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37-627: 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

74-477: A history, see: Merchant Marine Act of 1936 The Merchant Marine Act of 1936 is a United States federal law . Its purpose is "to further the development and maintenance of an adequate and well-balanced American merchant marine , to promote the commerce of the United States, to aid in the national defense, to repeal certain former legislation, and for other purposes." Specifically, it established

111-714: A subsidy system authorized by the Act which would offset the differential cost between both building in the U.S. and operating ships under the American flag. Another function given to the Commission involved the formation of the U.S. Maritime Service for the training of seagoing ship's officers to man the new fleet. The actual licensing of officers and seamen still resided with the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation. President Roosevelt nominated Joseph P. Kennedy first head of

148-442: The United States Maritime Commission , and required a United States Merchant Marine that: The Act restricted the number of aliens allowed to work on passenger ships, requiring that, by 1938, 90 percent of the crew members were U.S. citizens. Although about 4,000 Filipinos worked as merchant mariners on U.S. ships, most of these seamen were discharged in 1937 as a result of the law. The Act also established federal subsidies for

185-536: The 1960s and 1970s as more modern designs were developed and more efficient slow speed diesel engines introduced to replace the steamships which predominated those built by the Commission during the war years. Ships not disposed of through the Ship Sales Act were placed into one of eight National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) sites maintained on the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts. On several occasions in

222-545: The Battles of the Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea. Although not sold outright to nations that were enemies during the war, U.S. merchant ships helped nations such as Japan, which had lost many hundreds of its merchant vessels to the Allies' submarine offensive in the western Pacific , recover their merchant shipping capacity via the loan of vessels and the carrying of relief cargoes to war ravaged Europe. Ships were also used in both

259-433: The Commission was to oversee the design and construction of the super passenger liner SS  United States which was intended to be both a symbol of American technological might and maritime predominance but also could be quickly converted into the world's fastest naval troop transport. The Maritime Commission was abolished on 24 May 1950, and its functions were divided between the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission which

296-537: The Commission's shipbuilding functions including the design and construction of the ships, developing shipyards to build them and companies to manufacture the complicated and highly specialized ship's machinery. As World War II drew closer, Vickery was very much at the forefront of putting into place the Emergency Shipbuilding Program which men like Henry J. Kaiser were so instrumental in developing into an industry which would perform some of

333-472: The Commission. Kennedy held that position until February 1938 when he left to become US Ambassador to Great Britain. After Kennedy's departure, the chairmanship was assumed by Rear Admiral Emory S. Land , USN (ret.), who had been the head of U.S. Navy's Bureau of Construction and Repair prior to his appointment to the Commission on the behest of the President and where he had been a deputy commissioner since

370-742: The Exchange National Bank, was encouraged by this to buy the company for $ 500. Howell was charged by the US Accounting Office with illegally selling ships and overcharging the US Navy , but was never prosecuted. The shipyard was renamed to Tampa Shipbuilding Company (TASCO) after it was sold. 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. TASCO

407-687: The Maritime Commission was multifold as described in the Merchant Marine Act's Declaration of Policy. The first role was to formulate a merchant shipbuilding program to design and then have built over a ten-year period 900 modern fast merchant cargo ships which would replace the World War I-vintage vessels which made up the bulk of the U.S. Merchant Marine prior to the Act. Those ships were intended to be chartered (leased) to U.S. shipping companies for their use in

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444-558: The Nation's peacetime needs. In 1946, the Commission was chaired by Vice admiral William W. Smith and the Merchant Ship Sales Act was passed to sell off a large portion of the ships previously built during the war to commercial buyers, both domestic and foreign. This facilitated the rebuilding of the fleets of both allied nations such as Great Britain, Norway and Greece which had lost a majority of their prewar vessels to

481-469: The U.S. Merchant Marine and Merchant Shipbuilding under the Merchant Marine Act, the first vessel contracted for was SS  America . Owned by the United States Lines , she briefly operated in the passenger liner and cruise service before being converted into a high-speed transport, per her design. From 1939 through the end of World War II, the Maritime Commission funded and administered

518-536: The United States entry into the Second World War the company built US Navy auxiliaries . Tampa Shipbuilding built: Admirable -class minesweepers and Type C2 cargo ships , like USS  Lassen , USS  Mauna Loa and MS  Sea Witch , which gained some note in a last attempt to deliver U.S. Army planes to Java , though the twenty-seven crated P-40s had to be destroyed after delivered to prevent them from falling into Japanese hands. During

555-634: The World War I vintage vessels that comprised the bulk of the United States Merchant Marine , and to administer a subsidy system authorized by the Act to offset the cost differential between building in the U.S. and operating ships under the American flag. It also formed the United States Maritime Service for the training of seagoing ship's officers to man the new fleet. As a symbol of the rebirth of

592-486: The beginnings of the Emergency Shipbuilding program were laid. Together, all the Maritime Commission's shipbuilding program became known as Ships for Victory and great pride was taken in it by the many thousands of ordinary citizens went to work in the shipyards and joined the ranks of the shipbuilding workforce. From 1939 through the end of World War II, the Maritime Commission funded and administered

629-466: The city. The company ended up only producing one of the ships in the contract, MS  Sea Witch as the company announced it was in bad financial shape. As a result of the company going into a bad financial state, the Maritime Commission and Reconstruction Finance Corporation (that had assumed the PWA loan) tried to find new owners for the company, replacing Ernest Kreher. George B. Howell, who worked for

666-404: The design and construction of the super passenger liner SS  United States , which was intended to be both a symbol of American technological might and maritime predominance but also could be quickly converted into the world's fastest naval troop transport. The Maritime Commission was abolished on 24 May 1950, and its functions were divided between the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission which

703-475: The foreign seagoing trades for whom they would be able to offer better and more economical freight services to their clients. The ships were also intended to serve as a reserve naval auxiliary force in the event of armed conflict which was a duty the U.S. merchant fleet had often filled throughout the years since the Revolutionary War. The second role given to the Maritime Commission was to administer

740-442: The founding of the body. The other four members of the Commission in the years before the beginning of World War II were a mix of retired naval officers and men from disciplines of law and business. The man most notable in the group Land brought to the Commission was Commander Howard L. Vickery , USN, who, like Land, was a naval officer closely involved in the construction of new Navy vessels. Vickery became responsible for overseeing

777-503: The greatest feats of wartime industrial production ever previously witnessed and never since matched. As a symbol of the rebirth of the U.S. Merchant Marine and Merchant Shipbuilding under the Merchant Marine Act, the first vessel contracted for was SS  America , which was owned by the United States Line and operated in the passenger liner and cruise service during 1940-1. Upon the U.S. entry into World War II, America

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814-549: The largest and most successful merchant shipbuilding effort in world history, producing thousands of ships and other vessels, including Liberty ships , Victory ships , and others, notably Type B barges; Type C1 , Type C2 , Type C3 , and Type C4 freighters; Type R refrigerator ships; T1 , T2 , and T3 tankers , and Type V tugs. Most of the C2s and C3s were converted to Navy auxiliaries, notably attack cargo ships , attack transports , and escort aircraft carriers and many of

851-410: The largest and most successful merchant shipbuilding effort in world history. By the end of the war, U.S. shipyards working under Maritime Commission contracts had built a total of 5,777 oceangoing merchant and naval ships and many smaller vessels. A huge postwar contraction followed, with massive sell-offs to foreign militaries and commercial fleets. The last major shipbuilding project undertaken by

888-514: 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. 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

925-584: The postwar years ships in the reserve fleets were activated for both military and humanitarian aid missions. The last major mobilization of the NDRF came during the Vietnam War . Since then, a smaller fleet of ships called the Ready Reserve Force has been mobilized to support both humanitarian and military missions. The last major shipbuilding project undertaken by the Commission was to oversee

962-558: The rebuilding programs under the Marshall Plan and the transport of food aid sent during the desperate winter of 1945-46 when famine loomed large over much of the European continent. For the next 25 years, in ports all around the world one could find dozens of ships which had been built during the war but which now were used in peace. Many of those same ships continued to sail until the early 1980s but most had been sold for scrap in

999-508: The tankers became fleet replenishment oilers . The Commission also was tasked with the construction of many hundred "military type" vessels such as Landing Ship, Tank (LST)s and Tacoma -class frigates (PF)s and large troop transports for the Navy and Army Transportation Corps . By the end of the war, U.S. shipyards working under Maritime Commission contracts had built a total of 5,777 oceangoing merchant and naval ships. In early 1942 both

1036-534: The training and licensing was transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard for administration, but then late in the fall of 1942, the Maritime Service was transferred to the newly created War Shipping Administration which itself was created for the purpose of overseeing the operation of the fleet of merchant ships being built by the Emergency Program for the needs of the U.S. Armed Services. The WSA

1073-541: The war TASCO also built Cannon -class destroyer escorts like USS  Cates , USS  Sutton and USS  Slater . At its peak, it was the largest employer in Tampa, employing 16,000 people. Tampa Shipbuilding closed after the war in 1947, and few traces remain of its facilities. Tampa Shipbuilding (TASCO), Tampa FL 27°56′38″N 82°26′28″W  /  27.943955°N 82.441188°W  / 27.943955; -82.441188 United States Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission

1110-614: Was added to the list of wartime agencies created within the Roosevelt Administration and was intended to relieve the already full plate of responsibilities of the Commission, yet they shared the same Chairman in Admiral Land and so worked very closely together. With the end of World War II, both the Emergency and Long Range shipbuilding programs were terminated as there were far too many merchant vessels now for

1147-587: Was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936 , which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 1950. The commission replaced the United States Shipping Board which had existed since World War I . It was intended to formulate a merchant shipbuilding program to design and build five hundred modern merchant cargo ships to replace

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1184-624: 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. Immediately before and during

1221-501: Was later incorporated in 1905. The company borrowed $ 750,000 in 1938 from the Public Works Administration to help pay for the construction of a 10,000-ton dry dock that was being built. After the dry dock was constructed, in 1939, they were awarded a contract worth $ 8 million to build four cargo ships. The growth in the shipyard resulted in about 2,000 new jobs being created and helped to combat unemployment in

1258-415: Was requisitioned by the U.S. Navy and became USS  West Point . In the prewar years, several dozen other merchant ships were built for the Commission under its original 500 ship Long Range Shipbuilding Program but it was not until the late fall of 1940 the critical importance of the Commission to the defense of the lifeline to Great Britain and to the national mobilization for war became apparent when

1295-603: Was responsible for regulating shipping trades and trade routes and the United States Maritime Administration , which was responsible for administering the construction and operating subsidy programs, maintaining NDRF, and operating the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy which had been built and opened during World War II and which continues to be funded and operated today as one of the five Federal Service Academies. Responsibility for U.S. merchant shipping has been held by many agencies since 1917. For

1332-440: Was responsible for regulating shipping trades and trade routes and the United States Maritime Administration , which was responsible for administering the construction and operating subsidy programs, maintaining NDRF, and operating the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy which had been built and opened during World War II and which continues to be funded as the nation's federally operated maritime academy under 46 USC 310. The purpose of

1369-460: Was the largest company that existed. A company newspaper published during World War II was titled the Tascozette . 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

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