Talking Shop: Celebrating NNSY’s Paint Shop (Shop 71)

It is the final touch on a masterpiece of naval engineering. It’s the haze gray armor that protects a warship from the relentless sea and the vibrant, precise markings on a flight deck that guide $100 million dollar aircraft to a safe landing.

This is the world of the Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) Paint Shop (Shop 71), a team of artisans whose work is the first line of defense against the elements and the finishing touch on America’s maritime power.