5 minute read
World War II History and the Blue Economy
by Rachel O’Connor
If you couldn’t tell by the World War II battleship visible from downtown Wilmington, southeastern North Carolina has quite the maritime history. While the U.S.S. North Carolina wasn’t built in Wilmington and rather by a sister port in New York, Wilmington was the most productive shipyard constructing Liberty vessels during wartime, making 243 ships in just five years.
Just before WWII, nearly all local shipbuilding was done at smaller shipyards that utilized North Carolina wood almost exclusively to build wooden fishing boats. Forests of pine trees, especially the longleaf pine (Pinus palustris), used to stretch from Virginia to Florida and required wildfires in order to reproduce. Longleaf pines were replaced with faster growing pines such as loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) to produce more wood for ships, but this practice was destructive to local ecosystems. Both types of pine were beneficial for creating the first boats in North Carolina—wooden fishing boats that worked in the coastal waters.
North Carolina’s pines were particularly appealing because they were sources of tar, pitch and turpentine—three naval stores that were crucial elements in building ships. Pitch was painted on ships to make them watertight; turpentine, an ingredient in paint, could be used to color the ship; and shipbuilders covered riggings/ropes in tar to make them more difficult to break as they held the masts in place. However, unlike pitch and turpentine, which were harvested by cutting the tree bark, workers had to dig holes in the ground and burn the trees to get tar.
A great location to find evidence of the tar-making process is the Green Swamp, a preserve in Supply, North Carolina owned by The Nature Conservancy. If you walk down its paths, you’ll see small hills with holes atop—that is where the kiln would have been located. Keep an eye out for deep V-shaped cut outs in the pine trees as well. Those are sections of the tree that were taken for naval stores.
Roger Shew places his hand inside a scarred longleaf pine tree to show UNCW graduate students the extent of the vertical cut that had been used decades earlier to extract naval stores. The scarring makes it appear as if the pine is two separate trees.
photo by Rachel O'Connor
Visiting maritime museums across the state of North Carolina is a good way to learn about our historical relationship with the ocean. [See listing at the end of this article.] An exhibit at the North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort discusses how pre-WWII ships built near Wilmington were mostly wooden fishing boats. It also describes how recreational angling became popular between the World Wars and thus started a growing industry that now contributes around $2 billion annually to North Carolina’s economy, according to reports issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the American Sportfishing Association.
When World War II started, shipbuilders from Newport News, Virginia were sent to Wilmington to help kickstart the industry. The location was chosen for its ability to bring in a large labor resource, and brought thousands more people to create the battleships needed to fight in both the European and Pacific Theaters. As a result, the city faced widespread housing and food shortages.
The U.S.S. New Hanover, built by the North Carolina Shipbuilding Company, launched into the Cape Fear River on October 31, 1944. Here we see a view of the bow as it slips off the ways and into the water. The workmen on the ways and scaffolding show the enormous height of the scaffolding required to build such a ship. Two women and one man are on the christening stand in left foreground.
photo courtesy of Cape Fear Museum | photographer unknown
North Carolina’s involvement in World War II eventually boosted the blue economy in Wilmington, known at the time as “Defense Capital of the State.” The maritime museum in Beaufort lists WWII as an important driver for technology that has come to make commercial fisheries more economically profitable, such as the use of radios, sonar and refrigeration. The use of Wilmington as a shipbuilding location also helped launch the infrastructure needed to make it a major port. The New Hanover County Public Library and the Cape Fear Museum have digital collections of pictures from this period, including the vessels being christened, visits from a British ambassador, and the launching of the SS Zebulon B. Vance—the first ship built by the North Carolina Shipbuilding Company.
Ultimately, North Carolina was incredibly important in winning World War II, which led to its designation as the first “World War II Heritage City” in 2020. While the need for warships is at a low today, shipbuilding continues to be a vital part of our blue economy. From fishing boats built with North Carolina pines to historic warships that now attract tourism, the blue economy continues to play a significant role in our lives.
Sources:
National Wildlife Federation. “Longleaf Pine.” Wildlife Guide. Accessed on February 17, 2023 at www.nwf.org/EducationalResources/Wildlife-Guide/Plants-and-Fungi/ Longleaf-Pine.
The Nature Conservancy. “Green Swamp Preserve.” Accessed at February 17, 2023 at www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/howto-help/places-we-protect/green-swamppreserve/?tab_q=tab_container-tab_element.
Still, W.N. 2000. “Wooden Ship Construction in North Carolina in World War II.” The North Carolina Historical Review 77(1): 34-53. Accessed at https://www.jstor.org/stable/ pdf/23522372.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3A 1d8cb07d694255062cffe0ce79f23c1c&ab_ segments=&origin=&acceptTC=1.
www.nwf. org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/ Plants-and-Fungi/Longleaf-Pine
www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/howto-help/places-we-protect/green-swamppreserve/?tab_q=tab_container-tab_element
www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/23522372. pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3A1d8cb 07d694255062cffe0ce79f23c1c& ab_segments=&origin=&acceptTC=1
Rachel O’Connor is obtaining her M.S. in Coastal and Ocean Policy at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Before that, she studied Marine Biology and International Studies at UNCW and participated in research in Benthic Ecology. Rachel loves everything oysters but is also interested in climate and national security. When not studying and working, Rachel gardens, explores and learns languages.
Maritime Museums of North Carolina
NC Maritime Museum Southport
204 E Moore St, Southport, NC 28461
(910) 477-5151
NC Maritime Museum Beaufort
315 Front St, Beaufort, NC 28516
(252) 504-7740
Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum
59200 Museum Dr, Hatteras, NC 27943
(252) 986-0720
