Shipbuilding and repair facility in Mobile, Alabama, opened in 1917. Emergency yards built on its site in 1941 with funding from U.S. Maritime Commission; large new yard built on Pinto Island; built Liberty ships (the emergency WWII cargo ship), other cargo vessels, and tankers. Peak employment of 18,500, of which about 6,000 were African Americans. Investigated by the Fair Employment Practice Committee (FEPC) in 1942 and directed to end discriminatory hiring and promotion policies. After serious racial violence over upgrading of black workers led to temporary shutdown, operated segregated facilities with one separate shipway reserved for blacks. Shipbuilding and repair functions separated, and shipbuilding placed under new management in August 1943. Remained open after WWII. Company and its union investigated in 1970 by Office of Federal Contract Compliance and Maritime Commission for continued employment discrimination, especially in skilled and white-collar positions; agreements reached in 1971 and 1972.