Short Brothers (shipyard)
The Short Brothers Limited shipyard , often abbreviated as Short’s , existed from 1850 to 1964 in Pallion ( Sunderland ). It delivered a large part of its ships to shipping companies in its own region and was therefore also known as the "local yard".
history
Early years
The former foreman of John Watson's shipyard, George Short, founded the company in 1850 in Hylton, a suburb of Sunderland. The shipyard initially built wooden sailing ships and traded in wood. In 1869 she moved downriver to Pallion, with Short's four sons, George, John Young, Thomas and Joseph joining the business. Two years later the shipyard built its first iron ship, the High Stretfield , and became known as the Short Brothers .
John Young Short made a good name for himself as a ship designer in the following years, as his cargo steamer designs had good sea properties. In 1877 he received a gold medal for the best steamer design in London and in the following year another at the world exhibition in Paris. Together with good contacts to local shipping circles, further awards, such as in 1882 for a steamship model at an exhibition of the Worshipful Company of Shipwrights , consolidated the good reputation of the shipyard.
Economic rise
From 1883 Short's began a long-lasting business relationship with the shipowner James Knott from North Shields, who ordered a total of 37 liner freighters for his Prince Line between 1883 and 1918 . In 1892, John Y. Short introduced the eight-hour day at the shipyard and created a separate facility for his workers. After John Y. Short had acquired a larger stake in Nitrate Producers Steamship Co. Ltd from Col. John Thomas North in 1895 , the shipyard built all of the following 30 ships for the shipping company , starting with Col. JT North . Starting in 1897, Short's received construction contracts from Newcastle shipyards.
On January 24, 1900, John Y. Short died at work at the age of 56, after which his brother Joseph took over his position and the company was converted into a limited company and renamed Short Brothers Ltd. traded. At that time, the shipyard already had around 1,500 employees. During this time Short's also took over the neighboring North of England Shipbuilding Company, which brought the output of 1900 to a volume of 26,017 GRT.
First World War
The construction list during the First World War included 17 ships with 86,391 tons and 14 barges for the Admiralty as well as a tanker, four small supply tankers and eight standard freighters of the type WAR "B". The last of these standard freighters , the War Seagull , was launched in complete darkness in late December 1918, bringing the annual output to a record 34,967 tons.
Between the wars
From 1923 onwards, the number of newbuilding orders fell due to the economic crisis and strikes broke out at the shipyard. While the order book emptied almost completely in the following years, there was another wave of strikes from 1926. After the completion of the Haberton in June 1930, the shipyard temporarily closed completely. In the decade from 1920 to 1930, Short's produced a total of 36 trampers and liner ships, including the shipyard's first turbine ships, the 14-knot Sandown Castle and Sandgate Castle .
In 1933 the shipyard reopened its doors and began building three Arcform ships based on designs by marine engineer Sir Joseph Isherwood . The cross-section of the hull resembled one in the shape of a wine barrel. The greatest breadth of the Arcform ships was just below the waterline and about one more than that of a conventional tramp ship of the same size. The first ship, the Arcwear , was launched on November 2nd and later, on its maiden voyage , showed a higher speed than comparable ships with lower bunker consumption. When the sea was smooth, however, the ships showed jerky movements; in rough seas, the Arcform ships tended to roll heavily and thereby took a disproportionate amount of water on deck. Despite a few other Arcform tramp ships and tankers built, the designs were not a great success.
The government-sponsored Scrap & Build Scheme (a kind of scrapping bonus ) earned the shipyard six construction contracts in 1935, five of which were colliers . One of these ships, the smooth-deck tramp ship Biddlestone , launched on May 10, 1937 , was equipped with the new White high-speed twin - compound steam engine with a downstream low-pressure steam turbine. After seven more tramp ships, the shipyard ran out of orders again in 1938, which led to another closure.
Second World War
Short's reopened in the summer of 1939 and two Maierform trampers were completed (the shipyard had been working on one of the ships before it was closed). During the Second World War, 28 tramp ships, two small motor tankers and an armored landing craft were built for the Admiralty. At the end of 1944 Short's British government urged to build standard type "C" freighters from partially pre-assembled sections . At the end of the war the shipyard had a workforce of 900 men.
post war period
From 1946 John H. Short, the great-grandson of the shipyard's founder, became chairman of the company's executive board.
After the building program of the 1950s and 1960s post-war years extended to cargo ships for domestic and foreign accounts, the company ran into difficulties again in the years 1961 to 1963. The shipyard's last ship, Carlton , was launched on October 17, 1963. She was a so-called universal bulk ship with five main holds, which were separated by longitudinal bulkheads into three individually accessible compartments, and four smaller loading spaces arranged between the main holds. This load compartment division made a particularly flexible distribution of various bulk goods, especially grain, possible.
After the completion of the Carlton in January 1964, the yard finally closed its doors and laid off the last 300 employees. After the Short family refused to invest in the company, the shipyard was abandoned. Only the equipment pier was acquired by the neighboring Bartram & Sons shipyard towards the end of 1964 and continued to be used.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Today South Hylton.