Today Dry Docks 6 and 7 are but memories as a few years ago they were both demolished after becoming obsolete to serve the modern mission of NNSY. The site has now been paved over by providing prime laydown space that in turn promotes an orderly flow of work product removal and delivery of new materials for the adjacent docks, 3 and 4.

Some of us may remember an active operational era when docks 6 and 7 may have been kept dry as to use the concrete floors for staging materials or wet to use as slips to house floating work or living barges. These twin docks have always been viewed as odd in a way to the modern worker, maybe because of their small finished length of just 466 feet. These docks were basically squeezed into an open wedge of land between the existing Dry Docks 3 and 4.

Anyway, why did Dry Docks 6 and 7 ever come about?

The Great War, World War I changed everything involving shipping supplies across the Atlantic Ocean. The United States intended to continue to trade with its friendly European allies while they continued receiving fierce attacks at sea. Over time the United States Shipping Board created the Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC).

With no infrastructure to receive and or repair ships the EFC essentially started from scratch as the war raged on to provide support to the European allied shipping efforts. It was determined that Dry Docks 6 and 7 would be constructed at the Norfolk Navy Yard to service EFC ships.

As a unique footnote when the twin docks had their opening ceremonies on October 31, 1919 it was attended by Elisabeth, Queen of the Belgians because Belgium had been so decimated by the war that the availability of new supply ships and their facilities was considered worthy of a royal appearance.

Dry Dock 6 admitted the SS Elkridge and Dry Dock 7 the SS Lake Cannonsburg, both on April 6, 1920, in order to support the efforts of the EFC until such time a few years later the docks reverted back for operational control under the United States Navy at this shipyard.