Acting Mayor C. Val Fawcett had the honor of escorting Lady Halifax, wife of the British ambassador to the United States, and two companions on a tour of the Seattle-Tacoma Shipyards in July, 1943. Dorothy, Lady Halifax, is looking downwards, dressed in white hat and dark jacket. Next to her is believed to be Mrs. Harold Swan, wife of the British consul in Seattle. The ambassador, his son Lt. Richard Wood, and other dignitaries rode in three other vehicles. For some reason, this picture appears to have been flipped with the steering wheel on the right hand side. ALBUM 3.

Visits of state--Tacoma; Halifax, Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st earl of; Halifax, Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st earl of--Family; Nobility--England; Fawcett, Clarence Valdo, 1900-1965; Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. (Tacoma);

Pretty Marmie Osborn was chosen by the employees of the Engineering Department at the Seattle-Tacoma shipyard to represent the 1st shift Files in the August 1943 "All Yard Queen" contest. The winner would be crowned at the shipyard's picnic at the Sutherland Resort at Five Mile Lake. (Sea-Tac Keel, Vol. II, No. III, pg.6; August 7, 1943 issue)

Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. (Tacoma)--People; Osborn, Marmie;

Seattle-Tacoma shipyard employee Art Faith, right, shook hands with Seaman Basil D. Izzi during the sailor's visit to the Tacoma yard on August 25, 1943. Art Faith worked in Material Control, 2nd shift, where he held his own despite the fact that he had only one hand. Seaman Izzi had survived a record 83 days adrift in the South Atlantic, the longest in Navy history. He was assigned as a gunner on a United Nations merchant ship that was torpedoed. The nineteen year old clung to wreckage for 2 nights and a day before locating and swimming to the life raft. The 8x9 foot raft, with provisions for 16 days, drifted 2,200 miles before the three survivors were rescued. Izzi's weight had dropped from 145 to 80 pounds. (Sea-Tac Keel, Vol. II, No. V, pg. 3; September 4, 1943 issue; TNT 8/26/1943, pg. 1)

Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. (Tacoma); Faith, Art; Izzi, Basil;

Portrait of group of men, most wearing hardhats, in front of Building 33, probably at Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation. Fire Department, Engine Company No. 1. (WSHS)

Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. (Tacoma); Boat & ship industry--Tacoma;

Fire Department, Engine Company No. 1. Portrait of large group of men and women in front of Building 33, probably at Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation. (WSHS)

Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. (Tacoma); Boat & ship industry--Tacoma;

On December 7, 1943, the anniversary of Pearl Harbor, Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. was awarded the prestigious "E" Award for excellence in production. At the center of the photo, in overcoat and hat, is O.A. Tucker, vice president and General Manager of the yard. As part of the ceremony, employees were presented with a memorial "E" pin. This is possibly a ceremony connected with the presentation of those pins. The Tacoma yard was being recognized for cutting more than a million man hours from the amount needed to produce an escort carrier. Tacoma built flattops and their escorts were famous as submarine destroyers. (Sea-Tac Keel, Vol. II, No. XII, pg. 3; December 24, 1943 issue)

Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. (Tacoma); Awards;

A Seattle-Tacoma shipyard employee, dressed in work overalls and hatless, makes a heartfelt speech during the December 7, 1943 presentation of the Army-Navy "E" Award flag and employee pins. (Sea-Tac Keel, Vol. II, No. XII, pg. 3; December 24, 1943 issue)

Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. (Tacoma); Awards;

On December 7, 1943, the anniversary of Pearl Harbor, Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. was awarded the prestigious "E" Award for excellence in production. In this photo, an unidentified man was making a speech from a flag festooned platform loaded with various shipyard dignitaries and Naval officers. (Sea-Tac Keel, Vol. II, No. XII, pg. 3; December 24, 1943 issue)

Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. (Tacoma); Awards;

In a special December 7, 1943 ceremony, held on the anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Seattle-Tacoma Shipyard was presented with the prestigious Army-Navy "E" Award. The "E" Award was in recognition of excellent production, beyond the expectations of the government. The awards were made before the largest crowd ever assembled, 25,000, in the Pacific Northwest for this type of event. Here a uniformed Naval officer stands before a microphone on a flag draped podium in what appears to be a secondary event connected with the award. (Sea-Tac Keel, Vol. II, No. XII, pg. 3; December 24, 1943 issue)

Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. (Tacoma); Awards;

Several thousand workers at the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation shipyard on Tacoma's tideflats gathered on December 7,1943, the anniversary of Pearl Harbor, to watch their company receive the Army -Navy "E" pennant for excellence in production. During WWII the "E" Pennant was the highest award that could be conferred on an industrial plant. Factors in the selection of a plant for recognition were high quality and quantity of production. This was one of several ceremonies held at the shipyard to allow all shifts of workers to celebrate the awarding of the pennant and for the presentation of individual pins to plant employees . (Sea-Tac Keel, Vol. II, No. XII, pg. 3; December 24, 1943 issue; T.Times 12-8-43, p. 1-article)

Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. (Tacoma); Awards;

A Naval officer pinned an "E" Award pin on an employee at the Seattle-Tacoma shipyard during a special December 7, 1943 ceremony presenting the company and employees with the prestigious Army-Navy award. The award was the highest that could be conferred on an industrial plant and its workers. (Sea-Tac Keel, Vol. II, No. XII, pg. 3; December 24, 1943 issue)

Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. (Tacoma); Awards;

A shipyard worker in a hard hat proudly displayed the Army-Navy "E" pennant for inspection. The "E" pennant was the highest award conferred on an industrial plant. It was awarded to the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. during a special December 7, 1943 ceremony. The flag was given in recognition of excellent production, far exceeding the expectations of the government. The Tacoma yard had cut more than a million man hours in the production of its escort carriers. (Sea-Tac Keel, Vol. II, No. XII, pg. 3; December 24, 1943 issue)

Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. (Tacoma); Awards;

Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation. This aerial photograph was taken at night as a test with new infra red film. In the brightly lighted area, work was going on 24 hours a day on warships contracted by the military, now heavily involved in World War II. (WSHS)

World War, 1939-1945--Economic & industrial aspects--Tacoma; Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. (Tacoma); Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1940-1950;

This aerial photograph of the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation yard on Tacoma's tideflats was taken at night in November of 1943, partly as a test of a new infra red film. To the right, in the brightly lighted area, at least four hulls are under construction as work work went on 24 hours a day on warships contracted by the military, now heavily involved in World War II. The lights of Tacoma cut through the night sky.

World War, 1939-1945--Economic & industrial aspects--Tacoma; Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. (Tacoma); Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1940-1950;

By February of 1944, the traffic problems on the Tideflats, resulting from the increased employment at the Seattle-Tacoma shipyard, had subsided so much that after a nation wide survey it was found to have the "best handled traffic of any plant" in the US. This photo, looking north on Alexander Ave., was taken of the outgoing traffic, involving thousands of employees, just after the change of shift. Over 300 Victory busses, privately owned vehicles of all shapes and sizes, carried 28 per cent of all traffic to outlying areas, such as Enumclaw, Olympia and Aberdeen. Municipal busses carried 44 per cent and private cars, with car pools, carried 28 per cent. It took about 18 minutes to clear out the congestion after shift change. (Sea-Tac Keel, Vol. III, No. 4, pg.4-5; February 26, 1944 issue)

Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. (Tacoma); World War, 1939-1945--War work--Tacoma; Automobiles--1940-1950; Traffic congestion--Tacoma--1940-1950; Mass transit--Tacoma--1940-1950; Buses--Tacoma--1940-1950;

By April of 1943, the in-plant training school at the Tacoma yard of the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. had been in operation about a year. The classes helped fill the gap between the shortage of available skilled laborers and the increased number of jobs in the defense industry. Both motion and still pictures were used in training. Here instructor Pete Neufeld is operating a table projector. The trainees are M.A. Smith, T. James, R.V. Sutherland, W. Ehret, K. Taylor and L. Sherman. (Sea-Tac Keel, Vol. 1 No. 7, Pg.4-5, May 8, 1943 issue)

Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. (Tacoma); Welding; World War, 1939-1945--War work--Tacoma;

E.E. "Ernie" Southwell, veteran shipwright leadman, had a lot of reasons to smile. He had the unusual distinction of being on the construction crews that built the yard in Tacoma in both World War I and II. On the front of his coveralls is his employment badge with his photograph and his employee number, 775. (Sea-Tac Keel, Vol. 1 No. 7, Pg 8, May 8, 1943 issue)

Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. (Tacoma); World War, 1939-1945--War work--Tacoma; Southwell, Ernie;

Shirley Phillips, who worked second shift in the Tool Room, was entered in the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Yard Queen contest in July of 1943. The crowning of the queen would be one of the events at the August 8th picnic sponsored by the yard's Athletic Club. The picnic would be held at Sutherland's resort at Five Mile Lake. Other picnic events included softball, tug of war, races and horseshoes, followed by entertainment and dancing. (Sea-Tac Keel, Vol. II, No. II, pg. 7; July 24, 1943 issue)

Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. (Tacoma)--People; Phillips, Shirley;

In July of 1943, an unidentified female employee at the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. had one of the new white stars added to her helmet. In the star was a numeral representing how many relatives she had in the armed services. Relatives could be a husband, wife, mother, father, son, daughter, brother, sister, grandson or granddaughter. In the event that a relative was either killed in service or missing in action, a gold star would be added to the helmet. Workers were reminded each day of the personal reasons they had to give 100% in their defense work.

Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. (Tacoma); Helmets; World War, 1939-1945--Economic & industrial aspects--Tacoma;

One of the major problems facing America during the beginning of World War II was the training of skilled mechanics and engineers in large enough numbers to handle the flood of defense work. The Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. developed its own in-plant training program for helpers who showed aptitude for their work. By April of 1943, the program had been in place and growing for one year. 225 instructors supervised over 1,000 trainees in seven crafts. Here welding instructor Ed Moe checks the work of Alfred Warren. (Sea-Tac Keel, Vol. 1 No. 7, Pg.4-5, May 8, 1943 issue)

Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. (Tacoma); Welding; World War, 1939-1945--War work--Tacoma; Moe, Ed; Warren, Alfred;

Joyous Mary Morton was a candidate in the Sea-Tac shipyard Yard Queen contest in July of 1943. Miss Morton, who worked 1st shift in Material Consn., was undoubtedly nominated because of her fantastic smile. (Sea-Tac Keel, Vol. II, No. II, pg. 7; July 24, 1943 issue)

Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. (Tacoma)--People; Morton, Mary;

On National Maritime Day, May 22, 1942, the U. S. S. Altamaha was launched by the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. just before midnight. She was the second ship launched that day at the company's Tacoma yard. The U. S. S. Barnes had been launched at 12:01 a.m. National Maritime Day was the 123rd anniversary of the first successful trans-oceanic voyage by a steamship. The Altamaha received one battle star for her participation in the 3rd Fleet supporting operations off Luzon in 1944. She was placed out of commission in 1946 and scrapped in 1961. The Barnes was scrapped in 1960. (T. Times 5/22/1942, pg.1)

Launchings--Tacoma--1940-1950; Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. (Tacoma); Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1940-1950;