The Pacific Coast Engineering Company or PACECO is an American industrial fabricator and mechanical engineering company, and was previously a

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...

company in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

and then

Alameda, California Alameda ( ; ; Spanish for "Avenue (landscape), tree-lined path") is a city in Alameda County, California, located in the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), East Bay region of the Bay Area. The city is primarily located on Alameda (island), Alam ...

. To support the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

demand for ships, PACECO

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...

switched over to military construction and built

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

Tugboats A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...

. As early as February of 1920, PACECO was reported to be bidding on a contract to make alterations or improvements to a Japanese steamer in Seattle. Started as a mechanical engineering company, PACECO began operations in its Oakland shipyard in 1922. The Oakland shipyard at the 14th Street terminus (Oakland Outer Harbor) was acquired by the US. Navy in 1940 for World War II needs. PACECO moved the shipyard to 350 Blanding Avenue, Alameda. The new yard did prefab sub assemblies for the other Bay Area shipyards, like the

Richmond Shipyards The four Richmond Shipyards, in the city of Richmond, California, United States, were run by Permanente Metals and part of the Kaiser Shipyards. In World War II, Richmond built more ships than any other shipyard, turning out as many as three ships ...

. In 1943, PACECO built its first of five US Navy tugboats. After the war, PACECO built tugboats, barges, and container cranes. The first

quay A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths ( mooring locatio ...

side container

gantry crane A gantry crane is a crane built atop a gantry, which is a structure used to straddle an object or workspace. They can range from enormous "full" gantry cranes, capable of lifting some of the heaviest loads in the world, to small shop cranes, us ...

was developed by PACECO in 1959. PACECO was sold to

Fruehauf Trailer Corporation Fruehauf Trailer Corporation, previously Fruehauf Trailer Company (1918–1963) and Fruehauf Corporation (1963–1989), was an American company engaged in the manufacture and sale of truck trailers, and other machinery and equipment, with headquar ...

in 1967. Fruehauf ended shipbuilding in 1976 and changed to build primarily

container crane A container crane (also container handling gantry crane or ship-to-shore crane) is a type of large dockside gantry crane found at container terminals for loading and unloading intermodal containers from container ships. Container cranes consis ...

and

container chassis Container chassis, also called intermodal chassis or skeletal trailer, is a type of semi-trailer designed to securely carry an intermodal container. Chassis are used by truckers to deliver containers between ports, railyards, container depots, a ...

. The Alameda shipyard was on the south side of the Tidal Canal, just west of the

Park Street Bridge The Park Street Bridge is a double-leaf bascule drawbridge spanning 372 feet of the Oakland Estuary in the San Francisco Bay Area. It links the cities of Oakland and Alameda. In a year, the bridge is opened approximately 1700 times and carries ...

on the

Oakland Estuary The Oakland Estuary is the strait in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, separating the cities of Oakland and Alameda and the Alameda Island from the East Bay mainland. On its western end, it connects to San Francisco Bay San Francis ...

in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

. , the site was a vacant lot.

Ships

Notable ships: *

Baylander (IX-514) ''Baylander'' (IX-514), ex-''YFU-79'', was a United States Navy Helicopter Landing Trainer (HLT), billed as the world's smallest aircraft carrier. It served as a practice landing site for helicopter pilots in the United States Navy, Army, Air Forc ...

: United States Navy Helicopter Landing Trainer laid down by PACECO on December 28, 1967 as Yard No. 238, in Alameda. * Alki Fire Boat *

Snoqualmie (fireboat) The ''Snoqualmie'' was Seattle's first fireboat. She was the first fireboat on North America's west coast. She was launched in 1891, as a long, wooden-hulled, steam-powered vessel. She was taken out of service, and rebuilt when Seattle comple ...

* Five

Woban Class District Harbor Tug The Type V ship is a United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) designation for World War II tugboats. Type V was used in World War II, Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Type V ships were used to move ships and barges. Type V tugboats were made of ...

: Mawkaw (YT 182), Negwagon (YT 188), Nepanet (YT 189), Orono (YT 190) and Osamekin (YT 191). Each with a displacement of 237 tons, a length of 100 feet, a beam 28 feet, a draft 9 feet. Top speed 12 kts, crew of 17 and power from a Diesel-electric, single propeller with 1,000 shp. * 12 YFU US Navy Utility Boat 180 tons. YFU 71 to YFU 82 in 1967 an d 1968. * LCU 1637 a US Navy Landing Craft at 190 tons in 1970, This ship the only one in it class, with a sea simulator platform (ASSP), and was crewed civilians from the Radio Corp. of America (RCA). * ''Carquinez'' Ferry at 537 tons, built in 1956, later renamed ''Blackbeard'' then ''Noble Phoenix''. State of California ran between Martinez and Benicia until 1962. A length of 169 feet, a beam of 52 feet and a depth of 13.5 feet with a diesel engine, 1,000 hp.Puget Sound Navigation Company,, ''Carquinez'' Ferry
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pacific Coast Engineering American Theater of World War II 1940s in California American boat builders

Ships

See also

References