Tampa Shipbuilding Company
Tampa Shipbuilding Company, or TASCO, was one of a number of
History
Origins
Originally Tampa Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, founded in 1917, the yard built ships under the United States Maritime Commission's pre-war long-range shipbuilding program. It was also called the Tampa Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company. It would use the facilities of the Tampa Foundry & Machine Co. Tampa Foundry that ceased to exist in 1916. The Tampa Foundry was established in 1892 and was later incorporated in 1905.[3]
World War II mobilization
The company would borrow $750,000 dollars in 1938 from the Public Works Administration to help pay for the construction of a 10,000-ton dry dock that was being built. The drydock would end up being constructed and afterwards in 1939, they would be awarded a contract worth $8 million to build four cargo ships. The growth in the shipyard would result in about 2,000 new jobs being created and helped to combat unemployment in the city. They company would end up only producing one of the ships in the contract, MS Sea Witch as the company would announce it was in bad financial shape.[4]
As a result of the company going into a bad financial state, the Maritime Commission and
World War II activities
During the war, TASCO was one of four other shipyards in Tampa. The other three being: Bushnell-Lyons; Tampa Marine; and Hooker's Point Yard, started by Matthew H. McCloskey, Junior.[5] TASCO was the largest company that existed.[6] A company newspaper published during World War II was titled the Tascozette.[7]
African American workers who worked in shipyards were usually excluded from joining local unions as it was common during that time period to not accept them. Those in the shipyard who were African American usually worked as cooks, assistants, janitors and learners which were some of the only job positions they could take. The jobs available to African American workers were not unionized in general. The accomplishments of African American workers were rarely if never highlighted in the company newspapers of the shipyards in Tampa. 17% of workers at the shipyard were female making it twice the rate it was at the national level.[7]
Apart from doing work at the shipyard during World War II, recreational activities were also provided for workers there. A bowling, softball and basketball league was created at the shipyard. Eventually a swim club and fencing club would be established along with volleyball, tennis and badminton would also being introduced. A radio program would be created by the management of the shipyard. An RCA recording would be broadcast from the Morale Department located in the yard originally being an hour long program at noon. The radio program would be expanded in October 1944 and would also include songs requested by employees.[8]
Ships built during World War II
- 9 of 72 Cannon-class destroyer escorts
- Cates (DE-763) ... Sutton (DE-771)
- plus 3 launched, cancelled and scrapped (772, 773, 774)
- 24 of 123 Admirable-class minesweeper
- 3 of 5 Dixie-class destroyer tenders
- 7 of 7 Lassen-class ammunition ships (C2)
- 1 of 10 Portunus-class motor boat tenders
- 2 of 2 Amphion-class repair ships
- 3 of 11 attack cargo ships
- 4 of 11 stores ships(conversions only)
- Edward Rutledge (APA-52) (conversion only)
- APL-53 to APL-56
References
- ^ Tampa shipbuildinghistory.com, Shipbuilding (TASCO), Tampa FL
- ^ Gulf Marine Repair website
- ^ a b c T. Colton 2013.
- ^ a b Wynne, Lewis (1990). "Shipbuilding in Tampa During World War II". Sunland Tribune. 16 – via Scholar Commons.
- ^ Shipbuilding in Tampa During World War II|https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1214&context=sunlandtribune
- Florida Historical Quarterly. 85: 5 – via JSTOR.
- ^ a b Tanner, Stacy (Spring 2007). "Progress and Sacrifice: Tampa Shipyard Workers in World War II". Florida Historical Quarterly. 85 (4): 11–12 – via JSTOR.
- ^ Tanner, Stacy (Spring 2007). "Progress and Sacrifice: Tampa Shipyard Workers in World War II". Florida Historical Quarterly. 85 (4): 28–30 – via JSTOR.
- ^ Craven & Cate 1948, p. 397.
- Craven, Wesley Frank; Cate, James Lea (1948). Plans and early operations, January 1939 to August 1942. The Army Air Forces In World War II. Vol. One. Washington, D.C.: Office of Air Force History. LCCN 83017288.
- T. Colton (April 11, 2013). "Tampa Shipbuilding (TASCO), Tampa FL". ShipbuildingHistory. T. Colton. Archived from the original on 31 October 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2013.