Heavy Metal: The Hard Days and Nights of the Shipyard Workers Who Build America's Supercarriers

Tip the Empire State Building onto its side and you’ll have a sense of the length of the United States Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, the most powerful in the world: the USS John F. Kennedy. Weighing 100,000 tons, Kennedy features the most futuristic technology ever put to sea, making it the most agile and lethal global weapon of war.

Only one place possesses the brawn, brains and brass to transform naval warfare with such a creation – the Newport News Shipbuilding yard in Virginia and its 30,000 employees and shipyard workers. This is their story, the riggers, fitters, welders, electricians, machinists and other steelworkers who built the next-generation aircraft carrier.

Heavy Metal puts us on the waterfront and into the lives of these men and women as they battle layoffs, the elements, impossible deadlines, extraordinary pressure, workplace dangers and a pandemic to complete a ship that will be essential to protect America’s way of life.

The city of Newport News owes its very existence to the company that bears its name. The shipyard dominates the town—physically, politically, financially, socially, and culturally. Thanks to the yard, the city grew from a backwater to be the home of the premier naval contractor in the United States.

Heavy Metal captures an indelible moment in the history of a shipyard, a city, and a country.

It is a story of immense pressure, profound pride, and the human hands that forge a weapon of war.

• Aircraft Carrier Construction: Follow the building of the 100,000-ton USS John F. Kennedy, a marvel of futuristic military technology, from the first steel plate to a lethal global weapon.
• Blue-Collar Workers: Meet the riggers, fitters, welders, and machinists of Newport News Shipbuilding, whose skill and sacrifice are the bedrock of America’s naval power.
• Labor History: Uncover a century of struggle and solidarity, from the formation of the United Steelworkers union to the challenges of workplace dangers and a global pandemic.
• US Navy History: Explore an indelible moment in the history of a city, a shipyard, and a country, detailing the deep ties between Newport News and its role as the premier naval contractor for the United States.