HISTORY OF GIBBS & COX

Gibbs & Cox, Inc. is an independent engineering and design firm specializing naval architecture, marine engineering, management support, and consulting engineering. The firm is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia with offices in New York City; Washington, D.C.; Hampton, Virginia; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The firm is organized into two Business Areas: the Government Services Group, focused on providing naval architecture, marine engineering and management support services to US Government and international government clients; and the Program Management Group, focused on industry team shipbuilding programs. The Company maintains two centers of technical excellence: the Engineering Services Group, which provides engineering and management services, and the Design Services Group, which provides CAD design and life cycle support services. Together, these four Groups offer full service support to our government and commercial clients. Gibbs & Cox, Inc. is certified as ISO compliant under ISO 9001:2008 for design, engineering and administrative services.

Since its inception, Gibbs & Cox, Inc. has continuously provided services to the U.S. and international navies, other government agencies, shipyards, and commercial clients. Over our 80-year history, more than 6,000 naval and commercial ships have been built to Gibbs & Cox, Inc. designs. Since 1933, the firm has designed every class of destroyers built for the U.S. Navy, with only one exception.

There are 180 ships in service or under construction/contract worldwide based on Gibbs & Cox, Inc. designs. Nearly 80% of the current U.S. Navy’s Ship Battle Forces surface combatant fleet, and over 45% of the entire U.S. Navy's Active In Commission surface ship fleet are built to our designs. Included in these are the designs of the LCS 1 Class Littoral Combat Ships, DDG 51 Class AEGIS Guided Missile Destroyers and the FFG 7 Class Guided Missile Frigates. Today, Gibbs & Cox, Inc. continues to work with Industry and Government clients to identify and advance current and future ship design, ship systems development and modernization opportunities worldwide.

Currently, Gibbs & Cox is teamed with Lockheed Martin, Marinette Marine, and Bollinger Shipyards on the ongoing design competition for the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) design and construction. The LCS Program is the U.S. Navy's newest surface combatant program. The LCS is a high speed, modular, focused mission combatant ship designed to fight against asymmetrical forces in the littorals. USS FREEDOM, LCS 1, designed by Gibbs & Cox, was delivered to the U.S. Navy in September 2008 and commissioned in November 2008. Gibbs & Cox will continue as the Design Agent for the Lockheed Martin LCS Team for the follow ship program.

Gibbs & Cox, Inc. provides direct technical support to the U.S. Navy, including support to the Next-Generation Cruiser [CG(X)] Program, the DDG 1000 Guided Missile Destroyer Program, the DDG 51 Class AEGIS Guided Missile Destroyer Program, the CG 47 Class AEGIS Guided Missile Cruiser modernization program, and the LHD 8/LHA6 Amphibious Assault Ship programs. We continue to support our Naval clients on major ship design and research development programs in the areas of shock analysis and trials, advanced shock design, advanced hull forms, optical fiber communications networks, integrated power systems, commonality, and composites; as well as a variety of ship system development and future force design programs. This ongoing work includes support to NAVSEA program offices, Technical Warrant Holders, Warfare Centers and laboratories.

The company was founded on June 29, 1929 by lawyer and engineer William Francis Gibbs, his brother Frederick H. Gibbs and Daniel Cox, a noted yacht designer. Mr. Gibbs was a lawyer by education but a ship designer by avocation.  Prior to forming Gibbs & Cox, Inc., Mr. Gibbs had extensive experience in shipbuilding. During World War I, he was the Assistant to the Chairman of the Shipping Control Committee. In 1922, he and his brother formed Gibbs Brothers, Ind. to convert the liner VATERLAND to the LEVIATHAN.

Gibbs & Cox designed the famous, standardized cargo-carrying Liberty ships of World War II and was instrumental in the implementation of modular construction, centralized material and equipment procurement, and design-for-production features that are the foundation of cost-effective shipbuilding today. The firm developed and implemented many improvements in ship design and construction based on fleet feedback during World War II, constantly improving the designs of surface combatants and other ships throughout the war.

During World War II, Gibbs & Cox was a leader in the shaping of the U.S. maritime forces. Over 5400 ships were built to Gibbs & Cox, Inc. designs during the War.  These included destroyers, destroyer escorts, light cruisers, landing ships and amphibious assault vessels, liberty ships, minesweepers, icebreakers, tankers and tenders.  In addition to the design work, Gibbs & Cox, Inc. was also responsible for the central procurement of all materials and equipment. At its peak, the firm issued 10,000 blueprints a month and 6,700 purchase orders per day.

Following World War II, the firm continued to specialize in the detail design of surface combatants, including the design of six classes of combatants between 1945 and 1970, including the SHERMAN, ADAMS, COONTZ Class Destroyers, the LEAHY and BELKNAP Class Cruisers, and the KNOX Class Frigates. In this period, the firm also designed numerous commercial cargo and container ships as well as tankers.

The firm also designed a number of ocean liners over this period, including its signature ship, the SS UNITED STATES.  The SS UNITED STATES was the largest and fastest passenger vessel ever constructed in the US when completed in 1952, and is considered by many to be the greatest American ocean liner ever built. SS UNITED STATES was designed to be rapidly converted from a luxury liner to a high-speed troop transport (for up to 15,000 troops) or hospital ship in wartime, and incorporated many of the advanced fire protection and ship survivability design features developed from the firm’s warship design experience. SS UNITED STATES established the transatlantic speed record on her maiden voyage, averaging 35.6 knots in its crossing, winning the Hales Trophy and coveted Blue Riband for the fastest crossing. The ship remained in operation until 1969. Though she lost the eastbound record in 1990 to a small high speed vessel purpose built to win the record, the westbound record still stands at 3 days, 12 hours and 12 minutes at an average speed of over 34 knots (nearly 40 miles per hour).

In 1972, Gibbs & Cox, Inc. was awarded the detail design of the FFG 7 OLIVER HAZARD PERRY Class Frigates. This Class ultimately consisted of 51 ships built for the U.S. Navy and 16 ships built in the U. S. or abroad for the Australian, Spanish and Taiwanese navies. Gibbs & Cox, Inc. produced and maintained the design for the three U.S. yards building the ship, as well as those built internationally. The FFG 7 Program also allowed the firm to grow internationally, providing design services and technology transfer of design capability.

In 1985, Gibbs & Cox, Inc., teamed with Bath Iron Works, was awarded the contract to be the lead ship design agent for the DDG 51 ARLEIGH BURKE Class AEGIS Guided Missile Destroyer. Gibbs & Cox, Inc. is currently the upgrade design contractor to the U.S. Navy. There are currently 56 ships in commission, with five additional ships under contract. The Navy is also evaluating extending the production line for at least another six ships beyond those currently under contract. As part of our continuing support to the DDG 51 program, Gibbs & Cox, Inc. developed an extensive series of upgrade alternatives for the DDG 51 Class, including the addition of helicopter facilities (incorporated in Flight IIA), additional VLS cells, advanced gun systems, advanced sensors, mine hunting capability and electric drive.

During the late 1980's to the present, Gibbs & Cox, Inc. has been a member of industry teams for the major U.S. Navy ship design programs, including: the T-AGM OBSERVATION ISLAND Cobra Judy Conversion with Raytheon; the T-AKR 300 BOB HOPE Class Large Medium-Speed, RO-RO Ships with Avondale Shipyards; ARSENAL Ship with Lockheed Martin, Newport News Shipbuilding and Ingalls Shipbuilding; the U.S. Coast Guard Deepwater Program with SAIC and Marinette Marine; the DD 21/DDX Blue Team with Bath Iron Works and Lockheed Martin.

Internationally, Gibbs & Cox, Inc. has been able to leverage its work with the U.S. Navy to support similar ship design efforts in a number of countries. For example, in Australia, Gibbs & Cox, Inc. has worked with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) for nearly 40 years. This relationship began with the PERTH Class variant of the U.S. Navy's DDG 2 Class ships and continued with the design of the ADELAIDE Class variant of the FFG 7 Class ships. In addition to the design, the firm supported construction of the two ships built in Australia. Gibbs & Cox, Inc. also worked with ADI and Lockheed Martin on the RAN FFG Upgrade Program. Gibbs & Cox, Inc. provided the engineering and design of the system upgrades for the ADELAIDE Class ships being modernized and provided on-site support during the construction period.

In 2005, Gibbs &Cox, Inc. was awarded a contract to develop the design for a new Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) for the Royal Australian Navy. The AWD is a multi- mission, AEGIS destroyer designed to meet all Australian mission, design, environmental and life at sea requirements. The Australians used this design to compare costs with an existing design, a modified Spanish Navy F100 Class. Ultimately, for program cost reasons, the Australian Government decided to proceed with the existing design. Subsequently, Gibbs & Cox, Inc. was awarded a contract from Navantia to support their modifications to the existing design. This work is ongoing in the Navantia’s shipyard in Ferrol.

In addition to the ongoing AWD support, Gibbs & Cox, Inc. has worked with the Spanish Navy and Navantia for over 30 years. Gibbs & Cox, Inc. developed the design of their BALEARES Class (variant of FF 1052 Class), SANTA MARIA Class (variant of the FFG 7 Class), and PRINCIPE DE ASTURIAS Aircraft Carrier. In each case, Gibbs & Cox, Inc. incorporated unique Spanish and European combat and ship systems into the design, and provided training and on-site support throughout design and construction. Gibbs & Cox, Inc. also provided support to the Spanish Navy's Modernization and Overhaul Program for their BALEARES Class, where the firm assessed the applicability of potential ship alterations, developed the alteration packages for approved changes, and maintained configuration management of the class. Gibbs & Cox, Inc. also supported Navantia on the design of the F310 Class AEGIS frigates for Norway.

In Taiwan, Gibbs & Cox, Inc. developed the design of the Taiwan Navy PFG 2 Class frigates (variants of the FFG 7 Class).  This included incorporation of unique Taiwanese combat and ship systems into the class. Gibbs & Cox, Inc. is also currently providing support for upgrades to the class, and has provided training and on-site construction support throughout the construction of the ships. Gibbs & Cox, Inc. also developed, to a contract design level, an Advanced Combat System (ACS) ship for the Taiwan Navy. This design incorporated an early version of the AEGIS SPY IF combat system into a low radar signature, all steel and frigate hull.

Gibbs & Cox, Inc. continues to provide support to international clients through the US Navy’s Foreign Military Sales program. The firm has developed design changes for incorporating upgraded combat capabilities on the Taiwan Navy PFG 2 class and providing in-yard design and engineering support during the installation. The firm is also providing similar design and engineering support for upgrades to the ex-KIDD class destroyers.

JUNE 2009