Horace E Dodge Boat and Plane Corporation in World War Two

Horace E. Dodge Boat and Plane Corporation in World War Two
Newport News, VA
1923-1930 Detroit, MI
1930-1936 Newport News, VA
1941-1946 Newport News, VA

This page updated 10-17-2024.

John and Horace Dodge of Niles, MI, are well known for the automobiles that still bear their name and are sold today. The boat company started by the same family is little known. Both Dodge brothers passed away in 1920, but Horace's namesake, Horace E. Dodge, Jr., was most interested in speedboats that were the rage among Detroit automobile workers and executives of the time. Chris-Craft and Gar Wood, both in Algonac, MI, were two boat manufacturers located in southeast Michigan that were providing pleasure craft to meet this demand.

In 1923, twenty-three year old Horace E. Dodge, Jr. was ready to start making his own way in the world. The same year, he began building boats as the Horace E. Dodge Boat Works at 2670 Atwater Street in Detroit, MI. This location was right on the Detroit River and today is the site of the Robert C. Valade Park. Not long afterward, Mr. Dodge moved his operation to Lycaste Street four miles further north up the Detroit River.

In 1928, Walter Chrysler purchased the Dodge Brothers automobile company for $170,000,000. After the family divided up the $170,000,000 from the sale, Horace E. Dodge, Jr. had a few extra dollars in his pocket to spend. In 1930, Mr. Dodge renamed his company the Horace E. Dodge Boat and Plane Corporation and built a new $2,000,000 plant on a 100 acre green field site at Newport News, VA. On March 13, 1930, the plant began to manufacture small pleasure craft on an assembly line basis similar to what the auto industry was using. 1930, during the Great Depression, was not a good time to start a new business for something as non-essential as pleasure boats. However, it appears Mr. Dodge kept the operation going in order to build a high-speed boat to win the American Power Boat Association's Gold Cup. He did this in 1932 with Delphine IV, reaching a top speed of 59.2 mph with a Packard marine engine. He won again in 1936 with Impshi with a Packard engine. This time the top speed was only 47.1 mph.

At this point, Mr. Dodge had two Gold Cups and had spent a lot of money achieving his goals. He had a large boat factory for which there were no buyers for its output, and he closed the operation. The plant was dormant until May 19, 1941, when the company was awarded a $386,000 contract by the Army Quartermaster Corps to build 27 42-foot rescue boats. This was the first of twelve major contracts the company was awarded by both the Army and Navy during World War Two.

This example of a Horace E. Dodge Boat and Plane Corporation boat is on display at the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Automobile Museum in Auburn, IN. This fully restored 1931 boat is in the museum due to the fact that it has a Lycoming engine and transmission. Lycoming was one of the several companies Mr. Cord owned in the 1920s and 1930s. Author's photo added 10-17-2024.

Author's photo added 10-17-2024.

At the end of World War Two, the plant was closed again, and in 1946 it was sold to Gar Wood.

The Horace E. Dodge Boat and Plane Corporation won the Army-Navy "E" Award three times during World War Two.
The company received its first award on June 22, 1944, its second in December 1944, and its third on May 31, 1945.

Horace E. Dodge Boat and Plane Corporation World War Two Products: The company produced 2,602 boats of five different types for the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy. The total amount of contracts was $19,820,000.

Of the $19,820,000, $17,949,000 was for LCVPs 36-foot wooden landing craft with ramps. This was 91% of total value of the contracts. The LCVP is also known as the Higgins Boat after its inventor, Andrew Jackson Higgins. The Horace E. Dodge Boat and Plane Corporation, the Matthews Company, the Owens Yacht Company, and the Richardson Boat Company also built the LCVP. Dodge built 10.8% of the 23,358 total LCVPs constructed during World War Two. It was the third largest producer of the LCVP behind Higgins and Chris-Craft.

In July 1945, the company employed over 300 hourly workers.

Table 1 - Total Number of Horace E. Dodge Boats built during World War Two The types and quantities of boats in this table was published in the September 4, 1945 issue of the Newport News, VA Daily Press.
Type	Quantity	Boat Numbers	Comments	Unit Cost - Calculated
42-Foot Army Crash Boats	27	P-42 - P-68 Inclusive	Ordered May 21, 1941 for Army Air Corps use. Contract 3111-QM-76.	$386,000/27 = $14,296 per boat
26-Foot Yawls	25	MT-31 - MT-55 Inclusive	U.S. Army. Contract 3111-QM-00318.	$86,000/25 = $3,440 per boat
45-Foot Crash Boats	5	?	U.S. Navy. Contract NOS-1706.	$92,000/5 = $18,400 per boat
72-Foot Motor Launch Patrol Boats	12	Q-1171 - Q-1182 Inclusive	U.S. Navy for Lend-Least to Great Britain. Contract OBS-588L.	$948,000/12 = $78,500 per boat
36-foot LCVP Landing Craft	2,533	See Table 3.	U.S. Navy. Contracts 2789-TC-161, OBS-1031, OBS-1245, OBS-1952, OBS-2002, and OBS-2027.	$17,949,000/2,533 = $7,086 per boat
Total	2,602

Table 2- Horace E Dodge Boat and Plane Corporation's Major World War Two Contracts The information below comes from the "Alphabetical Listing of Major War Supply Contracts, June 1940 through September 1945." This was published by the Civilian Production Administration, Industrial Statistics Division.
Product - Customer	Contract Number	Contract Amount	Contract Awarded Date	Completion Date
Boats - Army Quartermaster	3111-QM-76	$386,000	5-1941	11-1942
Yawls - Army Quartermaster	3111-QM-00318	$86,000	1-1942	4-1942
Launches - Navy	OBS-588L	$948,000	2-1942	4-1943
Boats - Navy	NOS-1706	$92,000	3-1942	9-1942
Small Craft - Navy	OBS-244	$280,000	6-1942	4-1943
Boats Landing - Army Transportation Corps	2789-TC-161	$571,000	8-1942	12-1942
Craft Landing - Navy	OBS-1031	$2,381,000	4-1943	10-1944
Landing Craft LCVP - Navy	OBS-1245	$5,039,000	8-1943	12-1944
Ship Hull Parts - Navy	407-XSX-6381	$79,000	9-1944	10-1944
Landing Craft LCVP - Navy	OBS-1952	$1,528,000	9-1944	2-1945
Landing Craft LCVP - Navy	OBS-2002	$1,542,000	12-1944	5-1945
Landing Craft LCVP - Navy	OBS-2027	$6,888,000	1-1945	1-1947
Total		$19,820,000

On June 8, 1941, Newport News Mayor T. Parker Host drove the first bolt into the hull of the first of 27 42-foot crash and rescue boats to be built by the Horace E. Dodge Boat and Plane Corporation.

This drawing is typical of the 27 42-foot crash and rescue boats built by Dodge.

In January 1943, the Horace E. Dodge Boat and Plane Corporation launched the 72-foot motor launch Q-1177.

Horace E. Dodge Boat And Plant Corporation LCVPs:

This World War Two LCVP is on display at the National Museum of the United States Army at Fort Belvoir, VA. Overlord Research, LLC, Charleston, WV found this LCVP on the Isle of Wight, off the coast of England. It was identified to be of World War Two vintage and then restored by Hughes Marine Service. The manufacturer of this LCVP is unknown. There is a 10% chance it was built by Horace E. Dodge Boat and Plane Corporation. Author's photo.

George Schneider, who is also interested in small boats, contributed details on some of the boat numbers used in this section on the LCVP. I thank him for letting me use his data for Table 3 below. It should be noted all estimates are mine alone. Mr. Schneider is not responsible for any errors I have made.

I have only listed two contract numbers to match the estimated C-numbers. With more groups of C-numbers than contracts, assigning contracts is problematic.

Table 3 - Estimated Dodge LCVP C-Numbers
C-Numbers	Quantity	Year Manufactured	Contract Number	Comments
C-25142 thru C-25215 Inclusive	74	1942	U.S. Army Transportation Corps 2789-TC-161. It was noted in the September 4, 1945, issue of the Newport News, VA Daily Press that the company's first order for LCVPs was for 74 boats for the U.S. Army. This group is a confirmed number of LCVPs.	Estimated from C-25142 thru C-25215.
C-34823 thru C-35179 Inclusive	356	1943		Estimated from C-34823 - C-343861, C-34980 - C-35049, and C-35175 - C-35179.
C-41988 thru C-42467 Inclusive	480	1944		Estimated from C-41988, C-42013, C-42226, C-42338, C-42339, C-42348, C-42370, C-42420, C-42450, C-42455, and C-42467. Boats C- 42409, C-42418, C-42419 are shown in the book "US Landing Craft of WWII, Vol. 1" by David Doyle. Published 2019 by Schiffer Publishing. Ltd. Photos taken of these three boats on 7-25-1944, 8-2-1944, and 8-2-1944, respectfully.
C-54671 thru C-54811 Inclusive	141	1943		Estimated from C-54671, C-54781 C-54794, and C-54811.
C-70883 - C-70892 Inclusive	10	1944		Estimated from C-70883 and C-70892.
C-79680 thru C-79772 Inclusive	93	1945		Estimated from C-79680, C-79701 - C-79722, C-79725, C-79728, C-79748, and C-79772.
C-80958 - C-81027 Inclusive	72	1945		Estimated from C-C-80958, C-80978, C-80993, C-80994, C-81018, C-81020, C-81024, C-81025, C-81027
C-81105 - C-81243 Inclusive	139	1945		Estimated from C-81105, C-81105, C-81146, C-81161, C-81191, C-81243
C-83862 - C-84275 Inclusive	1,014	1945	U.S. Navy OBS-2027. This was the last contract which could include the last grouping of C-numbers.	Estimated from C-83862, C-83957, C-83973 C-83985 C-83986,C-83994 C-84011 C-84045, C-84046 C-84059 C-84091, C-84096 C-84250, C-84252, C-84275
Total	2,379

The Newport News, VA, Factory:

This undated image shows the $2,000,000 Horace E. Dodge Boat and Plane factory apparently idle. The one long driveway runs all the way back to 16th Street. Image added 11-28-2022.

The factory has been razed, and this Google Maps satellite view shows the land as not being re-developed. Image added 11-28-2022.

This Google Maps satellite view shows the former factory location in the four-o'clock position. The properties to the east of I-664 are all residential properties, while those to the east are the large shipbuilding companies. The Newport News Shipbuilding Company was building two aircraft carriers when this image was taken. Image added 11-28-2022.

It would appear that the former Horace E. Dodge Boat and Plane factory site would be re-developed into residential housing.