Tampa Shipbuilding Company

Tampa Shipbuilding Company, or TASCO, was one of a number of shipyards in Tampa, Florida. It operated from the 1920s to after World War II.

History

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. The company was sold and renamed Tampa Shipbuilding Company (TASCO) after financial difficulties.[1]

USS Cates (DE-763)

Immediately before and during the United States entry into the Second World War the company built some commercial type hulls that became naval auxiliaries (USS Lassen, USS Mauna Loa as examples). One prewar ship, the C2 cargo ship Sea Witch, gained some note in a last attempt to deliver U.S. Army planes to Java, though the twenty-seven crated P-40’s had to be destroyed after delivered to prevent them from falling into Japanese hands.[2] During the war TASCO built a number of naval vessels (USS Cates, USS Sutton and USS Slater as examples). At its peak, it was the largest employer in Tampa, employing 16,000 people. Tampa Shipbuilding closed after the war, and few traces remain of its facilities.[1]

Tampa Shipbuilding (TASCO), Tampa FL

References

Notes
  1. T. Colton.
  2. Craven & Cate 1948, p. 397.

Bibliography
  • Craven, Wesley Frank; Cate, James Lea (1948). Plans and early operations, January 1939 to August 1942. The Army Air Forces In World War II. One. Washington, D.C.: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 091279903X. LCCN 83017288.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • 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.
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