It’s been 85 years since Ingalls Shipbuilding first opened on the East Bank of the Pascagoula River. Since then, tens of thousands of shipbuilders have passed through our gates, building careers that have supported families and the community for more than eight decades. It’s because of shipbuilders that Ingalls has been able to play an integral role in helping build our nation’s defense.
The shipyard, founded by Robert Ingersoll Ingalls Sr. on November 9, 1938, began on 160 acres of land in Pascagoula with the goal of serving a growing market for cargo and passenger ships.
Ingalls’s first vessel was SS Exchequer, a cargo ship launched on October 16, 1940. The ship was unique because it was the first one in the world to sport an all-welded steel hull. Prior to SS Exchequer, ship hulls were created by overlapping steel plates and attaching them with rivets. In contrast, Ingalls welded the steel plates end-to-end, which resulted in a much more durable hull.
The innovation, which became the global standard, is credited with revolutionizing ship design. During 1940 and 1941, Ingalls launched three more cargo ships, establishing a legacy of shipbuilding innovation and success that continues today.
Ingalls’s business changed with the onset of World War II, as the shipyard put its commercial operations on hold and shifted into high gear for the war effort. Indeed, throughout the early 1940s, Ingalls operated around the clock building ships for the U.S. military. As production surged and the traditional Ingalls workforce was depleted as its young men went off to war, women were called on to replace them. Throughout World War II, Ingalls built more than 60 ships ranging from submarine tenders and aircraft carriers to troopships and net layers.
In 1967, a $130 million industrial bond was passed by the Mississippi Legislature for construction of Ingalls’ “Shipyard of the Future” to be built on 611 acres along the West Bank of the Pascagoula River.
By 1975, Ingalls was delivering high-tech destroyers and assault ships at the rate of one every six weeks. The company delivered the last eight units of its two pivotal Navy contracts at the rate of one per month, setting a new peacetime production record.
Today, Ingalls has grown to become the largest manufacturing employer in Mississippi and a major contributor to the economic growth of Alabama. Now employing more than 11,000 employees, Ingalls is simultaneously building four classes of ships and has pioneered the development and production of technologically-advanced, highly capable ships for the surface Navy fleet.
Thank you shipbuilders for building our world-class legacy.
