The Defoe "Rollover"

About The Defoe Rollover

The Defoe Rollover was an employee periodical created and published by the workers of Defoe Shipbuilding Company in Bay City, Michigan during World War II. First issued in December 1942, the newsletter ran through the war years and provided shipyard employees with news on company production, contributions to the naval war effort, safety updates, and community activities.

The publication took its name from Defoe's celebrated roll-over method of ship construction — a technique in which hulls were built upside down on circular cradles and then rotated upright, allowing welders to work in the downhand position and dramatically reducing construction time. Defoe first used the method in August 1941 on 173-foot patrol craft (PC boats) and later applied it to destroyer escorts and auxiliary personnel destroyers, helping the yard earn six Army-Navy "E" awards for production excellence.

Issues of The Defoe Rollover documented milestones such as ship launchings, award ceremonies, and the yard's expanding wartime output — including minesweepers, submarine chasers, landing craft, and destroyer escorts built for the U.S. Navy on the Saginaw River. The March 1945 cover shown above, Vol. 3, Issue 4, celebrates Defoe's sixth "E" award and features a dramatic side-launch photograph from the Bay City shipyard.

A full digitized archive of The Defoe Rollover is being prepared for this site. Check back for searchable issues from the Defoe Shipbuilding wartime era.