Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company

The Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Limited was a British shipbuilding company in the Govan area on the Clyde in Scotland. Fairfields, as it is often known, was a major warship builder, turning out many vessels for the Royal Navy and other navies through the First World War and the Second World War. It also built many transatlantic liners, including record breaking ships for Cunard and the Canadian Pacific. At the other end of the scale Fairfields built fast cross channel mail steamers and ferres for locations arounf the world. These included ships for the Bosphorus crossing in Istanbul and some of the early ships used by Thomas Cook for developing tourism on the River Nile

Some of the better-known ships built by Fairfield's include:

* Battlecruisers:
** HMS "Indomitable"
** HMS "New Zealand"
** HMS "Renown"

* Battleships:
** HMS "Commonwealth"
** HMS "Valiant"
** HMS "Howe"

* Aircraft carriers:
** HMS "Implacable"
** HMS "Theseus"

* Passenger liners:
** SS "Campania"
** SS "Lucania"

* Clyde paddle steamer:
** PS "Jeanie Deans", 1931

History

The company began as "Randolph & Elliot" building engines and machinery in the Tradeston district of Glasgow. It started shipbuilding as "Randolph, Elder and Company" at Govan Old Shipyard in 1860 (partners Charles Randolph and John Elder). The first ship was built in 1861 as "No 14". The firm moved to a new yard at Fairfield Farm in 1868.

The firm of "John Elder and Company" was established in 1870; and it became the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company in 1886, [Payne, Peter. (1967). [http://books.google.com/books?id=fLTCG1ELyRoC&pg=PT77&dq=Fairfield+Shipbuilding+and+Engineering+Company&sig=ACfU3U1DdGXc0IxS0xIL1s2-ZLgQGY24Nw "Studies In Scottish Business History," p. 57.] ] owned by Sir William Pearce. [Payne, p. 58.] John Elder died in 1869.

John Carmichael was manager of the Fairfield yard in 1894. He had been born in Govan in 1858, and he had entered Fairfield as an apprentice in 1973. When his apprenticeship was completed seven years later, Sir William appointed him as head draughtsman, and later he was promoted to assistant manager. [Payne, pp. 57-58.]

Alexander Cleghorn was the Fairfield manager in 1909. [American Society of Naval Engineers. (1909). [http://books.google.com/books?id=R5YSAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA9&dq=Fairfield+Shipbuilding+and+Engineering+Company&lr= "Journal of the American Society of Naval Engineers," Vol. 20, p. 9.] ]

In 1919 the company became part of the Northumberland Shipbuilding Group, the largest in the world at the time.

The Fairfield West Yard was added in 1920s but closed after ten years due to severe recession and was demolished in 1934. Fairfield was taken over by "Lithgows Ltd" of Port Glasgow in 1935. The Fairfield West yard was used by the United States Army in 1944 to build four landing craft.

The engine building operation merged with "David Rowan & Company" to form "Fairfield Rowan Ltd" in 1963. The company was placed in receivership in 1965 but reconstituted as "Fairfield (Glasgow) Ltd", with the chairman being Ian Stewart of Thermotank. "Fairfield Rowan closed" in 1966.

The following year Fairfields and the other major yards of the Upper Clyde - Alexander Stephen and Sons, Charles Connell and Company, Yarrow Shipbuilders Limited and John Brown and Company - were merged to form "Upper Clyde Shipbuilders" (UCS). UCS collapsed amid much controversy in 1971, when a strike and work-in received national press attention. As part of the recovery deal, Fairfields was formed into "Govan Shipbuilders" which was nationalised as part of British Shipbuilders. On the breakup of British Shipbuilders under denationalisation, the former Fairfields yards were sold to the Kværner group, as "Kværner (Govan)". In 1999 the yard passed to BAE Systems via the incorporation of Marconi Marine from GEC-Marconi. It is now part of "BAE Systems Naval Ships".

In total the company built almost 700 ships.

Notes

References

* Payne, Peter Lester. (1967). [http://books.google.com/books?id=fLTCG1ELyRoC&dq=Fairfield+Shipbuilding+and+Engineering+Company&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 "Studies In Scottish Business History."] London: Routledge. 10-ISBN 0-714-61349-5; 13-ISBN 978-0-714-61349-9 (cloth)

ee also

* Ocean liners built for Canadian Pacific Steamships:
** RMS "Empress of Britain"
** RMS "Empress of Ireland"
** RMS "Empress of Asia"
** RMS "Empress of Russia"
** RMS "Empress of Canada"
** RMS "Empress of Japan"

External links

* [http://www.clydesite.co.uk/clydebuilt/search.asp The Clyde-built ships data base - lists over 22,000 ships built on the Clyde]