
APA Bracken	Completed 1944-10-4
APA Highlands	Completed 1944-10-5
APA Berrien	Completed 1944-10-7
APA Hinsdale	Completed 1944-10-15
APA Bladen	Completed 1944-10-18
APA Hocking	Completed 1944-10-22
APA Briscoe	Completed 1944-10-29
APA Brule	Completed 1944-10-31
APA Kenton	Completed 1944-11-1
APA Kittson	Completed 1944-11-5
APA Burleson	Completed 1944-11-8
APA Lagrange	Completed 1944-11-11
APA St. Mary’s	Completed 1944-11-15
APA Allendale	Completed 1944-11-22
APA Butte	Completed 1944-11-22
APA Hyde	Completed 1944-11-26
APA Catron	Completed 1944-11-28
APA Marvin H. McIntyre	Completed 1944-11-28
APA Carteret	Completed 1944-12-2
APA Bandera	Completed 1944-12-6
APA Beckham	Completed 1944-12-10
APA Clarendon	Completed 1944-12-14
APA Attala	Completed 1944-12-15
APA Bland	Completed 1944-12-15
APA Bosque	Completed 1944-12-17
APA Cleburne	Completed 1944-12-22
APA Bowie	Completed 1944-12-23
APA Braxton	Completed 1944-12-29
APA Cortland	Completed 1944-12-31
APA Broadwater	Completed 1945-1-2
APA Crenshaw	Completed 1945-1-4
APA Brookings	Completed 1945-1-6
APA Arenac	Completed 1945-1-8
APA Clearfield	Completed 1945-1-12
APA Crittenden	Completed 1945-1-17
APA Barnwell	Completed 1945-1-19
APA Buckingham	Completed 1945-1-23
APA Cullman	Completed 1945-1-24
APA Botetourt	Completed 1945-1-31
APA Dawson	Completed 1945-2-4
APA Colbert	Completed 1945-2-7
APA Elkhart	Completed 1945-2-8
APA Fallon	Completed 1945-2-14
APA Fergus	Completed 1945-2-20
APA Fillmore	Completed 1945-2-25
APA Collingsworth	Completed 1945-2-27
APA Garrard	Completed 1945-3-3
APA Gasconade	Completed 1945-3-11
APA Geneva	Completed 1945-3-21
APA Niagara	Completed 1945-3-29
APA Presidio	Completed 1945-4-9

In addition to these Navy auxiliaries, Terminal Island produced 292 Liberty ships, 20 Liberty tankers, and 101 Victory ships for the Maritime Commission.

Fort MacArthur (118.285W 33.718N) was manned by 3 Coastal Artillery Regiment, a Type B harbor defense unit. By late 1941, Fort MacArthur had two modern 14" (356mm) rail guns, four obsolescent 14" guns, eight 12" (305mm) mortars, four 155mm guns, and four 3" (76mm) antiaircraft guns, all decommissioned by 1944 and replaced with two 16" (406mm) casemated guns, two 6" (152mm) guns, five 3" antiaircraft guns, and eight 90mm antiaircraft guns.

References

California State Military Museum (accessed 2012-6-23)

FortWiki.com (accessed 2012-6-23)

Huston (1966)

Stanton (2006)

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San Pedro

Production schedule, San Pedro

Production schedule, Terminal Island

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Rail connections

Pipeline connections