248 HOG ISLAND, THE GREATEST SHIPYARD IN THE WORLD. 



can be handled by truck. The total roadways within the plant aggregate i8 miles 

 and motor-driven vehicles are used exclusively. 



It was stated earlier in this paper that the fifty shipways are divided into ten 

 groups of five each. ' As a matter of fact, each five ways are operated as indepen- 

 dent shipyards, and each yard has its own administration building, service building 

 and tool building. Each way is provided with four steel towers or derricks, and 

 each derrick has two wooden booms, so that there are eight "hooks" per ship, 

 a total of 440. This system of handling material was decided upon because of the 

 difficulties of obtaining an adequate number of traveling cranes with the necessary 

 steel for supporting them. The towers took much less steel, and wooden booms 

 were easily and quickly constructed. 



Forty of the shipways are on wooden pile foundations, while ten are concrete 

 ways, erected on concrete piles. The use of concrete gave a diversity factor in 

 construction material and made an admirable fire break in the mile and a quarter 

 of ways. 



Between each of the yards there is an air compressor plant, serving two 

 yards, but the supply piping is so connected through the entire shipyard that any 

 individual compressor plant may be by-passed in case of accident. The outfitting 

 piers also have two compressor plants. The total capacity of these plants together 

 is 75,000 cubic feet of air per minute, which makes it the second largest compressor 

 installation in the world, the one at the Rand Mines in South Africa alone surpass- 

 ing it. 



Directly back of the ways buildings and also at the head of the outfitting 

 piers are numerous warehouses in which the lighter, fragile and perishable mate- 

 rial is stored. These are one-story buildings and they are each divided into four 

 sections by fire-walls, thus minimizing the conflagration hazard. In addition to 

 this, there is nearing completion a large, four-story concrete warehouse, the floor 

 area of which is 400 feet by 172 feet. 



Directly in the center of the plant is the group of executive buildings, the 

 principal one of these being the administration building, which houses the presi- 

 dent and several vice-presidents and their assistants, the accounting organization, 

 purchasing department and, besides this, the local representatives of the Emergency 

 Fleet Corporation, who are in direct supervision of the Hog Island plant for the 

 Government. 



The adjoining building, originally designated as the engineers' building, is 

 now called the ship administration building. This contains the engineers and the 

 large draughting force. Next in order comes a central garage and then the em- 

 ployment building. The employment department at Hog Island is called the Indus- 

 trial Relations Department, as the organization has to do not only with the employ- 

 ment of the men but also their welfare and housing. Admission to the employ- 

 ment department is made possible through a special gate, where no passes are re- 

 quired. All other gates at the yard require a special pass or identification tag 

 before anyone can enter. 



