Located in Charlestown, Mass., the Charlestown Navy Yard was among the primary shipbuilding sites within the nation. It operated from 1801 to 1974, and has been referred to as the Boston Naval Shipyard since 1945. Like several alternative shipyards across the country, the Boston Naval Shipyard used asbestos.
The Secretary of the Navy opened the shipyard to construct ships for the country's defense and to repair those who had been broken. The USS Independence was the primary vessel engineered at the Boston Naval Shipyard, and plenty of alternative Navy ships followed. Destroyers, submarines, destroyer escorts, barrack ships, tank landing ships and motor tugs were among the ships created at the Boston Naval Shipyard. The shipyard was additionally commonly used to repair and store ships.