Colefield, Clayton
- Object Type
- Oral history
- Object ID
- 14692
- Date
- October 6 2009
- Description
- Clayton Colefield (1921- ) was born in Jamaica but grew up in the Bronx. After working for 25 years at the Brooklyn Navy Yard , Colefield taught industrial arts as a high school while earning his bachelor's degree. During the interview, Colefield gives detailed accounts of the construction of aircraft carriers, destroyers, and cruisers at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, as well as repairs made on damages warships. Because he was able to read blueprints, Colefield was promoted to quarterman shipfitter, overseeing other supervisors. Colefield recalls the fire aboard the USS Constellation (CV-64) and discusses his work on the USS Missouri, USS Iowa, and USS Wisconsin for which he was sent to Bayonne, NJ to repair. Colefield remembers testing catapults, where the launching pads on the aircraft carriers were tested. He talks of being invited by a ship captain for sea trials when the ship's speed was tested, as well as the launching of the USS Missouri.
- Related Collection
- Brooklyn Navy Yard Oral History Project
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