As we celebrate Women's History Month, a time dedicated to honoring the achievements and contributions of women throughout history, it is fitting to reflect on the pivotal role American women played during World War II.
Millions of American women took jobs in the defense industry during World War II. Women workers made essential contributions to the war effort in aircraft factories, munitions plants, shipyards—and even to Intrepid!
Caption: Hundreds of thousands of women worked in the aircraft industry during World War II.
Credit: Collection of the Intrepid Museum. 00.2011.001
Work on Hull No. 394, the future USS Intrepid, began in December 1941 at Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company. At that time, women were restricted to administrative and clerical work at the shipyard. Company managers initially resisted the call to hire women into a wider variety of jobs, even as male employees left for the armed forces by the thousands.
Wartime labor shortages forced the company to reconsider. Women eventually joined the yard as welders, crane operators, electricians and other traditionally male roles. When Intrepid was launched in April 1943, 1,000 women were already working in mechanical trades at the shipyard.
This article from the Newport News Shipbuilding company newsletter profiles women working as crane operators.
Credit: Shipyard Bulletin, July 1945
One worker, a riveter named Berline Cashwell, was thrust into the spotlight at Intrepid’s launching and christening ceremony. This picture, part of the Museum’s collection, shows Cashwell holding up her protective gloves as she poses with the ship’s sponsor.
Caption: Berline Cashwell, a riveter at the Newport News shipyard, and Helen Hoover, the ship’s sponsor, at Intrepid’s christening on April 26, 1943.
Credit: Collection of the Intrepid Museum. Gift of Mrs. William H. Hoover. P2009.13.11
This image, along with dozens of other artifacts from the collection, will go on display in the Museum’s new permanent exhibition beginning March 21.
Cashwell was just one of thousands of women who joined shipyards from Boston to Mobile to San Francisco. They worked long hours in physically demanding roles alongside men who sometimes resented their presence or doubted their skills.
Without their efforts, the rapid expansion of the U.S. Navy would not have been possible.
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