Upon returning to the US, Petrovic began rotating duty between the Bureau of Ships (BUSHIPS) in Washington, D.C., and the Navy's shipyards and repair facilities. At the Bureau of Ships he ran the Battleship and Heavy/Light Cruiser Type Desk (1947–49) and was the director, Naval Facilities and later Management Control Divisions (1952–55). At Shipyards, he served as repair superintendent and then new construction superintendent at Mare Island Naval Shipyard (1949–52) during the building of the Navy's first "Hunter Killer" submarines, USS Bass (SSK-2) and USS Bonita (SSK-3) and the conversion of a diesel "Fleet Boat" to a guided missile submarine USS Tunny (SSG-282). As production officer at San Francisco Naval Shipyard (1955–58), he was responsible for the modernization (SCB-125) of World War II carriers USS Wasp (CV-18), USS Hancock (CV-19), USS Bon Homme Richard (CV-31) and USS Oriskany (CV-34) and new construction of a guided missile destroyer, USS Mahan (DDG-42). At New York Naval Shipyard (1958–59), he oversaw the construction of two carriers, USS Independence (CV-62) and USS Constellation (CV-64). In 1959, Petrovic was ordered to San Diego as the commanding officer, Naval Repair Facility, where he was responsible for repair and minor modification to southern California-based ships.
