Guest post by Mollie Surprenant, 2017 Salve Regina McGinty Fellow in the Newport Historical Society’s Buchanan Burnham Summer Scholars in Public History Program.
Since its opening in 1869, the Naval Torpedo Station has played an influential part in Newport, Rhode Island’s history. Between 1930 and 1945 the Station revitalized Newport’s economy after the Great Depression, contributed to the victory of WWII, and brought women into the workforce. In 1943, Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson issued a statement informing the American public, “The War Department must fully utilize, immediately and effectively, the largest and potentially single source of labor available today—the vast reserve of women power,” and that is exactly what the Torpedo Station did. Newport’s Rosie the Riveters worked hard and long hours manufacturing torpedoes, and Rhode Island can take pride in the valuable contributions of these women to the Allied victory of WWII.
In a 1943 January issue of Firepower, one author wrote, “New women ordnance workers are being trained by the thousands each month to take over man-sized jobs” (Production Goes to War 1942). At that time, 70% of industrial plants were operated by women undertaking difficult and hazardous work in weapons production (“School Days for WOWs” 1943). In contrast, the American public read articles that beautified women’s work in factories. One author wrote, “In large TNT plants the laboratory is manned almost entirely by women, all young and good looking” (Production Goes to War 1942). A great deal of attention was, and still is, spent admiring the 1940s Rosie the Riveters for their looks rather than their work, however it is the dedication and hard work these American women put into building the nation’s weapons that should be admired.
At the Naval Torpedo Station, women worked in the Supply, Machine, Chemical, Personnel, Engineering, Design and Materials Department. While some held traditional female jobs such as clerks, typists, assistants, and messengers, many were ordnance workers who sacrificed their safety for the production of torpedoes. Newport resident, Isabella McNulty, was regularly exposed to toxins while she loaded tracers, which screwed into the base of the torpedo shell. The building she worked in was incredibly loud and the powder she handled was poisonous. The women in this department did not wear gloves, because the parts they handled were so small that a gloved hand did not have the precision needed for the task. Therefore, their hands turned yellow and their skin became damaged over time (McNulty).
In 1942 Martha J. Ziegler, who worked for the Women’s Bureau, wrote that government officials did not conduct or analyze thoroughly the health hazards of working with different kinds of chemicals; instead they primarily analyzed if women could work in these kinds of environments. Ziegler described the true hazards faced by women in ammunition plants: “in addition to the danger from explosives, workers are subject to the dangers from poisoning or infection in working with various toxic substances, such a trinitrotoluene (TNT), and lead azide” (Ziegler 1942). Of the injuries suffered by women ordnance workers, 27.6% occurred to the hands (“School Days for WOWs” 1943).
The government did not advertise the hazardous effects of these chemicals to women working at the Torpedo Station. Many women had to tape gauze under their nose because the chemicals would cause their noses to run or bleed, and workers often developed skin infections (McNulty). To treat the symptoms brought on by exposure at the Station, the government hired naval doctor, Lieutenant Paul R. Kline, Dermatologist and Allergist (Roster of Officers 1944).
Nevertheless, the women never complained about their dangerous work environments, the ten-hour days they endured, or their low salaries in comparison to their male counterparts. In 1942 the war Production Board wrote that WWII was a “War of production—machine against machine,” and Newport’s Rosie the Riveters understood this. They took pride in the fact that they were building weapons for the war effort. Behind the red lipstick and curled hair tucked away in a bandanna, were true WWII heroes fighting for an American Victory.
All photos from the collection of the Newport Historical Society.
Sources:
- McNulty, Isabella. Interview for Naval Torpedo Station Oral History Project. Newport Historical Society.
- “Production Goes to War” (May 1942). Box 370, Naval War College Archives.
- “Roster of Officers at U.S. Naval Hospital” (July 1, 1944). Box 221, Naval War College Archives.
- “School Days for WOWs.” Firepower: For Men and Women of Ordnance (January 1943). Box 206, Naval War College Archives.
- Ziegler, Martha. “Women’s Employment in Artillery Ammunitions Plants.” Bulletin of the Women’s Bureau no. 192-2 (1942). Box 159, Naval War College Archives.