 SHIPS from Lake Washington Shipyards The city
of Kirkland survived harsh
economic times by building many ships at Houghton.
Many workers labored here to build ships for Ferry's, Research,
Net Laying, Sea Plane Tender, and Torpedo Boat
Tender.
Click
map at right for area history ----->
In
1939 about 300 men worked in the shipyard; the
workforce grew to nearly 9,000 men and women in 1943. Lake Washington
Shipyards built 29 ships for the Navy and repaired nearly 500 vessels
over the course of the war. View The
Homecoming statue in Kirkland;
commemorating
Kirkland's role in ship
building. 
(4) of the SPT’s shipped out as Torpedo boat tenders (TBT): AVP-27, AVP-28, AVP-56, AVP-57, and (2) of the TBT’s later served as Coast Guard ships: AVP-56, AVP-57. (8) of the (SPT’s) became Coast Guard Ships after the war: AVP-23, AVP-24, AVP-25, AVP-26, AVP-33, AVP-34, AVP-35, AVP-36 Many links above move you to NavSource.com. |
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The image
below appeared with one of the pages of the subject
ships.
The Ferry, in the center, is similar to the wooden Leschi, a reconfigured side-wheeler steamboat,  Lake Washington Shipyards also built: • 7 seven artillery
lighters (i.e. light landing craft). A 45-foot artillery lighter, was
equipped with two parallel hinged
ramps in the stern, it could be beached successfully stern-to and 155mm
guns
and other pieces of heavy Marine equipment unloaded. It lacked a power
plant, however,
and had to be towed by another craft. A lighter was similar to the
LCVP’s used
on the ship of this author’s uncle during WWII. See: PA91-15 and
scroll
down to photo of supplies on the beach.
Ballard Marine Railway, Seattle WA., built Minesweepers and Subchasers. One became famous by John Wayne's purchase of YMS-328. |
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