W. A. Robinson
Ipswich MA
Most recent update: August 26, 2021.
William A. Robinson was an engineer from Kenosha WI whose early years were spent sailing the world. In 1937, he bought an existing small shipyard on Fox Creek, near Ipswich. The plan was to build wooden sailing vessels but the war changed that. Sources say that the yard built over 200 vessels during the war, so there must have been many small craft as well as the ~75 small ships listed below. We know that they built LCMs, for example, but we don't know how many. Robinson closed the business and moved to Tahiti after the war and the yard was razed: you can just see the site from the air on Google here.
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| O/N | Name | Customer | Type | Tons | LOA | Delivered | Notes | |
| 238625 | Swift | W. A. Robinson | sailing ship | 46 | 62 | 1939 | later Swift of Ipswich, owned 1940-58 by Jimmy Cagney, owned by the L.A. Mar. Inst. | |
| 238697 | Santa Cruz | Ralph Zimmerman | sailing ship | 26 | 51 | 1940 | ||
| 239620 | Caribee | Richard B. Church | sailing ship | 88 | 87 | 1940 | ||
| C-20 | US Army | launch | 13 | 40 | 1942 | |||
| C-21 | US Army | launch | 13 | 40 | 1942 | |||
| C-22 | US Army | launch | 13 | 40 | 1942 | |||
| C-23 | US Army | launch | 13 | 40 | 1942 | |||
| C-24 | US Army | launch | 13 | 40 | 1942 | |||
| C-25 | US Army | launch | 13 | 40 | 1942 | |||
| C-26 | US Army | launch | 13 | 40 | 1942 | |||
| 249746 | C-27 | US Army | launch | 13 | 40 | 1942 | sold as Jean O | |
| C-28 | US Army | launch | 13 | 40 | 1942 | |||
| C-29 | US Army | launch | 13 | 40 | 1942 | |||
| Accentor (AMc-36) | US Navy | minesweeper | 205 | 90 | 24 Jul 1941 | sold 1946 as ? | ||
| Bateleur (AMc-37) | US Navy | minesweeper | 205 | 90 | 26 Aug 1941 | sold 1946 as ? | ||
| 254219 | Barbet (AMc-38) | US Navy | minesweeper | 205 | 90 | 29 Sep 1941 | sold 1946 as Barbet | |
| 259662 | Brambling (AMc-39) | US Navy | minesweeper | 205 | 90 | 15 Oct 1941 | sold 1946 as Spot Pack | |
| Energy (AMc-78) | US Navy | minesweeper | 205 | 90 | 1 Jan 1942 | YDT-3 1943, sold 1960 as H. C. Hayes, Telson Queen, Atlas | ||
| Exultant (AMc-79) | US Navy | minesweeper | 205 | 90 | 14 Jan 1942 | YDT-4 1943, sunk as target 1973 | ||
| Fearless (AMc-80) | US Navy | minesweeper | 205 | 90 | 4 Feb 1942 | YDT-5 1943, sunk as target 1973 | ||
| Fortitude (AMc-81) | US Navy | minesweeper | 205 | 90 | 20 Apr 1942 | YDT-2 1943 | ||
| APc-75 | US Navy | transport | 100 | 103 | 1942 | to Britain 1942, returned 1946, to Greece | ||
| APc-76 | US Navy | transport | 100 | 103 | 1942 | to Britain 1942, returned 1946, sold 1947 | ||
| APc-77 | US Navy | transport | 100 | 103 | 1942 | to Britain 1942, returned 1946 | ||
| APc-78 | US Navy | transport | 100 | 103 | 1942 | to Britain 1942, returned 1946 | ||
| APc-79 | US Navy | transport | 100 | 103 | 1942 | to Britain 1942, returned 1946, sold 1947 | ||
| APc-80 | US Navy | transport | 100 | 103 | 1942 | |||
| APc-81 | US Navy | transport | 100 | 103 | 1942 | |||
| APc-82 | US Navy | transport | 100 | 103 | 1942 | |||
| APc-83 | US Navy | transport | 100 | 103 | 1942 | |||
| APc-84 | US Navy | transport | 100 | 103 | 1942 | |||
| SC-676 | US Navy | subchaser | 136 | 110 | 27 Jul 1942 | to Free French 1944 as CH-105, scrapped 1950 | ||
| SC-677 | US Navy | subchaser | 136 | 110 | 29 Aug 1942 | disposed-of 1946 | ||
| 254782 | SC-760 | US Navy | subchaser | 136 | 110 | 10 Sep 1942 | later PCC 760, sold 1948 as Pacific Retriever | |
| SC-761 | US Navy | subchaser | 136 | 110 | 24 Sep 1942 | to the NDRF 1948 | ||
| SC-762 | US Navy | subchaser | 136 | 110 | 7 Oct 1942 | to Brazil 1942 as Jutai (CS 52) | ||
| SC-763 | US Navy | subchaser | 136 | 110 | 20 Oct 1942 | to Brazil 1942 as Javari (CS 51) | ||
| SC-764 | US Navy | subchaser | 136 | 110 | 1 Oct 1942 | to Brazil 1942 as Jurui (CS 53) | ||
| SC-765 | US Navy | subchaser | 136 | 110 | 3 Dec 1942 | to Brazil 1943 as Jaguarao (CS 55) | ||
| SC-766 | US Navy | subchaser | 136 | 110 | 11 Nov 1942 | to Brazil 1943 as Juruena (CS 54) | ||
| SC-767 | US Navy | subchaser | 136 | 110 | 2 Jan 1943 | to Brazil 1943 as Jaguaribe (CS 56) | ||
| SC-1288 | US Navy | subchaser | 136 | 110 | 12 Feb 1943 | to Brazil 1943 as Jacui (CS 57) | ||
| SC-1289 | US Navy | subchaser | 136 | 110 | 12 Mar 1943 | to Brazil 1943 as Jundiai (CS 58) | ||
| SC-1290 | US Navy | subchaser | 136 | 110 | 15 Apr 1943 | to Cuba 1948 | ||
| SC-1291 | US Navy | subchaser | 136 | 110 | 3 May 1943 | to Cuba 1948 as Habana (GC-107) | ||
| SC-1292 | US Navy | subchaser | 136 | 110 | 19 May 1943 | to the NDRF 1948 | ||
| SC-1293 | US Navy | subchaser | 136 | 110 | 4 Jun 1943 | to the NDRF 1948 | ||
| SC-1294 | US Navy | subchaser | 136 | 110 | 7 Jul 1943 | to the NDRF 1948 | ||
| SC-1295 | US Navy | subchaser | 136 | 110 | 12 Aug 1943 | to the USSR 1945 as BO-320 | ||
| 256975 | SC-1296 | US Navy | subchaser | 136 | 110 | 16 Sep 1943 | to USCG 1945 as Air Stork (WAVR-468), sold 1948 as George R. Wallace | |
| 255239 | SC-1297 | US Navy | subchaser | 136 | 110 | 8 Oct 1943 | to USCG 1945 as Air Swallow (WAVR-469), sold 1948 as Swallow | |
| C11956-80 | US Navy | LCM(3) | 26 | 50 | 1943 | 25 tank landing craft | ||
| C?????-?? | US Navy | LCM(6) | 26 | 56 | 1944 | aa tank landing craft | ||
| Cahto (YT-215) | US Navy | tugboat | 260 | June 1944 | sold 1959 | |||
| Cochise (YT-216) | US Navy | tugboat | 260 | July 1944 | sold 1960 | |||
| Ensenore (YT-217) | US Navy | tugboat | 260 | Dec 1944 | sold 1964 | |||
| Achigan (YT-218) | US Navy | tugboat | 260 | Jan 1945 | sold 1975 | |||
| 241612 | Varua | W. A. Robinson | yacht | 43 | 70 | 1945 | abandoned in Anacortes WA | |
| 247515 | Thomas J. Carroll | Joaquin E Codinha Jr | crab trawler | 116 | 85 | Feb 1945 | later Agatha | |
| 248616 | Captain Dave | Gloucester Oil Supply | tanker | 43 | 57 | 1945 | still active for Rose's Oil Service, in Gloucester MA |