The bureau's responsibilities included supervising the design, construction, conversion, procurement, maintenance, and repair of ships and other craft for the Navy; managing shipyards, repair facilities, laboratories, and shore stations; developing specifications for fuels and lubricants; and conducting salvage operations.
BuShips was abolished by DOD Order of 9 March 1966, as part of the general overhaul of the Navy's bureau system of material support.
The Bureau of Ships had its origins when USS Anderson, first of the Sims-class destroyers to be delivered, was found to be heavier than designed and dangerously top-heavy in early 1939.
Initially, Acting Secretary of the Navy Charles Edison proposed consolidation of the design divisions of the two bureaus.
[1] The Bureau of Ships was initially organized in five divisions by 15 August 1940: Design, War Plans, Shipbuilding, Maintenance, and Administration.