Rockport Texas - The History, Legends & Lore 1st Printing | Page 95

Heldenfels Shipyard was established in October of 1917 at 1800 S. Church Street. They had a government contract to build four, 281 ft. cargo vessels during WWI. The ‘Baychester’ was launched on July 31, 1919, and the ‘Zuniga’ followed on September 9th. They hired over 900 employees and in 1920 they delivered the ‘Jasper’ and the ‘Manchester’ following the devastating Hurricane of 1919, which was quite an impressive feat. Early in 1941, Westergard-Rice Brothers and Co., here in Rockport, had a contract to build 20 of 39 wooden-hulled, Submarine-Chasers. The first off the production line hit the Aransas Bay on July 4, 1941. Only five months later, the Japanese would attack Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7th and thus commence WWII. Sub-Chaser, PC 497 - not as famous as the PC 498 that had an article written in Business Week Magazine. Known as the ‘Splinter Fleet’ for their wooden hulls, which made them vulnerable to enemy Subs that decided to fight them on the surface. The only effective weapon they had against Subs were their ‘Depth Charges’. PC 498 - launched f &