Seattle–Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation


The Seattle–Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation was an American shipbuilding company which built escort carriers, destroyers, cargo ships and auxiliaries for the United States Navy and merchant marine during World War II. It consisted of two yards, one in Seattle and one in Tacoma, along the Puget Sound of Washington. It was the largest producer of destroyers on the West Coast and the largest producer of escort carriers of various classes of any United States shipyard active during World War II.

History

Predecessor shipyards

The William H. Todd Corporation, just having established itself in New York, acquired the Seattle Construction and Drydock Company in the Seattle Harbor during World War I 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 and the first ship, the Tacoma, was launched on March 28, 1918.
3 of 10 light cruisers and 23 cargo ships of 7,500dwt were built in the Tacoma yard, the and the N-class submarines, and 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, 1 diesel freighter, 2 passenger ships and 6 barges. The Red Hook found its way into Imperial Japanese Army service as Naruo Maru and was sunk in 1944.
Shipbuilding ceased in the Seattle yard in 1920 and in the Tacoma yard in 1924.

Seattle–Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation

In 1939, the old Tacoma shipyard in Commencement Bay was revived by the Todd Shipyards Corporation and Kaiser Shipbuilding, initially with two slipways. With the aid of some $15 million in capital provided by the U.S. Government, this was eventually increased to eight.
Following the enactment of the Two-Ocean Navy Act, Seattle-Tacoma was awarded contracts to build 25 destroyers. The government invested $9 million in a new destroyer construction facility on Harbor Island which was then built starting October 15, 1940 next to the existing repair dock founded in 1918.
In February 1942, Todd bought out Kaiser's holding and sold the company's own interests in Permanente Metals.

Todd Pacific Shipyards

In June 1944, the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation was renamed Todd Pacific Shipyards, Inc., which existed as a legal entity until November 1946. 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. The Seattle division at Harbor Island resumed building new vessels in 1952.
The "Plant A" destroyer facility produced a single civilian ship, the luxury ferry Chinook, launched in 1947, but by 1952 oil terminals had been established in the spot.
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 Marine Group.

Ships built

Tacoma yard

In Commencement Bay
Escort carriers
Auxiliaries
  • 2 of 2 s
  • *,
  • * ordered October 23, 1940
  • 4 of 4 s
  • * ...
  • 5 of 23 s
  • * ...
  • 3 of 6 s
  • *,,
Cargo
Ships of World War II produced before 1924
Description of the plant as of January 1940:

Photograph of the plant in the initial 2-ways stage :

Seattle yard

on Harbor Island 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. The expansion had all 5 building ways upon initial completion. In June 1945, 5 destroyers were building, the unfinished was about to be laid down and 2 destroyer tenders 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 s, 9 s, 18 Fletchers, 6 Sumners, 3 Gearings and 12 s.
Contracts awarded
  • NOD1502 7/40 destroyers $29,406,000
  • NOD1511 9/40 destroyers $109,726,000
  • NOD1502S 12/40 destroyers $29,406,000
  • NOD1760 3/41 gasoline tankers aog $10,700,000
  • OBS315 8/42 destroyers $40,799,000
  • OBS329 8/42 destroyers $107,535,000
  • OBS10215 8/44 ship repairs $2,081,000
  • total: $329,653,000
45 of 415 destroyers
  • 10 of 66
  • *
  • * ...
  • * ...
  • 21 of 175
  • *
  • * ...
  • * ...
  • 5 of 58
  • * ...
  • 9 of 98
  • * ...
  • * 1 additional,, was launched incomplete and never commissioned
1 of 6 s
  • - canceled incomplete

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.
Example ships:
  • was placed in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, Tacoma in 1946 and removed in June 1955 and recommissioned as CVU-94.
  • was placed in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, Tacoma in 1946 and removed in June 1955 and recommissioned as CVU-98 a utility aircraft carrier.
  • , 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.