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Shipbuilding War Service Badge

National Museum of American History

Object Details

Description
The United States entered World War I in April 1917. Within days, the federal government created the U.S. Shipping Board Merchant Fleet Corporation (also known as the Emergency Fleet Corp. or EFC) to construct a fleet of merchant ships. The EFC hired the American International Shipbuilding Corporation to build and operate the largest shipyard in the world, Hog Island, near Philadelphia.
At its peak, Hog Island employed some 30,000 workers and launched a vessel every 5½ days. Its workers built 122 ships in four years, and although none saw service before the end of the war, many carried supplies during World War II. At Hog Island, the United States learned how to build large ships quickly on a grand scale from prefabricated parts.
This enameled lapel pin or tie tack indentified the wearer as associated with the U.S. Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corporation.
Credit Line
U.S. Shipping Board Emergency Fleet
ca 1919
ID Number
TR.63540.01
accession number
63540
catalog number
63540.01
Object Name
button
Physical Description
copper alloy (overall material)
enameled metal (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 1/4 in x 1/4 in; .635 cm x .635 cm
Related Publication
National Museum of American History. On the Water exhibition website
Related Web Publication
http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthewater
See more items in
Work and Industry: Maritime
Military
Transportation
Exhibition
On the Water
Exhibition Location
National Museum of American History
National Museum of American History
Subject
Fishing
related event
The Emergence of Modern America
Record ID
nmah_1343973
Metadata Usage (text)
CC0
GUID (Link to Original Record)
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ac-ac12-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Related Content

  • Rallying Support for the War Effort (WWI)

emergency fleet corp button
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
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