Bath Iron Works - Bath, ME - Wikipedia Entries on Waymarking.com

In Bath is the Bath Iron Works (BIW), which is a major shipyard with an article in Wikipedia.

The shipyard is located on the Kennebec River, south of the bridge that carries US Route 1 over the river. You can see the shipyard from the bridge - it is on the west side of the river. The waymark is located north of the shipyard - at a place by the Bath railroad station on Commercial Street. The waymark was placed here, since pictures are not allowed near the gates along Washington Street. Another viewing area is from a municipal park south of the shipyard. The Maine Maritime Museum has a tour by trolley bus that passes by the gates and from a boat in the river.

The article has the following opening statement:

"Bath Iron Works (BIW) is a major American shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine. Since its founding in 1884 (as Bath Iron Works, Limited), BIW has built private, commercial and military vessels, most of which have been ordered by the United States Navy. The shipyard has built and sometimes designed battleships, frigates, cruisers and destroyers, including the Arleigh Burke class, which are currently among the world's most advanced surface warships.

Since 1995, Bath Iron Works has been a subsidiary of General Dynamics, the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world (as of 2008). During World War II, ships built at BIW were considered by sailors and Navy officials to be of superior toughness, giving rise to the phrase "Bath-built is best-built.""

The shipyard was founded by Thomas Hyde in 1884. After the U.S. Civil War, he bought a company making windlasses for wooden ships. Over time, Hyde acquired other companies. In 1884, he incorporated Bath Iron Works. It received its first military contract in 1890 for two gunboats. Over time, the shipyard has built many ships, primarily for the Navy. Ships currently being built include a new type of destroyer, the Zumwalt Class.

One factoid:

"At peak production during World War II (1943–1944), the shipyard launched a destroyer every 17 days. Bath Iron Works ranked 50th among United States corporations in the value of World War II military production contracts."

Wikipedia Url: [Web Link]

Visit Instructions:
To post a visit log to this waymark you need to visit and write about the actual physical location. Any pictures you take at the location would be great, as well.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.