image

First World War shipyard workers. Riveting work being carried out at a US shipyard as part of construction of new ships for use in the First World War (1914-1918). Rivets are fastenings used to hold metal structures together, in this case the hull of a ship. This is the Baltimore Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Company. The riveter at left is Charles Knight, whose riveting gang won a prize offered by the London Mail newspaper for completing a record 4,875 rivets in nine hours in 1918. This was one of several riveting records set that year as shipyards competed to build ships as fast as possible for the war effort. The USA initially supplied Britain and France with munitions and other essential supplies, and then entered the war itself on 6 April 1917. (KEYSTONE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/US ARMY)