Fighting ships of the U. S. Navy moored alongside its famous hammer-head crane, Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, circa 1945. Second from left is the USS Wilkes-Barre; third from left is the USS South Dakota.

Credit: Courtesy of the Pennsylvania State Archives

At one point during World War II, some 70,000 people worked within the gates of the Philadelphia Naval Yard (PNY). During the war, the PNY built fifty warships, including ten battleships and an aircraft carrier, and fitted out 480 other vessels, including ships from Great Britain and six other nations. In all, the Yard worked on 1,210 vessels during the war.