J. F. Duthie & Company
Defunct shipyard off Harbor Island, Seattle, USA
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J. F. Duthie & Company was a small shipyard located on the east side of Harbor Island in Seattle, Washington. It was reportedly organized in 1911 (although there is no mention of it on the 1912 Baist map[1] at the location where the shipyard would be built) and expanded to 4 slipways on 25 acres (10 ha) of property[2] in World War I to build cargo ships for the United Kingdom, France and Norway, but those resources were eventually all diverted at the behest of the United States Shipping Board (USSB). Work on the new plant started on 10 September 1916 and the first keel was laid on 29 November the same year.[3] At that time, the new Skinner & Eddy plant across the water was already launching its first two ships: Niels Nielsen (21 September) and Hanna Nielsen (23 October).
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West Bridge, one of the "West" boats built at J. F. Duthie & Company, shortly before her completion in May 1918 | |
| Founded | c. 1911 in Seattle |
|---|---|
| Founder | J. F. Duthie |
| Headquarters | Harbor Island, Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Products | Ships |
Some 24 of the 33 ships built at J. F. Duthie were the "West boats," a series of steel-hulled cargo ships built for the USSB on the West Coast of the United States as part of the World War I war effort, with 12 requisitioned and 12 built under contract, 16% of the steel tonnage built in Puget Sound for the USSB. Duthie was supplied with boilers by Willamette Iron and Steel Works of Portland, Oregon.[4]
After the war, Wallace F. Duthie, the son of the founder J. F. Duthie, organized the dismantling of the shipbuilding facilities. Wallace died in 1922 at age 23.[5]
In 1928 the company's name was changed to Wallace Bridge Company. It built structural steel for local projects, including the Washington Athletic Club building in 1930.
Notable ships built at J. F. Duthie & Company
Among the first 7 boats built, before the Federal Government dominated the shipbuilding industry, was the steam ferry Leschi, which after an illustrious career capsized during Reagan's second term.
| Yard# | Original | Owner[6] | Renamed To | Launched[a] | Delivered | Marad | Fate[6][b] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | War Leopard | Shipping Controller | West Point | 2 Sep 17 | Jan 18 | scrapped 1938 | |
| 9 | Hallbjorg | P. Kloppe, Oslo | Westerner | Nov 17 | Feb 18 | scrapped 1935 | |
| 10 | War General | Shipping Controller | Westfield | 8 Dec 17 | Feb 18 | scrapped 1930 | |
| 17 | War Port | Western King | 3 Jan 18 | Mar 18 | scrapped 1938 | ||
| 15 | War Moon | Westboro | 26 Mar 18 | Apr 18 | USSR 1945 | ||
| 11 | War Topaz | West Bridge | 24 Apr 18 | May 18 | USSR 1945 | ||
| 14 | War Sun | Westover | 17 Feb 18 | May 18 | torpedoed 1918 | ||
| 12 | War Emerald | Western Sea | 25 May 18 | Jun 18 | scrapped 1931 | ||
| 16 | Viviam | French Line | Western Star | 4 Jul 18 | Aug 18 | scrapped 1935 | |
| 18 | War Disk | Shipping Controller | Western Cross | 4 Jul 18 | Aug 18 | scrapped 1931 | |
| 19 | War Ruby | Western Hope | 29 Jul 18 | Sep 18 | scrapped 1932 | ||
| 20 | Petain | French Line | Westpool | 21 Sep 18 | Oct 18 | UK 1941, torpedoed 1941 |
- See List of ship launches in 1917 and List of ship launches in 1918 for references
- Ships listed as "scrapped 19xx" were only operated by the USSB
In November 1918, World War I came to an end. In February of 1919, Seattle workers went on strike.
- 12 of 111 Design 1013 ships (USSB contracts 224, 334; 3 cancellations)
| Yard# | USSB# | Name | Launched[a] | Delivered[a] | Marad | Lend-Lease |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | 1471 | West Helix | 14 Dec 18 | Y | ||
| 22 | 1472 | West Hembrie | 29 Mar 19 | 17 May 19 | Y | |
| 23 | 1473 | West Hematite | 26 Apr 19 | 13 Jun 19 | ||
| 24 | 1474 | West Henshaw | 2 Jun 19 | 14 Jul 19 | Y | |
| 25 | 1475 | West Hepburn | 21 Jun 19 | 2 Aug 19 | Y | |
| 26 | 1476 | West Herkimer / Seattle Spirit | 16 July 19 | 16 Aug 19 | ||
| 27 | 1477 | West Herrick / Dewey | 23 Aug 19 | 30 Sep 19 | ||
| 28 | 1478 | West Hesperia / Deuel | 27 Sep 19 | 11 Nov 19 | ||
| 29 | 1479 | West Hesseltine | 22 Nov 19 | Y | ||
| 30 | 1480 | West Ivan | 20 Dec 19 | |||
| 31 | 2602 | West Campgaw | ||||
| 32 | 2603 | West Mahwah |
- See List of ship launches in 1918 and 1919 for references
- For the Coastwise SS Co
- Griffco (Sep 20)
- SS Griffdu (Oct 20, last ship built)
Conversions of Japan-built USSB contract ships to oil burners during 1920: Eastern Crown, Eastern Dawn, Eastern Glen, Eastern Exporter for total of $338,094 on USSB account.[7]
