Two women welders working on the flight deck of a new Essex Class aircraft carrier at the New York Navy Yard.[1]

1. Women Help Build Carrier for Navy, New York Times 5 Jun 1944, p.16: "Shop Workers at Brooklyn Yard Now Permitted About Ships—More Needed. A tradition of 143 years standing has come to an [end] at the New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn. Women are now working alongside men at construction work about Navy fighting ships. 'From shop to ship' describes the progress of several score women welders, electrical and sheet metal workers, moved from shop work and other 'land jobs' to help build a $60,000,000 airplane carrier of the Essex class ... Of 65,000 employes now at the Brooklyn yard, 4,000 are women — not counting office help ... Besides doing welding, electrical and sheet metal work, women are crane operators, shipfitters, machine operators, chauffers, and painters."