In 1940, Leroy M. Robinson (President), George R. Taylor (Vice-president), and John P. Carson (Secretary and Treasurer) formed RTC Shipbuilding Company in Camden, New Jersey. Their initials are the basis for the name of the company. All three men were former executives at J. H. Mathis Company. Subsequent to the death of Robinson and the retirement of Taylor in 1946, Carson became the firm's president and assumed sole ownership.
Prior to World War II, the yard produced two oil barges, one tugboat, and six oil tankers. During World War II, twenty-eight self-propelled oil tankers were built for the U.S. Navy. For excellence in workmanship and its high rate of production, the company received two Army-Navy "E" awards, each with four stars. After World War II, the yard returned to commercial work and developed the largest trade in repair of medium size work boats and naval vessels in the Delaware Valley Area.
RTC Shipbuilding Company was located at Delaware Avenue and State Street in Camden, New Jersey. After the company closed, a prison complex was built on the site and, as of 2010, a new development project is planned for the location.
From the guide to the RTC Shipbuilding Company records, 1921-1965, (Independence Seaport Museum, J. Welles Henderson Archives and Library)
