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Encyclopedia > Swan Hunter

Swan Hunter, formerly known as "Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson", is one of the best known shipbuilding companies in the United Kingdom. Based in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, the company was responsible for some of the greatest ships of the early 20th century — most famously, the RMS Mauretania which held the Blue Riband for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic, and the RMS Carpathia which rescued the survivors from the RMS Titanic. Men from Francisco de Orellanas expedition building a small brigantine, the San Pedro, to be used in the search for food Shipbuilding is the construction of ships. ... Wallsend is a town on the north bank of the River Tyne in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. ... Tyne and Wear is a metropolitan county in the North East of England around the mouths of the Rivers Tyne and Wear. ... The RMS Mauretania at sea. ... The Blue Riband is an award held by the ship with the record for a transatlantic crossing. ... The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest ocean, covering approximately one-fifth of the earths surface. ... RMS Carpathia The RMS Carpathia was a Cunard Line transatlantic passenger steamship built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson. ... RMS Titanic was an Olympic class passenger liner that became infamous for its collision with an iceberg and dramatic sinking in 1912. ...


As the name suggests, the company represented the combined forces of three powerful shipbuilding families: Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson. The Wigham Richardson shipbuilding company was named after its founder, John Wigham Richardson (1837-1908), the son of Edward Richardson, a tanner from Newcastle upon Tyne, and Jane Wigham from Edinburgh. ...


Swan & Hunter was formed in 1880. In 1903, it merged with Wigham Richardson (founded by John Wigham Richardson as Neptune Works in 1860), specifically to bid for the prestigious contract to build the Mauretania on behalf of Cunard. Their bid was successful, and the new company, Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson Ltd, went on to build what was to become, in its day, the most famous ocean going liner in the world. RMS Mauretania was launched from Wallsend on Tyne on 20th September 1906 to the cheers of huge crowds. She left service in 1935. 1880 (MDCCCLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... John Wigham Richardson was one of the great figures of British industrial life, and a leading shipbuilder on Tyneside during the late 19th and early 20h century. ... The Cunard Line formerly Cunard White Star Line is the British cruise line that operates the RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) and RMS Queen Mary 2 (QM2) ocean liners. ...


The shipyard survived until 1993, then trading as "Swan Hunter", when it was forced to call in the receivers after the UK government awarded the contract for HMS Ocean to Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd in Barrow in Furness for a cut down price, which later turned out to be artificial. The final cost of the ship was more than £50 million in excess of Swan Hunter's quoted tender. The ship has been dogged with problems ever since as the UK government failed to recognise the depth of expertise within Swan Hunter. Six ships that were built for the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Ocean. ... Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd (VSEL) is based at Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. ... Barrow-in-Furness is a town in Cumbria, England, (though it remains part of the traditional county of Lancashire). ...


Swan Hunter once owned the Wallsend Slipway & Engineering Company, which built the engines for some of its greatest ships. The company was an early manufacturer of Charles Algernon Parsons turbine engines, which enabled the Mauretania to achieve its great speed. Wallsend Slipway & Engineering Company Ltd was formerly an independent company, located on the River Tyne at Point Pleasant, near Wallsend, around a mile downstream from the Swan Hunter shipyard, with which it later merged. ... Sir Charles Algernon Parsons (June 13, 1854 – February 11, 1931) was a Irish engineer, best known for his invention of the steam turbine. ... WWII era steam turbine used for ship propulsion. ...


The current flagship of the Royal Navy, HMS Ark Royal was built at Swan Hunter, entering service in 1985. The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the senior service of the British armed services, being the oldest of its three branches. ... HMS Ark Royal (R07), the last Invincible-class light aircraft carrier, is the fifth ship of the Royal Navy named in honour of the flagship of the English fleet that defeated the Spanish Armada. ...

Contents


Present & future

Swan Hunter was rescued from receivership by Jaap Kroese, a Dutch millionaire. Today, the yard is building ships once again, the first on the Tyne for 10 years. However the Bay class landing ship dock (auxiliary) vessels it has produced have run massively over their original budget. These over-runs are thought to be the reason Swan Hunter has not received any work on the aircraft carrier project (future Royal Navy carriers) for the Royal Navy. The Bay class landing ships dock have been designed as replacements for the ageing Round Table class LSLs. ... CVF, literally Aircraft Carrier Future, but commonly called the Future Carrier is a new generation of aircraft carrier being developed for the United Kingdoms Royal Navy. ... The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the senior service of the British armed services, being the oldest of its three branches. ...


Ships built by Swan Hunter

This is a partial list This is a partial list of partial lists on Wikipedia. ...


Naval vessels

HMS Ark Royal (R07), the last Invincible-class light aircraft carrier, is the fifth ship of the Royal Navy named in honour of the flagship of the English fleet that defeated the Spanish Armada. ... The fifth HMS Illustrious (R06) is an Invincible-class light aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy, affectionately known as Lusty to her crew. ... RFA Fort George (A388) is a combined fleet stores ship and tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. ... HMS Scarborough was a Royal Navy sloop of the Hastings class launched in 1930. ... A sloop-rigged J-24 sailboat In sailing, a sloop is a vessel with a Fore-and-aft rig. ... HMS Richmond The Type 23 frigate is a class of warship serving with the Royal Navy, also known as the Duke class. ... HMS Marlborough (F233) is a Type 23 frigate of the Royal Navy. ... HMS Westminster (F237) is a Type 23 frigate of the Royal Navy. ... HMS Northumberland (F238) is a Type 23 frigate of the Royal Navy. ... HMS Richmond (F239) is a Type 23 frigate of the Royal Navy (RN). ... The Crown Colony-class light cruisers of the Royal Navy were named after Crown Colonies of the British Empire. ... HMS Gambia was a Crown Colony class cruiser of the Royal Navy. ... HMS Maurituis, pennant C80, was a Crown Colony-class cruiser of the Royal Navy. ... HMS Anson was a King George V-class battleship of the Royal Navy, named after Admiral George Anson. ... One of the KGV battleships, HMS Howe The King George V class battleships were the second to last class of battleships completed by the Royal Navy. ... HMS Victory in 1884 given to the most powerfully gun-armed and most heavily armored classes of warships built between the 15th and 20th centuries. ... The Type 14 Blackwood class were a twelve ship class of anti-submarine warfare (ASW) frigates of the Royal Navy, designed and built during the increasing threat from the Soviet Unions large fleet of submarines that roamed the Atlantic Ocean. ... The eighth HMS Albion (R07) was a 22,000 ton Centaur-class light fleet carrier of the Royal Navy. ... HMS Exeter (D89) is a Type 42 destroyer, the fifth ship of the Royal Navy to be named Exeter, after the city of Exeter in Devon. ...

Commercial vessels

  • Augustina (1927)
  • Aurania (1916)
  • Ascania (1911)
  • RMS Carpathia (1902)
  • MV Derbyshire (1976)
  • Esso Northumbria (1969)
  • Esso Hibernia (1969)
  • Franconia (1910)
  • Helcion (1954)
  • Heldia (1955)
  • Helisoma (1956)
  • Helix (1953)
  • Imbricaria (1935)
  • Ivernia (1899)
  • Kossmatella (1953)
  • RMS Laconia (1911)
  • RMS Laconia (1921)
  • RMS Mauretania (1906)
  • Mitra (1912)
  • Mytilus (1916)
  • Nacella (1968)
  • Narica (1967)
  • Neverita (1944)
  • Shell Supplier (1946)
  • Solen (1961)
  • Varicella (1959)
  • Velletia (1952)
  • Velutina (1950)
  • Volvula (1956)
  • Zaphon (1957)
  • Llanishen 32,000 ton oil tanker (1957)

RMS Carpathia The RMS Carpathia was a Cunard Line transatlantic passenger steamship built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson. ... The MV Derbyshire, was built in 1976 by Swan Hunter, as an ore-bulk-oil combination carrier, she was registered at Liverpool, and owned by Bibby Line. ... The Franconian Rake is originally is a heraldic symbol of the bishops of Würzburg, who - though nominally Dukes of Franconia - only ruled in parts of Franconia. ... The first RMS Laconia was a Cunard ocean liner built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, launched on July 27, 1911, delivered to the Cunard Line on December 12, 1911, and began service on January 20, 1912. ... The second RMS Laconia was a Cunard ocean liner built by Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson as a successor to the Laconia of 1911 to 1917. ... The RMS Mauretania at sea. ...

Cable ships

  • Alert
  • All America
  • Ariel
  • Bullfinch
  • Bullfrog
  • Bullhead
  • Cambria
  • Colonia
  • Dominia
  • Edward Wilshaw
  • Emile Baudot
  • Guardian
  • Iris
  • John W. Mackay
  • Lord Kelvin
  • Marie Louise Mackay
  • Monarch
  • Patrol
  • Recorder
  • St. Margarets
  • Stanley Angwin
  • Telconia

References

  • http://www.swanhunter.com/index.html - company website
  • http://atlantic-cable.com/Cableships/SwanHunter/index.htm - cable history website

See also


  Results from FactBites:
 
History (287 words)
Swan Hunter has been involved in the decommissioning of offshore platforms and structures since 1996.
Swan Hunter is internationally renowned as a world class shipbuilder.
The Swan Hunter name is synonymous with innovative design and quality and the river Tyne shipyards of Swan Hunter have been the birth-place of many fine ships of almost every type and size for more than a century.
Swan (3805 words)
A male swan is a cob; a female is a pen, and the young are called cygnets.
Swans are powerful birds, they bite, and their beating wings can break a man’s arm.
Among Druids, the Swan represents the soul, and is associated with the Festival of Samhain.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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