Columbia River Shipbuilding ~ Shipbuilding History

Columbia River Shipbuilding

Portland OR

Most recent update: August 24, 2021.

Columbia River Shipbuilding was an emergency yard, organized in 1918 to build cargo ships for the USSB: it closed at the end of the war, after building 32 ships. Its owners were A. F. Smith and J. Frank Watson, owners of the Smith and Watson Iron Works, and it was managed by Charles D. Bowles, who was also associated with J. F. Duthie Shipbuilding, in Seattle. The shipyard was next door to Northwest Steel's shipyard, on the west bank of the Willamette River, on SW Moody Avenue at the foot of SW Woods Street, which is where the Ross Island Bridge is now. See the site from the air on Google here.

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	USSB #	O/N	Name	Customer	Type	GT	Delivered	Notes
1		215990	War Sirdar/Westward Ho	USSB	freighter	5,643	Mar 1919	later Izan Maru 1938, wrecked and abandoned 1939
2		216076	Santiam/Westbrook	USSB	freighter	5,742	Mar 1918	later Wind Rush 1929, Kavkaz 1945, scrapped 1977
3		216174	War Agate/West Gate	USSB	freighter	5,799	May 1918	collision and lost 1918
4	1644	216310	War Diamond/West Indian	USSB	freighter	5,702	May 1918	scrapped 1938
5		216205	War Bullet/West Grove	USSB	freighter	5,688	Apr 1918	scrapped 1930
6	1645	216372	War Arrow/Western City	USSB	freighter	5,828	June 1918	later Empire Turnstone 1942, torpedoed and lost 1942
7	1646	216704	War Dagger/West Coast	USSB	freighter	5,688	July 1918	scrapped 1930
8	1647	216976	Nivelle/Western Plains	USSB	freighter	5,688	Oct 1918	scrapped 1936
9	1648	216787	War Spear/Western Pride	USSB	freighter	5,688	Aug 1918	scrapped 1931
10	1649	217182	Poincare/Western Belle	USSB	freighter	5,688	Nov 1918	scrapped 1938
11	1081	217341	West Cobalt	USSB	freighter	6,179	Dec 1918	later Empire Miniver 1940, torpedoed and lost 1940
12	1082	217436	West Wauneke	USSB	freighter	5,765	Jan 1919	later Dorothy Cahill 1929, Pan-Atlantic 1938, De Soto 1938, Luga 1943, wrecked off Sakhalin 1948
13	1083	217533	West Corum	USSB	freighter	5,795	Feb 1919	later William H. Point 1941, scrapped 1947
14	1084	217617	West Imboden	USSB	freighter	6,179	Mar 1919	torpedoed and lost 1942
15	1085	217778	West Munham	USSB	freighter	6,167	Apr 1919	later Konzan Maru 1938, torpedoed and lost 1945
16	1086	217961	West Totant	USSB	freighter	6,167	May 1919	later Empire Moorhen 1941, sunk as breakwater at Normandy 1944
17	1087	218010	West Quechee	USSB	freighter	5,711	May 1919	later Empire Panther 1940, mined and lost 1943
18	1088	218292	West Nosska	USSB	freighter	5,563	June 1919	later Tazan Maru 1938, torpedoed and lost 1942
19	1693	217569	West Harcuvar	USSB	freighter	5,696	Feb 1919	later Anzan Maru 1938, torpedoed and lost 1944
20	1694	217708	West Hardaway	USSB	freighter	6,075	Mar 1919	torpedoed and lost 1942
21	1695	217935	West Hargrave	USSB	freighter	6,280	Apr 1919	scrapped 1933
22	1696	218143	West Harlan	USSB	freighter	6,267	June 1919	scrapped 1933
23	1697	218018	West Harma/City of Eureka	USSB	freighter	6,280	May 1919	later Explorer 1928, Timber Rush 1933, wrecked off Acapulco 1940
24	1698	218391	West Harquahala/Mount Evans	USSB	freighter	6,267	July 1919	scrapped 1946
25	1699	218532	West Harshaw	USSB	freighter	6,267	July 1919	later Empire Oryx 1940, Empire Robin 1941, Ferdinand Bol 1942, in collision and lost 1942
26	1700	218673	West Harts	USSB	freighter	6,167	Aug 1919	later Texas 1929, Kapitan Vislobokov 1945, Omsk 1952, scrapped 1959
27	1701	218750	West Hartland	USSB	freighter	6,167	Aug 1919	later Michigan 1928, torpedoed and lost 1943
28	1702	218877	West Hartley	USSB	freighter	5,757	Sep 1919	scrapped 1936
29	1703	218972	West Hasson	USSB	freighter	5,757	Oct 1919	later Siletz 1919, Vtoraya Pyatiletka 1943, scrapped 1967
30	1704	219421	West Hassayampa	USSB	freighter	5,757	Jan 1920	scrapped 1938
31	1705		West Hastan	USSB	freighter	5,600		cancelled Apr-19, completed as Hull 33
32	1706		West Haswell	USSB	freighter	5,600		cancelled Apr-19, completed as Hull 34
33		219269	Corvus	Green Star Line	freighter	5,748	Nov 1919	later Flomar 1930, Uzbekistan 1945, scrapped 1946
34		219268	Circinus	Green Star Line	freighter	5,642	Dec 1919	later Vermar 1930, Kamanets-Podolsk 1942, Karaganda 1945, scrapped 1967