The Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation (also operating as Todd Pacific) was an American corporation which built escort carriers, destroyers, cargo ships and auxiliaries for the United States Navy and merchant marine during World War II in two yards in Puget Sound, Washington. It was the largest producer of destroyers (45) on the West Coast and the largest producer of escort carriers of various classes (56) of any United States yard active during World War II.
The Todd Corporation, just having established itself in New York, acquired the Seattle Construction and Drydock Company (a.k.a. The Moran Brothers Shipyard of Klondike Gold Rush fame) in Seattle Harbor during World War I some time in 1916. The yard was acquired in 1918 by Skinner & Eddy, which had quickly risen to become a major force in Northwest Pacific shipbuilding. Todd moved his Seattle operation to nearby Harbor Island where a repair facility was constructed. In 1917 the company also set foot in Tacoma, where the first work on facilities of an entirely new yard was underway in January 1917[1] and the first ship, the Tacoma,[2] was launched on March 28, 1918.[3]
3 of 10 Omaha-class light cruisers and 23 cargo ships of 7,500dwt were built in the Tacoma yard (including Jacona, which survived till at least 1971), the Caldwell-classdestroyerUSSGwin(DD-71) and the N-class submarines N-1, N-2 and N-3 as well as 14 cargo ships of mostly 7,500dwt also were built in Seattle.
In addition to the government contracts, the Tacoma yard built 2 cargo ships (named Red Hook and Hoboken after 2 of Todd's New York Harbor locations), 1 diesel freighter, 2 passenger ships and 6 barges. The Red Hook found its way into Imperial Japanese Army service as Naruo Maru[4][5] and was sunk in 1944.
Shipbuilding ceased in the Seattle yard in 1920 and in the Tacoma yard in 1924. William H. Todd died May 15, 1932. John D. Reilly became president of Todd Shipyards.
In 1939, the old Tacoma shipyard in Commencement Bay was revived (from scratch[6]) by Todd and Kaiser Shipbuilding, initially with two slipways,[7] with the aid of some $15million in capital provided by the U.S. Government this was eventually increased to eight.
Todd Affiliates to build C-1's at Tacoma Yard
TODD Shipyards Corporation announces the award of five C- 1 Type B Diesel propelled vessels to the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation, of Seattle, Washington, at a price of $2,127,000 each. Associated with them is the General Construction Co. of Seattle and its affiliates. R. J. Lamont, president of the Todd Seattle Dry Docks Inc., of Seattle, is also president of this company; J. A. McEachern, of the General Construction Co., being vice-president.
This marks the culmination of negotiations with the Maritime Commission to bring a restoration of the shipbuilding industry to the Pacific Northwest. The cooperation of Seattle and Tacoma labor was an important factor in securing the award. The plan involves the rehabilitation of the Todd Tacoma plant for the construction of the hulls, the completion and outfitting of the vessels to be performed at the plant of the Todd Seattle Dry Docks Inc., in Seattle.[8]
Following the enactment of the Two-Ocean Navy Act, Seattle-Tacoma was awarded contracts to build 25 destroyers.[9] The government invested $9million in a new destroyer construction facility on Harbor Island which was then built starting October 15, 1940[10] next to the existing repair dock founded in 1918.
In February 1942 Todd bought out Kaiser's holding and sold the companies own interests in Permanente Metals[11] and on June 1, 1944 the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation was renamed to Todd Pacific Shipyards, Inc.. Todd sold the Tacoma shipyard to the Navy after the war ended, which in turn sold the site to the Port of Tacoma in 1959. Today the site is set for redevelopment as part of the Port's Commencement Bay Industrial Development District.
Robert Moran, great-granduncle of the company, died in 1943.
The "Plant A" destroyer facility produced a single civilian ship, the luxury ferry Chinook, launched in 1947,[12] but by 1952 oil terminals had been established in the spot.[13]
The original repair yard continued to be part of the Todd Corporation, now building new civilian and military ships and it remains active to this day as a facility of Vigor Shipyards.
Description of the plant as of January 1940: [26] Photograph of the plant in the initial 2-ways stage (launch of the Cape Alava): [27]
Seattle yard
Seattle yard in 1945
on Harbor Island (47°35′21″N122°20′53″W / 47.58903°N 122.3481°W / 47.58903; -122.3481) in 2 separate facilities at the north end of the island. In 1918 Todd moved out of the seattle waterfront and opened a repair facility on the northwestern corner. In 1940 additional slipways were added on the northeastern end.[28] The expansion had all 5 building ways upon initial completion (2 destroyers each).[29] In June 1945, 5 destroyers were building, the unfinished Seaman(DD-791) was about to be laid down and 2 destroyer tenders (Isle Royale(AD-29) and Great Lakes(AD-30) - eventually aborted) were using up 1 full slipway each.
Although the Seattle yard produced the largest number of destroyers on the West Coast, Union Iron Works was slightly more productive overall with 4 Atlantas, 9 Bensons, 18 Fletchers, 6 Sumners, 3 Gearings and 12 Buckleys.
World War II Destroyer Shipbuilders map from Department of Defense (DoD)
For the first 30 ships the allocation based on keel laid and launch dates can only be
Slip A: Carmick, Franks, Rowe
Slip B: Doyle, Haggard, Smalley
Slip C: Endicott, Hailey, Stoddard
Slip D: McCook, Johnston, Watts
Slip E: Frankfort, Laws, Wren
Slip F: Baldwin, Longshaw, Jarvis
Slip G: Harding, Morrison, Porter
Slip H: Satterlee, Pritchett, Calhoun
Slip I: Thompson, Robinson, Gregory
Slip J: Welles, Ross, Little
None of the 10 Gearings could have occupied the slip where Isle Royale was built.
None of the 5 Sumners or Rooks could have been built at G, H, I, J.
Rowan must have been built on G.
At least 2 Gearings must have been built following a Gearing and no 3 Gearings could have been built on the same slip.
Assuming a slip was not left unoccupied for 82 days only to build another destroyer, no more destroyers were built on H. The same is true for I (54 days gap) and J (40 days gap). Even then Gurke must have followed Rooks with a 25-day gap and the purely analytical approach can't account for that. Ship repairs may be responsible and could cause any length of gap.
What is certain is that destroyer production slowed down in 1944. In the Union Iron Works yard, no new keels were laid after April 1944 and slipways apparently went unused by September 1944.
Todd Dry Dock, Inc.
repair yard in 1945
TODO: this facility was very active in the interwar period, including some big conversion jobs.
SS Cape Cleare to troop transport (1943) (a different Cape Cleare from the one launched in Tacoma in 1940)
TODO: this yard became one of two big cold war era shipyards in Seattle, the other being Lockheed.
Todd Dry Dock and Construction Company
Of the 6 steel shipyards building for the Shipping Board in Puget Sound, Todd Construction was the only one not located in Elliott Bay. This yard was located in the same rectangular area on the Hylebos Waterway as the World War II era yard and it also had 8 slipways.
Historical trivia: Five ships (listed below) built in the yard where acquired from the USSB in the early 30s by Swayne & Hoyt and given Point names, In addition, Point Ancha (ex-Delight), Point Bonita (ex-Sacramento), which were built in Seattle. The Red Hook and Hoboken were never USSB property though. TODO: Show how this naming scheme started in Portland by Albina Engine & Machine Works, from where Swayne & Hoyt picked it up.
The Kennecott was somewhat unusual for its time and one of only 7 diesel motor ships of more than 1,000 tons built in the United States in 1921 and one of 82 built or newly converted worldwide.[33]
↑ USSB contract No. 13 inherited from the Seattle Construction and Drydock Company, minus 4 ships (107, 108, 109, 110) built there. USSB hull numbers by coincidence are very similar to alternative yard numbers from the Seattle DD scheme, not shown here.
Pacific Reserve Fleet, Tacoma
After the war the United States Navy took over the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding shipyard and for use as part of the United States Navy reserve fleets, also called a mothball fleet. The Pacific Reserve Fleet, Tacoma was used to store the now many surplus ships after World War II. Some ships in the Commencement Bay Reserve Fleet were reactivated for the Korean War. The Navy sold the shipyard to the Port of Tacoma in 1959. The ships stored at Pacific Reserve Fleet, Tacoma were either scrapped or moved to other reserve fleets.[42]
Example ships:
USS Lunga Point was placed in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, Tacoma in 1946 and removed in June 1955 and recommissioned as CVU-94.
USS Kwajalein was placed in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, Tacoma in 1946 and removed in June 1955 and recommissioned as CVU-98 a utility aircraft carrier.
USS Tinian (CVE-123) a Commencement Bay-class escort carrier, was stored at Reserve Fleet, Tacoma, being completed in 1946, too late for World War II. On June 12, 1955, the ship was reclassified as an escort helicopter aircraft carrier and re-designated CVHE-123.
Vigor Shipyards is the current entity operating the former Todd Shipyards after its acquisition in 2011. Todd Shipyards was founded in 1916, which owned and operated shipyards on the West Coast of the United States, East Coast of the United States and the Gulf. Todd Shipyards were a major part of the Emergency Shipbuilding Program for World War II.
Union Iron Works, located in San Francisco, California, on the southeast waterfront, was a central business within the large industrial zone of Potrero Point, for four decades at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries.
The Commencement Bay-class escort aircraft carriers were the last class of escort carriers built for the US Navy in World War II.
The Consolidated Steel Corporation was an American steel and shipbuilding business. Formed on 18 December 1928, the company built ships during World War II in two main locations: Wilmington, California and Orange, Texas. It was created by the merger of Llewellyn Iron Works, Baker Iron Works and Union Iron Works, all of Los Angeles. The company entered the shipbuilding business in 1939. In 1948, now a pioneer producer of large-diameter pipelines, Consolidated Steel was renamed Consolidated Western Steel and acquired by U.S. Steel and operated as a wholly-owned subsidiary.
The Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company was a United States shipyard in New Jersey active from 1917 to 1948. It was founded during World War I to build ships for the United States Shipping Board. Unlike many shipyards, it remained active during the shipbuilding slump of the 1920s and early 1930s that followed the World War I boom years. During World War II, it built merchant ships as part of the U.S. Government's Emergency Shipbuilding program, at the same time producing more destroyers for the United States Navy than any yard other than the Bath Iron Works. Operated by a subsidiary of the United States Steel Corporation, the shipyard was located at Kearny Point where the mouth of the Hackensack River meets Newark Bay in the Port of New York and New Jersey.
Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company, was a shipyard in Seattle, Washington with Yard 1 on Harbor Island and Yard 2 at what is now Jack Block Park at Seattle Terminal 5, both at the mouth of the West Waterway of Duwamish River. Yard 1 was founded in 1898 as the Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company, the company that built Harbor Island, and it was purchased by Lockheed in 1959. Yard 2 began operation in 1943 to build ships for the US Navy. The shipyard was permanently closed in 1988; Yard 2 was sold in 1989, and Yard 1 was sold in 1997, both to Port of Seattle.
The four Richmond Shipyards, in the city of Richmond, California, United States, were run by Permanente Metals and part of the Kaiser Shipyards. In World War II, Richmond built more ships than any other shipyard, turning out as many as three ships in a single day. The shipyards are part of the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park, whose Rosie the Riveter memorial honors the shipyard workers. Shipyard #3 is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a California Historical Landmark # 1032.
Commercial Iron Works was a manufacturing firm in Portland, Oregon, United States. Established in 1916, the company is best remembered today for its contribution to America's Emergency Shipbuilding Program during World War II.
Winslow Marine Railway and Shipbuilding Company was a shipyard in Puget Sound that operated from 1903 until 1959 on Bainbridge Island, Washington, United States.
Liberty Fleet Day was first observed on 27 September 1941, the day that 14 merchant ships were launched in shipyards across the United States under the Emergency Shipbuilding program. Among the ships launched was the first Liberty ship, SS Patrick Henry. Some of the merchant ships were subsequently converted to other purposes, including as troop transports and a Royal Navy aircraft carrier. In addition to the merchant ships launched, the US Navy launched two destroyers at the Boston Navy Yard.
The Ocean ships were a class of sixty cargo ships built in the United States by Todd Shipyards Corporation during the Second World War for the British Ministry of War Transport under contracts let by the British Purchasing Commission. Eighteen were lost to enemy action and eight to accidents; survivors were sold postwar into merchant service.
Tacoma Boatbuilding Company was a shipyard at 1840 Marine View Drive, Tacoma, Washington, in the United States. It was established in 1926 and closed in 1992.
Todd Pacific Shipyards, Los Angeles Division was a shipyard in San Pedro, Los Angeles, California. Before applying its last corporate name, the shipyard had been called Los Angeles Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company and Todd Shipyards, Los Angeles Division. Under those three names, the San Pedro yard built at least 130 ships from 1917 to 1989.
MS Cape Flattery was a United States Maritime Commission type C1-B cargo ship built in 1940–41 by the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding, Tacoma, Washington, for the commission to be assigned to the American Mail Line for transpacific service. After the United States entry into the war the ship was operated by the War Shipping Administration (WSA) through American Mail as agents. The ship, after about a year of operation, became a troop transport for the remainder of the war.
Bethlehem Staten Island also called Bethlehem Mariners Harbor was a large shipyard in Mariners Harbor, Staten Island, New York. The shipyard started building ships for World War II in January 1941 under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program and as the result of the Two-Ocean Navy Act of July 1940. The shipyard was part of the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation which built ships for the United States Navy, and the United States Maritime Commission. Bethlehem Steel purchased the shipyard in June 1938 from United Shipyards. Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation closed the shipyard in 1959. The propeller factory and foundry continued operation for 10 more years at the site. Since 1980 the site is the May Ship Repair Contracting Corporation next to Shooters Island at the southern end of Newark Bay, off the North Shore.
↑ Pacific Marine Review, February 1941, p. 55 (includes photograph of the yard on December 31)
↑ United States Congress, House, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries (1946). Investigation of Shipyard Profits. U.S. Government Printing Office. pp.421–423.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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