Photographs and clippings from a Seattle
shipbuilding company, primarily concerning the construction, repair and
adaptation of ships for use by the government in World War II.
Repository:
Museum of History &
Industry Sophie Frye Bass
Library
Oscar E. Olson and Carl B. Winge first met in 1910, at the King &
Winge shipyard in West Seattle near Luna Park. Opened in 1899 and owned by
Carl's uncle Albert Winge with partner Thomas J. King, the King & Winge
yard constructed fishing vessels and operated a codfish and, later, halibut
fishing fleet. Carl Winge worked as Secretary Treasurer and purchasing agent
for King & Winge, and Oscar Olson was the machinist foreman. When the yard
built the famous schooner the King & Winge in
1914, Olson designed and built the winch (the first power winch on the Pacific
coast for halibut schooners), and installed the machinery, and Carl Winge
purchased all the materials that went into the building of the ship.
Carl Winge came from a family of shipbuilders in Norway, where Albert
Winge's father was known for his carvings of figureheads for early sailing
vessels. Carl worked at King & Winge until around 1917, when he left to
work for the Elliott Bay Shipbuilding Company as a purchasing agent; later, he
worked at Elliott Bay Yacht & Engine Company and Olson & Sunde Marine
Works. In 1925 Winge, whose father was a musician, left the shipbuilding trade
for California, to try his hand in the songwriting and publishing profession in
Los Angeles, San Francisco and later, New York. After about fifteen years,
Winge returned to Seattle, and to shipbuilding.
Oscar Olson learned the trade of machinist working for Vulcan Iron
Works in Seattle beginning in 1903, and later (1907) at Seattle Iron Works,
before becoming the foreman of the workshop at King & Winge in 1910. Later,
Olson partnered with Norman C. Sunde in the shipbuilding firm Olson & Sunde
until Sunde's retirement, afterwards forming a new partnership with Carl Winge
in 1941.
Olson & Winge Marine Works was located on the Lake Washington Ship
Canal at the foot of 8th Avenue Northwest, at 4125 Burns Avenue Northwest. From
around 1941 to 1944, the Olson & Winge yard devoted its production
facilities completely to the war effort, primarily converting, adapting and
repairing ships for military use, but also producing new vessels, such as
several wooden lighters. The first shipyard in the Northwest to begin a full
program of Army-Navy repair and adaption work, Olson & Winge was one of
many Pacific Coast yards doing repair, adaption and new construction of
government ships as part of the war effort. Adaptions included added
accommodations, different use of stowage space, and placing of armament. In
1941, Olson & Winge converted 15 halibut and purse seiners for Navy use as
supply ships, forerunners of the YP ("Yippee") boats. Subsequently, the yard
converted eight assorted private craft to supply or "Q" boats. New wartime
construction by Olson & Winge included four 50 foot patrol boats for the
Coast Guard, and fifteen cargo lighters and four degaussing barges for the
Navy. The yard also performed extensive outfitting of uncompleted high-powered
aircraft rescue boats and repaired other rescue boats.
After the war, Olson & Winge returned to commercial boatbuilding.
City directory listings for Olson & Winge Marine Works end in the late
1940s.
Content Description
The collection includes photographs of the Olson & Winge Marine
Works yard, including yard buildings, ways, and marine railway; and photographs
of ships built, repaired or converted by the shipyard. The latter include some
fishing boats but largely consist of images of boats adapted, repaired or built
for use by the government during World War II. One series of photographs
depicts the fishing schooner King & Winge
made by the King & Winge shipyard and converted for war use by the Coast
Guard. The collection also include clippings and scrapbook pages about the
Olson & Winge yard and various boats produced or converted by the yard.
Use of the Collection
Restrictions on Access :
The collection is open to the public by appointment.
Restrictions on Use :
The Museum of History & Industry is the owner of the materials in
the Sophie Frye Bass Library and makes available reproductions for research,
publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from MOHAI
before any reproduction use. The museum does not necessarily hold copyright to
all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may
require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.
Preferred Citation :
Olson & Winge Marine Works photographs and scrapbook, Museum of
History & Industry, Seattle
Administrative Information
Arrangement :
Arranged in series:
Photographs
Yard and improvements
Fishing boats
War production
King & Winge
Equipment manufactured by Olson & Winge Marine
Works
Other shipyards
Scrapbook
Acquisition Information :
Gift of Carl D. Winge (Carl B. Winge's son), September 22, 1972
Detailed Description of the Collection
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in
the collection.
Photographs
Container(s)
Description
Dates
Yard and improvements
Folder
1
1-8: Yard views
Ray Krantz,
Seattle (photographer)
Early images of the Olson & Winge yard depict the drydock,
sheds and other buildings, boats under construction, views from the canal, and
a view of boats at dock with the Ballard district in the background.
1940-1941
2
9-16: Installation of marine
railway
Photographs depict the marine railway under construction and
completed, depicting a pile driver in the water, partially completed railway on
land and in water, and an image of divers and a diving boat.
circa
1940
Docks and buildings
Ray Krantz,
Seattle (photographer)
1943
Folder
3
17: Dock No. 1 with raised
railway bridge in background
1943
3
18: Dock No. 2 with U.S. Army
barge and raised railway bridge in background
1943
3
19: Sidetracking
1943
3
20: Caulker shop
1943
3
21: Blacksmith's shop
1943
3
22: Yard buildings
1943
Fishing boats
Folder
4
23: Fishing boat
Tiny Boy in water
undated
5
24-25: Fishing boat
Seal on ways
undated
6
26: Fishing boat
Heron in water
undated
7
27: Fishing boat
Zarembo II
Possibly built by Olson & Sunde Marine Works
circa
1939
War production
Navy YP boats converted from
fishing vessels
10 photographs
Numbers 30-37:
Ray
Krantz (photographer)
Navy YP (or "Yippee") boats of World War II were wooden
fishing vessels--usually purse seiners or cannery tenders--converted for use as
patrol craft, as well as armed vessels. With ironbark sheathing on their hulls,
the YPs ranged up and down the Pacific Coast, from the Panama Canal to the
Aleutians and into the Bering Sea.
1941
Folder
8
28: YP-72 in water
The YP-72 was converted from the refrigerated fish carrier
and purse seiner Cavalcade and was the flagship of
the "Alaska patrol."
1941
8
29: YP-74 in water
Converted from the purse seiner Endeavor.
1941
8
30-31: YP-85 in water, broadside and
quartering views
Converted from fishing vessel Nick C
II.
1941
8
32-34: YP-86 in water, broadside and
quartering views
Converted from Pacific
Fisher
1941
8
35-37: YP-95 in water, broadside and
quartering views
Converted from fishing vessel Nordic
Pride.
1941
Folder
9
38-40: U.S. Army small boat J-258
under way with 3 men aboard
Ray Krantz,
Seattle (photographer)
circa
1940
10
41: Motor tug YMT-22 under
way
Marine Salon Photo
Shop, Seattle (photographer)
circa
1941
11
42-43: Tug Reliance under way and in drydock
Number 42:
Marine Salon Photo
Shop, Seattle (photographer)
Number 43:
Graphic Photo Company,
Seattle (photographer)
circa
1941
12
44-50: Degaussing scow constructed for
U.S. Navy
7 photographs
Photographs depict the degaussing scow under construction in
shed, on the marine railway, and in the water.
1941
13
51-57: "Q" boats converted for U.S.
Army
7 photographs
Ray Krantz,
Seattle (photographer)
Photographs of the Q-43, Q-45, Q-46, Q-47 and Q-49.
These boats were former utility and pleasure craft purchased
and converted by the Army. The Q-46 was formerly the state fisheries vessel
Gov. Elisha P. Ferry and the Q-45 was the
Miss Elizabeth.
1941
Boats converted for U.S.
Army
circa 1941
Folder
14
58: U.S. Army boat
Major Walter Board
Ray Krantz,
Seattle (photographer)
circa 1941
14
59: U.S. Army boat
Major Clements W. Legge
Ray Krantz,
Seattle (photographer)
circa 1941
14
60: U.S. Army boat
Major Rueben L. Fain
Ray Krantz,
Seattle (photographer)
circa 1941
14
61-62: U.S. Army harbor tug ST-216
at dock and under way
Ray Krantz,
Seattle (photographer)
circa 1941
14
63: U.S. Army cargo barge BCL-1329
in water
This barge may be the Army BCL vessel that was converted by
Olson & Winge into a floating marine repair shop.
circa 1941
14
64-67: Ships in drydock, probably U.S.
Army boats undergoing conversion
circa 1941
15
68-70: CG-7214 under way
Ray Krantz,
Seattle (photographer)
circa
1941
16
71-75: Construction of Navy torpedo
boats PT-24 and PT-27
circa
1942
17
76-79: Boats J-810, YP-401 and a barge
in drydock
Ray Krantz,
Seattle (photographer)
1943
17
80: Ferry Beeline undergoing conversion to a net
tender
Ray Krantz,
Seattle (photographer)
circa 1943
18
81-84: U.S. Navy covered wooden
lighters under construction
Number 84:
Ray Krantz,
Seattle (photographer)
1943
18
85-86: Covered wooden lighter YF-471
in water, end and broadside views
Ray Krantz,
Seattle (photographer)
1943 June
24
19
87-89: U.S. Navy lighter YF-453 in
drydock
circa 1943
19
90: Unidentified ship in
drydock
circa 1943
Launching of Navy lighter
YC-842
Ray Krantz,
Seattle (photographer)
The YC-842 was a 250-ton capacity, 110' x 30' open
lighter.
1943 October
20-21
Folder
20
91-92: Group assembled for launch of
drydocked YC-842
1943 October 20
20
93-94: Yard worker Ragner Salldin
dressed as "Miss Veronica Bilgewater" with bottle for launch of
YC-842
1943 October 20
20
95: YC-842 on ways before launch,
with yard workers watching
1943 October 20
21
96-98: Completed Navy lighter YC-842
in water: full-length, end-on and quartering views
Ray Krantz,
Seattle (photographer)
1943 October 21
22
99-100: Completed Navy lighter YF-834,
end-on and broadside views
Ray Krantz,
Seattle (photographer)
The YF-834 was a wooden, non-self-propelled, covered lighter,
110' x 30'
1944 June 29
22
101-102: Yard workers and band at
launching of Navy covered wooden lighters
Ray Krantz,
Seattle (photographer)
1944 June
23
103-108: Five U.S. Army patrol rescue
boats and Navy minesweeper YMS-127 at dock near the Olson & Winge Marine
Works yard
Ray Krantz,
Seattle (photographer)
Includes patrol rescue boats P-510, P-511, P-512 and P-518
circa 1944
24
109a: Five U.S. Army patrol rescue
boats and Navy minesweeper YMS-127 at dock near the Olson & Winge Marine
Works yard
Ray Krantz,
Seattle (photographer)
Includes patrol rescue boats P-510, P-511, P-512 and P-518
2 copies
circa 1944
folder:oversize
OS 1
109b-d: Five U.S. Army patrol rescue
boats and Navy minesweeper YMS-127 at the Olson & Winge Marine Works
dock
Ray Krantz,
Seattle (photographer)
Includes patrol rescue boats P-510, P-511, P-512 and P-518.
These images are different versions from the same negative or negatives. The
panorama prints may have been created from two negatives. Number 109b consists
of two prints taped together to create a panorama.
circa 1944
25
110-113: Individual U.S. Army patrol
boats under way
Signal Corps, U.S.
Army (photographer)
Two images depict the P-512 and one depicts the P-518
circa 1944
26
114-116: Military and civilian personnel
on deck of U.S. Army patrol boat (Eleventh Rescue Squadron)
Ray Krantz,
Seattle (photographer)
circa 1944
27
117-120: U.S. Army patrol boats
(Eleventh Rescue Squadron) in water at yard
Ray Krantz,
Seattle (photographer)
1944 June
28
121-122: U.S. Army Air Corps 110-foot
crash boat P-752 in under way
Ray Krantz,
Seattle (photographer)
circa 1944
28
123: U.S. Army Air Corps captain at
helm of 110-foot crash boat
Ray Krantz,
Seattle (photographer)
circa 1944
29
124-128: U.S. Army Air Corps rescue
vessels, and YMS-134 and YMS-132 in water near yard
Ray Krantz,
Seattle (photographer)
1944 August
30
129-130: YMS-122 and YMS-134 at dock
near yard
Ray Krantz,
Seattle (photographer)
circa 1944
King & Winge
Designed by firm partner Albert Winge, the King & Winge was built by the King & Winge
shipyard, intended as the biggest and best halibut schooner on the coast.
However, shortly before its launch date in the spring of 1914, the firm of
Hibbard and Swenson chartered the King &
Winge for an Arctic expedition. Sheathed in ironbark as protection
against the ice, the King & Winge brought in
the firm's catch of furs from the north, after its own schooner was caught in
the ice. After returning to Nome with the furs, the King
& Winge prepared to leave on a walrus-hunting expedition, but was
diverted in an attempt to rescue the men of the Karluk, the ship of Arctic explorer Vilhjalmur
Stefansson which was trapped in the ice at Hershel Island. Though the
Karluk sank and four men died, the
King & Winge succeeded in picking up the
remaining survivors on Wrangel Island. Hibbard & Swenson did not charter
the craft again, but its ironbark sheathing recommended it for work in Alaska
rather than halibut fishing, and she was charted by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic
Survey for two seasons. The King & Winge finally began
work as a halibut boat in 1916. In 1918 the ship participated in the attempted
rescue of the Princess Sophia, which eventually
sank with all 343 passengers on board. Within a few years, the
King & Winge was sold to the National
Independent Fisheries Company, and then in 1921, chartered from them by the
Cape Flattery pilots, who intended to use it for safe conduct of vessels in and
out of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. From 1922-1924, its history is obscure, but
the ship was probably owned by run runners in the Prohibition era. The King & Winge, under the new
name Columbia, returned to pilot service in 1924,
this time on the Columbia River. Captained continuously by Captain Frank E.
Craig from 1924-1958, it guided vessels across the "graveyard of the Columbia,"
the most difficult river bar on the coast. In 1944, the Columbia returned to the Olson & Winge Marine Works
shipyard, where many of the same men who built it were still employed. The ship
was adapted and repaired for war service as the CGR-2469, in the service of the
Coast Guard. In 1958, Clyde Parlova of Astoria, Oregon bought the schooner
from the Columbia Bar Pilots' Association, intending to restore it as a sailing
ship. In 1962, the ship was purchased by Jack Elsbree, a retired airline pilot
who intended to restore it as his home. The King & Winge sank in
waters near St. Paul Island in the Pribolofs, Alaska, on February 22, 1994.
1914, 1
Folder
31
131: Schooner King & Winge in arctic ice
This image shows the King &
Winge, probably en route to the rescue of Steffanson's
Karluk, signaling distress by flying its flag
upside down.
1914
32
132: Oscar E. Olson, Captain Frank
E. Craig and Carl B. Winge inspecting a winch on the Columbia (formerly the King &
Winge)
Ray Krantz,
Seattle (photographer)
Craig was captain of the pilot boat Columbia, formerly the King &
Winge, and crossed the Columbia River Bar in the ship over 50,000 times
over 34 years as its captain. Oscar Olson designed and built the winch shown in the
photograph.
circa 1944
33
133-134: Oscar Olson, Carl Winge,
Captain Craig and others on deck of the Columbia
( King & Winge)
Ray Krantz,
Seattle (photographer)
Also depicted: Olson & Winge machinists Frank Smith, Homer
Pricket and Axel Olson, and first mate Leback.
1944
32
135: Machinists Frank Smith, Homer
Pricket and Axel Olson on deck of the Columbia
( King & Winge)
Ray Krantz,
Seattle (photographer)
Smith, Pricket and Olson were working at the King & Winge
shipyard when the King & Winge was built in
1914
1944
33
136-143: The Columbia ( King &
Winge) converted as Coast Guard pilot boat CGR-2469 in Olson & Winge
yard, in drydock and afloat
Numbers 137-143:
Ray Krantz,
Seattle (photographer)
1944
Equipment manufactured by Olson
& Winge Marine Works
Equipment probably produced for U.S. Army use
Folder
34
144-149: Towing winch (anchor
windlass)
Ray Krantz,
Seattle (photographer)
circa
1942
35
150: 500-ton marine railway
winch
Ray Krantz,
Seattle (photographer)
circa
1942
36
151-152: Steel manifolds
Ray Krantz,
Seattle (photographer)
1942 October
13
37
153-155: Anchor windlass installed on
ship deck
circa
1942
Other shipyards
Folder
38
156-160: Maritime Boat and Engine Works
plant at 1710 W. Spokane Street, Seattle
Five 2" x 3" photographs mounted on black scrapbook page.
1919-1920
39
161: Elliott Bay Shipbuilding
Company album
1 album with 17
linen-backed photographs
Carl B. Winge worked for the Elliott Bay Shipbuilding Company
as purchasing agent for a brief period beginning around 1917.
This promotional album describes the capabilities of the
shipyard and illustrates the type of work done. The first three pages of the
album consist of a typewritten description of the Elliott Bay Shipbuilding
Company, a 15-acre plant on the Duwamish waterway in Seattle. The narrative
describes the plant shops, the administrative personnel and the company's
contract terms. The album includes 17 photographs: 6 photographs of the plant
and ships under construction, taken by
Webster & Stevens; and
11 photographs of ship plans. Typewritten descriptions of different types of
ships built by the yard are interspersed throughout the album.
162-167: Olson & Winge Marine Works
scrapbook and clippings
Pages have been removed from scrapbook and foldered, probably
during previous processing. Loose clippings and a folder of correspondence are
included with the scrapbook materials, though it is not known whether or not
these were originally included in the scrapbook
The album and clippings include stories about the
King & Winge, particularly about its return to
the shipyard as a pilot boat in 1944; biographical information about Oscar E.
Olson, Carl B. Winge and Albert Winge; newspaper advertisements for the
shipyard; clippings about boat shows featuring Olson & Winge vessels;
articles featuring boats which were produced or adapted by the shipyard during
and after the war; and a 1944 editorial by Ed Winge about the importance of
shipyards' participation in the war effort. The scrapbook also includes a plan
of Olson & Winge Marine Works shipyard from October 1944.The 3 items in the correspondence folder comprise holiday
greetings from Navy personnel and the National Bank of Commerce Ballard
Branch.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online
catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or
places should search the catalog using these headings.
