William Denny and Brothers
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|
| Former type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Shipbuilding |
| Fate | Liquidation |
| Founded | 1840 |
| Defunct | 1963 |
| Headquarters | Dumbarton, UK |
William Denny and Brothers Limited, and often referred to simply as Denny, were a Scottish shipbuilding company.
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[edit] History
The Company was founded by Peter Denny in 1840 and based in Dumbarton, on the River Clyde. Although the Denny yard was situated near the junction of the River Clyde and the River Leven, the yard was on the Leven.[1] The founder developed the company's interests in ship owning and operation with interests in the British & Burmese Steam Navigation Company, the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company and La Platense Flotilla.[2]
The Company built all types of ships but were particularly well known as producers of fine cross-channel steamships and ferries. It was a pioneer in the development of the ship's stabiliser in conjunction with Edinburgh-based Brown Brothers & Company. In 1913 the Channel steamer Paris was one of the first ships to use geared turbine engines utilising new Michell tilting-pad fluid bearing.[3] It also undertook experimental work in hovercraft and helicopter-type aircraft.
A subsidiary company, Denny & Company, also based in Dumbarton, manufactured a wide range of types of steam and diesel marine engines.
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.[4] William Denny & Company went into voluntary liquidation in 1963.[4]
[edit] Denny Ship Model Experiment Tank
Inspired by the work of eminent naval architect William Froude, Denny's completed the world's first commercial example of a ship testing tank in 1883. The facility was used to test models of a variety of vessels and explored various propulsion methods, including propellers, paddles and vane wheels. Experiments were carried out on models of the Denny-Brown stabilisers and the Denny hovercraft to gauge their feasibility. Tank staff also carried out research and experiments for other companies: Belfast-based Harland & Wolff decided to fit a bulbous bow on the liner Canberra after successful model tests in the Denny Tank. After the yard closed, the test tank facility was taken over by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Limited and used for the testing of submarines until the early 1980s.
Re-opened as part of the Scottish Maritime Museum in 1982, it retains many of its original features, including the 100m long ship testing tank, which continues, from time to time, to be used for hydrodynamic research and testing.
[edit] Denny-built vessels
Some Denny-built vessels remain in existence, including:
- Cutty Sark (1869); completed by Denny's after the liquidation of her contracted builders, Scott & Linton; preserved in a dry dock at Greenwich, London
- SS Coya (1892); a Lake Titicaca steamer and now a floating restaurant
- SS Sir Walter Scott (1900); excursion steamer on Loch Katrine, Scotland
- TS King Edward (1901); excursion steamer and the first commercial vessel powered by steam turbines
- Delta Queen (1924–26),[5] currently an hotel at Chattanooga, Tennessee
- TS Queen Mary (1933); formerly a Clyde turbine steamer, now a floating restaurant, previously in London
- PS Ryde (1937); built for the Southern Railway, and the World's last coal-fired sea-going paddle steamer when withdrawn from service in 1969.[6]
- MV The Second Snark (1938); a former Denny-owned tug and tender on the Clyde
- MV Lymington (1938), an Isle of Wight ferry that in 1974 became the Clyde ferry MV Sound of Sanda
- MV Royal Iris (1950); a former Mersey ferry berthed at Woolwich, London
- HMS Jaguar (F37) (1957); Leopard class frigate, now BNS Ali Haider in Bangladesh Navy
- Denny D2 Hoverbus; an early attempt to build a hovercraft for use as a passenger vehicle
[edit] Company flag
A white flag, with a blue elephant. The flag was unusual in having for its emblem an elephant. 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.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "The Leven-built CUTTY SARK". Shipping & Shipbuilding News, Ayr. 22 May 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-10-09. http://web.archive.org/web/20071009043505/http://www.shippingtimes.co.uk/item624_leven.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-19.
- ^ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- ^ D Dowson; C M Taylor; M Godet; D Berthe (1987). fluid film lubrication - Osborn Reynolds centennary: proceedings of the 13th Leeds-Lyon symposium on Tribology. Amsterdam: Elsevier. p. 51. ISBN 0444428569.
- ^ a b "Dumbarton - Denny Ship Model Experiment Tank". Scottish Maritime Museum, Irvine. http://billward.eu/pages_denny/default.html.
- ^ "Campaign to save paddle steamer", BBC News Scotland, 19 September 2007
- ^ Clydebuilt Ships Database - ships and shipbuilders on the River Clyde Clydebuilt Ships Database
[edit] External links
- Clyde built ships data base - lists all ships built on the Clyde
- PS Princess May
- SS Taroba
- Delta Queen steamboat
- SS Mayaro
- Denny of Dumbarton
- Scotland on film clip Denny's. (BBC)
- History of Denny's Shipyard - Clyde Waterfront Heritage
