Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation

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.

Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation
IndustryShipbuilding
Founded1939
Defunct1946
HeadquartersTacoma, Washington United States
ParentTodd Pacific Shipyards and Kaiser Shipbuilding

History

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-class destroyer USS Gwin (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 $15 million 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 $9 million 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.

Ships built

Tacoma yard
Tacoma yard in 1945

in Commencement Bay (47.27949°N 122.40705°W / 47.27949; -122.40705 (Todd Tacoma Shipyard))

Escort carriers (56)

Auxiliaries (14)

Cargo (5)

Ships of World War II produced before 1924 (incomplete)

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 (47.58903°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)

Contracts awarded

  • NOD1502 7/40 destroyers $29,406,000 (= 5 Gleaves)
  • NOD1511 9/40 destroyers $109,726,000 (= 15 Fletcher)
  • NOD1502S 12/40 destroyers $29,406,000 (= 5 Gleaves)
  • NOD1760 3/41 gasoline tankers aog $10,700,000 (= 5 Patapsco, built in Tacoma)
  • OBS315 8/42 destroyers $40,799,000 (= 6 Fletcher)
  • OBS329 8/42 destroyers $107,535,000 (= 15 Sumner)
  • OBS10215 8/44 ship repairs $2,081,000
  • total: $329,653,000

45 of 415 destroyers

1 of 6 Shenandoah-class destroyer tenders

speculation

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.

WW2 conversions of ... (incomplete)

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.

Description of the plant including a map: [32]

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]

In 1920 the yard took part in a program to convert Japan-built ships to oil burners on USSB account: SS Eastern Guide, SS Eastern Gale, SS Eastern Victor, SS Eastern Admiral, SS Eastern Tempest, SS Eastern Importer for a total of $384,352.[34]

Todd Dry Dock and Construction Company, Tacoma
Yard#USSB#NameTypeLaunched[lower-alpha 1]
1Req.[lower-alpha 2] Tacoma7,500dwt cargo28 Mar 18
2Anacortes4 Jul 18
3Masuda23 May 18
4Puget Sound19 Jul 18
5Bellingham28 Sep 18
6Yukon26 Oct 18
7Cascade21 Dec 18
82629Olen7,500dwt cargo25 Jun 19
92630Ophis30 Jul 19
102631Orcus19 Jul 19
112632St. Anthony10 Sep 19
122633Ossa
132634Otho
142635Padnsay
152636Pallas
Point Clear
162637Pansa
172638Rotarian
182639Parmacancelled
192640Patmos
2641 - 2652cancelled
20105[lower-alpha 3]Ossining[35]
Point Lobos		6 May 19
21106Higho[36]27 Sep 19
26111Jacona[37]30 Nov 18
27112Remus
Point Judith		16 Apr 19
28113Zarembo4 Jun 19
29114Quittacas4 Jan 19
Yard#OwnerNameTypeLaunched
30NavyOmahaOmaha-class cruiser14 Dec 20
31Milwaukee
32Cincinnati
33ToddRed Hook
Point Estero
34Hoboken
Point Vincente
35Alaska SS Co.MS Kennecott[38]6,500dwt cargo6 Jan 21[39]
36AlaskaP&C19 Apr 23[40]
43Southern Pacific Co.Bienville445ft. passenger2 Jul 24[41]
  1. See List of ship launches in 1918, 1919, and 1920 for references
  2. Six Building For the Shipping Controller / the Cunard Line:
    • War Artist -> Tacoma
    • War Herald -> Bellingham
    • War Bard -> Yukon
    • War Comrade -> Anacortes
    • War Guide -> Puget Sound
    • War Regent -> Cascade
    One building for the Barber Steamship Lines: Masuda. All contracts were inherited from the Seattle Construction and Drydock Company
  3. 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.

Shipbuilding in Puget Sound

See also

References
  1. "Shipbuilding Notes - Tacoma". Pacific Marine Review. January 1917. p. 82.
  2. "Chebaulip (ID 3141)".
  3. "Tacoma's Place in Steel Shipbuilding". Pacific Marine Review. July 1918. p. 108.
  4. "IJA Naruo Maru Class Transport".
  5. https://wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?232067
  6. "(picture without article)". Pacific Marine Review. October 1939. p. 74.
  7. "Seattle-Tacoma Shipyard Under Way". Pacific Marine Review. December 1939. p. 32.
  8. The Log, October 1939, https://books.google.com/books/download/The_Log.pdf?id=TIAPAAAAIAAJ&output=pdf
  9. "Index to Vol. 23".
  10. Pacific Marine Review, February 1941, p. 55 (includes photograph of the yard on December 31)
  11. 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)
  12. The Log, August 1947, https://books.google.com/books/download/The_Log.pdf?id=QncPAAAAIAAJ&output=pdf
  13. https://books.google.com/books/download/The_Port_of_Seattle_Washington.pdf?id=2TWHcl9YahsC&output=pdf, page 56
  14. The Log, November 1940, p. 6
  15. The Log Vol 35, No. 5, August 1940, p. 6
  16. The Log Vol. 36, No. 1, October 1940, p. 6
  17. The Log Vol. 36, No. 9, June 1941, p. 5
  18. The Log Vol. 36, No. 10, July 1941, p. 49
  19. "Pacific Marine Review". October 1939. p. 52. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  20. "Pacific Marine Review". April 1940. p. 48. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  21. "Cape Alava (1941) - Lloyds Register of Ships".
  22. "Cape Fairweather (1941) - Lloyds Register of Ships".
  23. "Cape Flattery (1941) - Lloyds Register of Ships".
  24. "Oregon (1941) - Lloyds Register of Ships".
  25. "Idaho (1941) - Lloyds Register of Ships".
  26. "Pacific Marine Review". January 1940. p. 54. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  27. "Pacific Marine Review". January 1941. p. 62. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  28. "Thirteenth Naval District (Cochrane Collection)".
  29. Pacific Marine Review, February 1941, p. 55
  30. Friedman, US destroyers, p. 449
  31. Friedman, US destroyers, p. 450
  32. "Todd Corporation's Model Shipyard at Tacoma". Marine Engineering. Vol. 26. December 1921. p. 921.
  33. Committee on the Merchant Marine and Fisheries,68th congress (1924). Conversion of Ships Into Motor Types.
  34. "Nearly 1,750,000 is spent on Japanese ships in Seattle". Weekly Commercial News. Vol. 61, no. 19. November 6, 1920. p. 9.
  35. "Tacoma". Pacific Marine Review. June 1919. p. 157.
  36. "Tacoma". Pacific Marine Review. November 1919. p. 102.
  37. "Tacoma News Notes". Pacific Marine Review. January 1919. p. 119.
  38. "The Kennecott - An American Motor Freighter". Pacific Marine Review. May 1921. pp. 275–276.
  39. "In West Coast Yards". Pacific Marine Review. February 1921. p. 112.
  40. "American Shipbuilding". Pacific Marine Review. June 1923. p. 304.
  41. "Shipbuilding and Ship Repairing". Pacific Marine Review. August 1924. p. 440.
  42. shipbuildinghistory.com Todd Tacoma
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