Vancouver Ship Building
Fighting a war requires huge amounts of materials. Canadians were encouraged to contribute materials, through salvaging drives, and help to produce war materiel, like ammunition. Industrial manufacturing shifted their production to allow for the large-scale production of items needed to wage war. Shipbuilding was an established industry in Vancouver long before the Second World War started, but following the outbreak of war production picked up and a shipyard in the city of North Vancouver became an important manufacturer of ships for war.
In 1906, Alfred Wallace opened the Wallace Shipyard in North Vancouver. Over the years, the shipyard was renamed the Burrard Dry Dock, then Burrard-Yarrows, and, finally, Versatile Pacific Shipyards. Prior to WWII, it had produced some famous ships, including, for example, the RCMP schooner St. Roch in 1928. The St. Roch is now part of the Vancouver Maritime Museum permanent exhibit! It was during WWII, though, that the Burrard Dry Dock saw its peak in production.
Cargo ships were extremely important during WWII. The war years occurred before large-scale air transport was possible, so the best way to transport goods overseas was by ship. German U-boats were stationed in the Atlantic Ocean to cut off lifelines of support between North America and Europe. New ships were required to replace the ones being sunk. At the time, it was the shipyards on the Eastern coast of North America that were more developed and prepared to ramp up production. Nevertheless, the Burrard Dry Dock rose to the occasion and produced ships at an unexpected rate.
SHOP STEWARDS AT THE WOMEN’S CANTEEN AT THE BURRARD DRYDOCK. IMAGE FROM WIKIMEDIA COMMONS.
At the Burrard Dry Dock, multiple ships were under construction at the same time, and it took approximately 100 days to complete and launch a ship. Still, they produced one hundred and nine 10,000-ton cargo ships during the war years. This scale of production required huge amounts of labour. In 1942 and 1943, about 14,000 people worked at Burrard Dry Docks in 3 shifts covering each 24-hour period. The labour force included both men and women.
Once the war ended, production at the docks in North Vancouver slowed. The number of employees needed was reduced, and women were encouraged to leave their jobs at the shipyard. The Versatile Pacific Shipyards finally closed in 1992. Vancouver, and Canada, takes pride in the legacy of shipbuilding here during the Second World War. The location of the Burrard Dry Dock shipyard is a designated as a Federal Historic Site.
Transitioning to a war economy changed the roles of civilians. Some new industries were created for the sole purpose of serving the war effort, and in other cases existing industries ramped up production to meet new wartime demands. In this blog series learn about how civilians, including men, women, and children, were put to work in new ways.