William Denny and Brothers
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Shipbuilding |
| Founded | 1840 |
| Defunct | 1963 |
| Fate | Liquidation |
| Headquarters | Dumbarton,UK |
William Denny and Brothers Limited,often referred to simply asDenny,was aScottishshipbuilding company.
History
[edit]
The shipbuilding interests of the Denny family date back toWilliam Denny(born 1779), for whom ships are recorded being built inDumbartonas far back as 1811 such as the sailingsloopAlpha.[1]By 1823 the company name had changed toWilliam Denny & Son.The first ship it built under this name was the paddle steamerSuperb.From 1845 the company becameDenny Brothers(this being William jnr, Alexander andPeter), and in 1849 the firm was reconstituted asWilliam Denny & Brothers,this being William, James and Peter Denny.
Although the Denny yard was situated near the junction of the River Clyde and theRiver Leven,the yard was on the Leven.[2]The founder developed the company's interests in ship owning and operation with interests in the British & Burmese Steam Navigation Company, theIrrawaddy Flotilla Companyand La Platense Flotilla.[3]
The Company built all types of ships but were particularly well known as producers of fine cross-channelsteamshipsandferries.It was a pioneer in the development of theship's stabiliserin conjunction withEdinburgh-based Brown Brothers & Company. In 1913 the Channel steamerPariswas one of the first ships to use geared turbine engines utilising newMichelltilting-padfluid bearing.[4]It also undertook experimental work inhovercraftandhelicopter-type aircraft.
A marine engineering company, also based inDumbarton,was formed byPeter Denny,John Tulloch and John McAusland in 1850 asTulloch & Denny.In 1862 the company was renamedDenny & Co.The company manufactured a wide range of types ofmarine enginesand was absorbed into William Denny & Brothers in 1918.
Dennys were always innovators and were one of the first commercial shipyards in the world to have their own experimental testing tank: this is now open to the public as a museum.[5]William Denny & Company went into voluntary liquidation in 1963.[5]
Denny ship model experiment tank
[edit]Inspired by the work of eminent naval architectWilliam Froude,Denny's completed the world's first commercial example of aship testing tankin 1883. The facility was used to test models of various ships and explored various propulsion methods, including propellers, paddles and vane wheels. Experiments were carried out on models of theDenny-Brown stabiliserand the Dennyhovercraftto gauge their feasibility. Tank staff also carried out research and experiments for other companies:Belfast-basedHarland and Wolffdecided to fit abulbous bowon the linerCanberraafter successful model tests in the Denny Tank. After the Denny yard closed, the test tank facility was taken over byVickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Limitedand used for the testing ofsubmarinesuntil the early 1980s.
Re-opened as part of theScottish Maritime Museumin 1982, it retains many of its original features, including the 100m longship testing tank.The towing carriage is still in working order and is demonstrated from time to time, but all instrumentation has been removed and so the tank cannot currently be used for hydrodynamic research and testing.
Denny-built vessels
[edit]Some significant Denny-built vessels include:
- SSMarjory(1814) for James McCubbin, first steamship on east coast, first on Thames and first to cross theEnglish Channel[6][7]
- SSGreenock(1815) for James McCubbin, first steamship inBelfastand first onRiver Mersey[6]
- Cutty Sark(1869); completed by Denny's after the liquidation of her contracted builders,Scott & Linton;preserved in a dry dock atGreenwich,London
- SSCoya(1892); aLake Titicacasteamer and now a floating restaurant
- SSSir Walter Scott(1899); excursion steamer onLoch Katrine,Scotland
- TSKing Edward(1901); excursion steamer and the first commercial ship powered by steam turbines
- SSParthia(1870);an ocean liner built for theCunard Line.Existed under multiple roles and ownerships for over 80 years before finally being scrapped in Japan.[8]
- SSSeaford(1893) A cross-channel ferry which sank in 1895 after collision with another LBSCR vessel, the cargo ship Lyon.
- SSSussex(1896) A cross-channel ferry, built as an almost exact replacement for SS Seaford. It was severely damaged by a torpedo from a German U-boat in 1916. At least 50 passengers died.
- SSBrighton(1903)A cross-channel ferry which was involved in a collision with the windjammerPreußen8 nautical miles (15 km) south of Newhaven, resulting in its total loss.
- SSOtaki(1908);arefrigeratedcargo linerthat was the first commercial ship to be powered by a combination of reciprocating steam engines and a low-pressure steam turbine[9]
- HMSEngadine(1911);a cross-channel packet boat that was converted into a seaplane tender in 1914, sold to Filipino owners in 1933 and sunk by a mine in 1941
- Delta King(1924–26); currently a hotel, theatre, and restaurant inSacramento, California
- Delta Queen(1924–26);[10]currently a hotel atChattanooga,Tennessee
- TSQueen Mary(1933); A Clyde turbine steamer that was once a floating restaurant in London. Now undergoing restoration next to theGlasgow Science Centre.
- PSCaledonia(1934);a Clyde paddle steamer that was converted into a minesweeper in 1939, a pub and restaurant in 1969 and was destroyed by fire in 1980
- PSRyde(1937); built for theSouthern Railway,[11]and the World's last coal-fired sea-going paddle steamer when withdrawn from service in 1969. There were hopes to preserve the ship at theIsland Harbour Marinaon theIsle of Wight,but she is now planned to be dismantled.
- MVThe Second Snark(1938); a former Denny-owned tug and tender on the Clyde
- MVLymington(1938); an Isle of Wight ferry that in 1974 became the Clyde ferry MVSound of Sanda
- MVRoyal Iris(1950); a former Mersey ferry berthed at Woolwich, London
- MVFenerbahçe(1953); a former passenger ferry, now a museum ship inIstanbul,Turkey
- HMSJaguar(1957); Leopard class frigate, now BNSAli Haiderin Bangladesh Navy
- Denny D2 Hoverbus; an early attempt to build a hovercraft for use as a passenger vehicle
- GMVAramoana(1961) Last vessel built by William Denny and Brothers. She was aRoll-on/roll-offRoad/Railferry built forNew Zealand Railways Department.
Company flag
[edit]The company's flag consisted of a blue elephant against a white field. This image was taken from the civic arms of Dumbarton, and it also served to symbolise the strength and solidity of the company's products.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^"Alpha".Scottish Built Ships.Caledonian Maritime Research Trust.Retrieved27 October2020.
- ^"The Leven-built Cutty Sark".Shipping & Shipbuilding News.Ayr. 22 May 2007. Archived fromthe originalon 9 October 2007.Retrieved19 September2007.
- ^Moss, Michael S (1885–1900)."Denny, Peter (1821–1895)".Dictionary of National Biography.London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- ^Dowson, D; Taylor, CM; Godet, M; Berthe, D (1987).fluid film lubrication – Osborn Reynolds centenary: proceedings of the 13th Leeds-Lyon symposium on Tribology.Amsterdam: Elsevier. p. 51.ISBN0-444-42856-9.
- ^ab"Dumbarton – Denny Ship Model Experiment Tank".Scottish Maritime Museum, Irvine. Archived fromthe originalon 25 February 2011.Retrieved19 April2009.
- ^abIllustrated Catalogue of the Exhibition of Portraits in the New Galleries of Art in Corporation Buildings: James McCubbin
- ^Captain James Williamson (1904).The Clyde Passenger Steamer.James Maclehose And Sons, Glasgow. p. 332.
- ^"Parthia".Scottish Built Ships.Caledonian Maritime Research Trust.Retrieved27 October2020.
- ^"Otaki".Scottish Built Ships.Caledonian Maritime Research Trust.Retrieved27 October2020.
- ^"Delta Queen".Scottish Built Ships.Caledonian Maritime Research Trust.Retrieved27 October2020.
- ^"Ryde".Scottish Built Ships.Caledonian Maritime Research Trust.Retrieved27 October2020.
External links
[edit]- "Scottish Built Ships".Caledonian Maritime Research Trust.– database of all ships built in Scotland
- "Denny's Shipyard".Clyde Heritage.Clyde Waterfront.
- "Delta Queen".Steamboats.org.– photographs
- "The Denny Hovercraft".Scotland on Film.BBC.
- Defunct shipbuilding companies of Scotland
- Companies based in West Dunbartonshire
- River Clyde
- Manufacturing companies established in 1840
- Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1963
- British companies established in 1840
- British companies disestablished in 1963
- 1840 establishments in Scotland
- 1963 disestablishments in Scotland
- Defunct companies of Scotland
- Dumbarton
- British Shipbuilders
- Former submarine builders