Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Washington
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard was originally established in 1891 as a Naval Station and was designated Navy Yard Puget Sound in 1901. During World War I, the Navy Yard constructed ships, including 25 sub-chasers, seven submarines, two minesweepers, seven sea-going tugs, and two ammunition ships, as well as 1,700 small boats. During World War II, the Shipyard's primary effort was the repair of battle damage to ships of the U.S. Fleet and those of its Allies.
Following World War II, Navy Yard Puget Sound was designated Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. The Shipyard engaged in an extensive program of modernizing carriers, including converting conventional flight decks to angle decks. During the Korean conflict, the Shipyard was engaged in the activation of ships. In the late 1950's the Shipyard entered an era of new construction with the building of a new class of guided missile frigates. USS SCULPIN (SSN 590) was the first nuclear powered submarine worked on at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in 1965.
In 1990 the U.S. Navy authorized a program to recycle nuclear powered ships at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Approximately 6% of the Shipyard's workload involves inactivation, reactor compartment disposal, and recycling of ships. The Shipyard has pioneered an environmentally safe method of deactivating and recycling nuclear-powered ships. This process places the U.S. Navy in the role of being the world's only organization to design, build, operate, and recycle nuclear powered ships.
On May 15, 2003, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Naval Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Pacific Northwest (located at Bangor, Bremerton and Everett, WA) consolidated into one maintenance activity - creating PSNS & IMF. The consolidation improves fleet readiness by allowing the Navy to accomplish the highest priority, real-time ship maintenance requirements while achieving the most maintenance effort possible for the tax dollar.
Naval Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Pacific Northwest, first known as TRIDENT Refit Facility (TRF), Bangor, occupied 80 acres and was established on July 31,1981 as the primary maintenance facility for the West Coast TRIDENT submarine fleet. In 1998 TRF consolidated with Shore Intermediate Maintenance Activity (SIMA), at Everett and Bremerton, and became Naval Intermediate Maintenance Facility (NAVIMFAC) Pacific Northwest.
Today, the Bangor site is a tenant of Naval Base Kitsap and operates refit piers, repair shops and a drydock located in the homeports of submarines, ships, and aircraft carriers in the Pacific Northwest. Bangor has expertise in hull, mechanical, electrical, electronics, and weapons systems repair; continually responding to meet the fleet's maintenance and repair needs with on-time, cost-effective and quality service.
The Delta Pier at Bangor, so named because of its triangular configuration, has two refit piers and a drydock on the shore side. It has one of the largest drydocks built by the Navy and is the only drydock in the world constructed parallel to the shoreline. Everett piers accommodate numerous surface ships and an aircraft carrier.
In addition to the Shipyard and IMF consolidation, another opportunity to further improve service to the fleet arose in 2003. Surface ship maintenance organizations including the Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Puget Sound (SSPS), portions of the Commander, Naval Surface Group, Pacific Northwest Maintenance Staff (CNSGPNW), and Fleet Technical Support Center, Pacific Detachment Everett (FTSCPAC Det Everett) joined PSNS & IMF in standing up the Northwest Regional Maintenance Center (NWRMC) under command of Captain Clarke Orzalli. The NWRMC is now one of the few regions that provide maintenance for every class of Navy Vessel.