Folder: S.F. Ships-Launchings.
Written on back: "At 5:30 this afternoon the S.S. Escambia, the first big ocean-going tanker to be launched in San Francisco Bay for 21 years, slid down the ways at Marinship's Sausalito yard in a riot of sound with tug and Gantry crane whistles and the cheers of thousands of employees and their families all joining in. The ship was christened by Mrs. Lorraine Cooper, wife of a shipfitter journeyman, and her matron of honor was Mrs. Helen Vargas, wife of a welder foreman, while Mr. Al Gracey, Superintendent of the Hull Division, acted as Master of Ceremonies. The entire program was conducted by the workers who had built this beautiful ship - number one of the 22 tankers on Marinship's 1943 schedule. The first nine tankers are being taken over by the U.S. Navy and are being named after Indian rivers in accordance with Navy nomenclature for their ships. The photo shows the dramatic bottle-breaking, left to right: R.W. Adams, Marinship Employee Relations Manager; Mrs. Cooper, and E.B. Fox, Maritime Commission."
