From our interviews with Kettenburg family members and employees we have learned that the US Army "enlisted" the commercial fishing fleet of Southern California into WW2 for service in the South Pacific. (Half of this fleet was sunk by Japanese submarines, and few of the remaining ever returned to the states.) The Food and Drug Administration contracted with Kettenburg Boat Works to build a fleet of replacements. The yard built four 32 foot and eight 38 foot fishing boats to replace the fleet. The story of this is well told in a couple of old magazine articles we’ve posted in this section. We are indebted to Mr. Mike McCorkle of Carpinteria, CA for providing us with the following photos and history of each boat. Mr. McCorkle is an active commercial fisherman, having been practicing his profession for over 50 years. Mr. McCorkle began taking photos of fishing boats as a child in San Pedro in the early 1950s and continues to do so to this day. As a result he has been keeping a mental and photographic chronicle of fishing boats, their owners, and their fates up and down the California coast. Mr. McCorkle has loaned us his collection of Kettenburg fishing boat photos. He is has also prepared a brief history, from memory we might add, of the ownership and history of each boat pictured. (if there is only a number by the photo it indicates that the history is being prepared).

As of this writing and our meeting with Mr. McCorkle (September 2006) only two (2) Kettenburg fishing boats are still in active service; however, there are a couple of others in San Pedro’s "fish Harbor" still in fishing trim and contemplating continued service.

If you have any information about the Kettenburg fishing boat fleet, please contact us.