View source for Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company

{{Short description|Scottish shipbuilding company}}
{{EngvarB|date=April 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2016}}
{{Infobox company
|name  = Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company
|logo  = FairfieldLogo - from Commons.png
|logo_size = 220px
|type          = Public company
|caption        =
|fate          = Merged with others to form [[Upper Clyde Shipbuilders]]
|predecessor   = Randolph, Elliott and Co.<br />Randolph, Elder and Co.<br />John Elder & Co.
|successor     = [[Govan Shipbuilders]]
|foundation    = 1834
|defunct       = 1968
|location      = [[Govan]], Scotland, UK
|industry      = [[Shipbuilding]]
|key_people    = Charles Randolph<br/>[[John Elder (shipbuilder)|John Elder]]<br/>[[Sir William Pearce, 1st Baronet|Sir William Pearce]]<br/>[[Sir James Lithgow]]<br/>Sir Alexander Kennedy
|products      = [[Naval ship]]s<br/>[[Merchant ship]]s<br/>[[Ocean liner]]s<br/>[[Marine steam engine|Marine engines]]
|num_employees =
|parent        = Northumberland Shipbuilding Group (1919–1935)<br/>[[Lithgows]] (1935–1965)
|subsid        =
}}
The '''Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Limited''', was a Scottish [[shipbuilder|shipbuilding]] company in the [[Govan]] area on the [[River Clyde|Clyde]] in Glasgow. '''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 the [[Cunard Line]] and [[CP Ships|Canadian Pacific]], such as the [[Blue Riband]]-winning sisters [[RMS Campania|RMS ''Campania'']] and [[RMS Lucania|RMS ''Lucania'']]. At the other end of the scale, Fairfields built fast cross-channel mail steamers and ferries for locations around the world. These included ships for the [[Bosporus]] crossing in [[Istanbul]] and some of the early ships used by [[Thomas Cook]] for developing tourism on the River [[Nile]].

== John Elder &amp; Co and predecessors ==

=== Millwright Randolph & Elliott ===
Charles Randolph founded the company as Randolph & Co. He had been an apprentice at the Clyde shipyard of [[Robert Napier (engineer)|Robert Napier]], and at [[William Fairbairn & Sons]] in Manchester. With the knowledge that he acquired, he started as a [[millwright]] in partnership with his cousin Richard S. Cunliff,{{sfn|Philosophical Society of Glasgow|1879|p=560}} who managed the commercial side. By 1834 it built engines and machinery in the [[Tradeston]] district of [[Glasgow]].<ref name=glasgow>{{cite web |url= http://www.universitystory.gla.ac.uk/biography/?id=WH0114&type=P |title=Charles Randolph |publisher=University of Glasgow |access-date= 5 May 2020}}</ref> It was the first serious local manufacturer of [[gear|cog]] and other large wheels for driving machinery, and soon became famous for accuracy.{{sfn|Philosophical Society of Glasgow|1879|p=561}}

In 1839 Mr Elliott joined the firm and it became known as Randolph, Elliott & Co. Elliott died shortly after becoming a partner.{{sfn|Philosophical Society of Glasgow|1879|p=561}}

=== Randolph, Elder and Co starts to build ship engines ===
In 1852 the company became Randolph, Elder and Company when [[John Elder (shipbuilder)|John Elder]] (1824–1869) joined the business.{{sfn|Macquorn Rankine|1871|p=6}} Elder had a natural talent for engineering and had also worked at the Napier shipyard. It enabled the company to start diversifying into [[marine engineering]]. In this field, the company would acquire world fame. Its skills in this field also enabled it to become one of the biggest shipbuilders in the world. The story is closely connected to the application of the compound steam engine for marine use, in which the firm played a crucial role. With regard to the compound engine two specific phases can be discerned: 'low' pressure compound engines and 'high' pressure compound engines.

The compound engine with low (as it would later be called) pressure would give Randolph, Elder and Co its first renown for economic compound engines. The company's attempts centred on trying to prevent energy loss due to friction and premature condensation of steam. In July 1854 the screw steamer ''Brandon'' was fit with engines by Randolph, Elder & Co. It had a vertical geared compound engine with a patented (January 1853) arrangement of the cylinders. The [[crankshaft]] was turned by two opposite [[Crank (mechanism)|crank]]s (arms). One was driven by the high-pressure cylinder, the other by the low-pressure cylinder, with the pistons always moving in opposite directions. ''Brandon'', a vessel of about 800&nbsp;tons and 800&nbsp;ihp made her trials in July 1854. She had a coal consumption of about 3.25 lbs per [[Horsepower#Indicated horsepower|ihp]] per hour. At the time the lowest rate of consumption in other steamers was about 4-4.5 lbs per ihp per hour. The merits of the engine of ''Brandon'' were not enough to persuade others, and from 1854 till about 1866 Randolph, Elder and Co were the only engineers who made compound engines under their various patents.{{sfn|Mayer|1876|p=155}}

The [[Pacific Steam Navigation Company]] did become an enthusiastic customer. In 1855-1856 it operated on the west coast of South America. In that area, fuel was imported from Britain and therefore more costly. When the [[Crimean War]] broke out, freight tariffs increased to the point that the price of coal almost doubled there. The directors then conferred with the company, resulting in the 'double-cylinder engine'.{{sfn|Mayer|1876|p=156}} ''Inca'' and ''Valparaiso'' were paddle-steamers which got this engine, that got patented in March 1856. Construction of that for ''Inca'' was started in May 1856. It had two pairs of cylinders, lying so their piston rods were at a 60-90 degree angle. Each pair consisted of a high- and low-pressure cylinder lying next to each other, so they could easily exchange steam. Their pistons moved in opposite directions and drove one crank, which was attached to the crankshaft opposite the crank of the other pair. This gave the optimal balance of driving forces that could be attained for this number of cylinders. Furthermore, the cylinders were 'jacketed' at the top and bottom.{{sfn|Mayer|1876|p=156}} The jacket heated the cylinder from the outside to prevent condensation in the cylinder. It had been invented by [[James Watt]],{{sfn|Macquorn Rankine|1871|p=20}} but the company was the first to re-apply it, probably because it first understood its purpose. The company then supplied more double-cylinder engines, but with the cylinders completely jacketed. ''Admiral'' by Robert Napier, made her trial in June 1858.{{sfn|Macquorn Rankine|1871|p=38}} Another ship with the same engine was ''Callao'' built by John Reid in 1858. On trials fuel consumption for these ships was: ''Inca'' 2.5 lbs/ihp/h, ''Callao'' 2.7 lbs/ihp/h, ''Valparaiso'' and ''Admiral'' 3 lbs/ihp/h. It amounted to a saving of 30-40 per cent, and this was maintained later on. It made it possible to continue steam navigation on the Pacific Ocean with profit. In fact, in 1858 the Pacific Steam Navigation Company had 7–8 years old traditional machinery removed from three of her large steamers, and replaced by compound engines. It saved 40% in fuel and 30 feet of space amidships{{sfn|Mayer|1876|p=157}} because less space was needed for coal.

From 1854 till about 1866 Randolph, Elder & Co. constructed 18 sets of paddle engines and 30 sets of screw engines, all compound. A highlight was the conversion of the frigate [[HMS Constance (1846)|HMS Constance]] to steam propulsion in 1863, and her race against two frigates with engines by [[John Penn and Sons]] and [[Maudslay, Sons and Field]]. In 1860 the company started to use surface condensation instead of the jet condenser. In 1862 it increased steam pressure to 40 lbs per square inch.{{sfn|Mayer|1876|p=158}}

=== Starts to build ships ===
In 1858 the company acquired the Govan Old Shipyard,<ref name=glasgow/> and diversified into shipbuilding. The first ship was built in 1861 as ''No 14''. ''Macgregor Laird'' was built for the [[African Steamship Company]].{{sfn|Mayer|1876|p=160}} Other ships soon followed, and the business moved to a new yard at the former Fairfield Farm at the Govan riverside in 1864. From 1861 to 1866 59 ships were built.{{sfn|Mayer|1876|p=161}}

The general breakthrough of the compound engine was not affected by Randolph, Elder & Co., but by [[Alfred Holt]]. Holt succeeded in getting the [[Board of Trade]] to lift the ban on boilers with a pressure higher than 25 lbs per square inch (psi). The use of high-pressure steam made the compound engine far more effective, and Randolph, Elder & Co. quickly adjusted. It allowed the construction of a far simpler two-cylinder compound engine that was even more effective than the low-pressure compound steam engine.{{sfn|Mayer|1876|p=158}} In 1868 Charles Randolph retired from the firm, and John Elder became sole partner.

=== Vast expansion as John Elder & Co ===
The company became known as John Elder & Co in 1869. When John Elder died in September 1869<ref>{{cite web |url= https://universitystory.gla.ac.uk/biography/?id=WH0073&type=P |title=John Elder |publisher=University of Glasgow |access-date= 5 May 2020}}</ref> his wife ran the business for a while and renamed it in his honour.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/John_Elder_and_Co |title= John Elder and Co |publisher=Grace's Guide |access-date= 5 May 2020}}</ref> In 1869 she sold the company to a new partnership consisting of her brother John Francis Ure (1820–1883),  J.L.K. Jamieson (1826–1883) and Sir [[Sir William Pearce, 1st Baronet|William Pearce]]. It kept the name John Elder & Co. William Pearce became sole partner in 1878.<ref name=BioPearce>{{cite web |title=Biography of Sir William Pearce 1st Baronet |url=http://www.universitystory.gla.ac.uk/biography/?id=WH0159&type=P |work=University of Glasgow website |access-date=5 May 2020}}</ref>

The new owners continued the expansion of the shipyard in 1870 and onwards. Important customers in the 1861-1875 time slot were: the Pacific Steam Navigation Company for 40 vessels at 2,500,000 GBP, the African Mail Company and British and African Steam Navigation Company for 16 vessels at 500,000 GBP and [[Netherland Line|Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland]] for 8 vessels at 600,000 GBP.{{sfn|Mayer|1876|p=161}} Some qualitative notes further explain the leading position of the company at the time. In 1870 it launched Italy, a vessel of 400 feet, 4,200 tons gross measurement and 600 nominal hp. The largest vessel then afloat except for ''Great Eastern''. In 1870-1871 it built two steamers for the London to Aberdeen line: ''City of London'' and ''Ban Righ'' were about 20% faster than their predecessors, while their fuel consumption was less than half of theirs. In 1871 ''Tagus'' and ''Moselle'' were launched for the Royal Mail Company's West India and Brazil trade. Both big steamers almost reached 15 knots on their trials. In 1873 it launched ''Iberia'' of 4,820 tons and 650&nbsp;hp, the second largest merchant steamer then afloat. In 1871 [[HMS Hydra (1871)|HMS Hydra was launched]] with engines by John Elder.{{sfn|Mayer|1876|p=162}}

== Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company and successors ==
[[File:Govan Shipbuilders Ltd, General Offices.jpg|thumb|The imposing red sandstone offices of the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company on Govan Road, which from 2013, has formed the [[Fairfield Heritage Centre]].]]
In 1886 William Pearce converted the firm to a limited company, the Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Co.<ref name=BioPearce /> This also entailed a simultaneous name change to Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, after the old farm.{{sfn|Payne|1967|p=57}}{{sfn|Payne|1967|p=58}} The area of the farm itself was purchased by Isabella Elder in 1885 and donated to the people of Govan as [[Elder Park, Govan|Elder Park]], dedicated to her late husband.

The shipyard's imposing red sandstone [[Fairfield Offices|Drawing Offices]] were designed by [[John Keppie]] of [[Honeyman and Keppie]], with help from a young [[Charles Rennie Mackintosh]], and built 1889–91. The sculpted figures (The Engineer and the shipwright) flanking the entrance are by [[James Pittendrigh Macgillivray]].

John Carmichael was manager of the Fairfield yard in 1894. He had been born in Govan in 1858 and had entered Fairfield as an apprentice in 1873. When his apprenticeship was completed seven years later, Sir William Pearce made him head draughtsman, and later he was promoted to assistant manager.{{sfn|Payne|1967|pp=57–58}}

In February 1897 a major fire broke out in the yard.<ref name="ReferenceA">''Isle of Man Times'', Saturday, February 13, 1897; Page: 5</ref><ref name="ReferenceB">''Isle of Man Times'', Tuesday, February 09, 1897; Page: 12</ref> The fire spread rapidly and within ten minutes the vast majority of the buildings, covering several [[acre]]s, were ablaze with the joiner's, pattern, and fitting shops totally destroyed.<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref name="ReferenceB"/> Various ships under construction were threatened, amongst which were {{HMS|Argonaut|1898|6}} and {{RMS|Empress Queen}}. The vessels were however separated from the buildings and no significant damage was sustained. The cost of the damage was estimated at £40,000 and caused 4,000 workmen to be thrown idle.<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref name="ReferenceB"/>

[[Alexander Cleghorn]] [[FRSE]] became the Fairfield manager in 1909.<ref>{{cite journal |year=1909 |title=Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company |journal=Journal of the American Society of Naval Engineers |publisher=American Society of Naval Engineers. |volume=20 |page=9 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=R5YSAAAAYAAJ&q=Fairfield+Shipbuilding+and+Engineering+Company&pg=PA9 }}</ref> The company also established the [[Coventry Ordnance Works]] joint venture with [[Yarrow Shipbuilders]] and others in 1905. Sir Alexander Gracie, who was born in Dunvegan, worked at various other Clydeside shipbuilders before he started at Fairfield in 1896, where amongst other things he worked with Jack Fisher to develop the Invincible class for the Royal Navy, including the Indomitable, which was built at Fairfield. In 1909 Sir Alexander became chairman and managing director of the company, posts he held for a decade. Fisher described him as Britain's greatest naval architect. He died in 1933. [[Dorothy Rowntree]], the first woman in UK to qualify in naval architecture and to graduate in engineering from the [[University of Glasgow]] worked for the company between 1926 and 1928.<ref>{{Cite web |title=5: dorothy rowntree |url=http://www.magnificentwomen.co.uk/1/post/2019/01/5-dorothy-rowntree.html |access-date=2023-01-04 |website=Magnificent Women |language=en}}</ref>

The [[Fairfield Titan]] was built for the yard in 1911 by [[Sir William Arrol & Co.]], with a maximum lift capacity of 200 tons. It was acknowledged for many years as the largest crane in the world. It was employed in lifting the engines and boilers aboard ships in the fitting-out basin. The crane was a [[Listed building#Scotland|Category B listed building]] but was demolished in 2007 in yard modernisation works.

=== Subsidiary of Northumberland Shipbuilding Company ===
In 1919 the company became part of the [[Northumberland Shipbuilding Company]], with Alexander Kennedy installed as managing director.<ref name=GlasgowStory>{{cite web |url= http://www.theglasgowstory.com/image.php?inum=TGSA05166 |title=Alexander Kennedy |date=2004 }}</ref> In 1921 Alexander Kennedy was knighted. Sir Alexander became Fairfield chairman in 1930 and remained so until 1937.

The Fairfield West Yard had been added at the outbreak of the First World War for submarine construction, but closed after ten years due to severe recession and was demolished by [[National Shipbuilders Securities]] in 1934. The Fairfield West yard site was later used by the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers]] in 1944 to build four landing craft.

In 1924, the company bought a shipyard at [[Chepstow]] on the [[River Wye]] in South Wales, previously developed as [[National Shipyard#National Shipyard No.1, Chepstow|National Shipyard No.1]] in the First World War and then taken over by the Monmouthshire Shipbuilding Company. The works later specialised in assembling bridges and other major structures.

=== Subsidiary of Lithgows ===
In 1935 Fairfield was taken over by [[Lithgows]] of [[Port Glasgow]] after it had become entangled with the [[insolvency]] of the [[Anchor Line (steamship company)|Anchor Line]].<ref name=GlasgowStory/>

In the 1950s the yard underwent a major £4million modernisation programme which was implemented slowly over a period of ten years to minimise disruption to the yard. In 1963, the Fairfield engine building division merged with another Lithgow subsidiary, David Rowan & Company, to form Fairfield Rowan Ltd. Soon after the decade-long shipyard modernisation works were completed, Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd and Fairfield Rowan Ltd were placed into receivership and was subsequently sold by Lithgow's in 1965. Fairfield's Chepstow works was sold to the [[Mabey Group]] in 1966.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/415173/details/CHEPSTOW+NATIONAL+SHIPYARD+NO.+1%3B+FAIRFIELD-MABEY+LIMITED+ENGINEERING+WORKS/ |work=National Monuments Record of Wales |title=Chepstow National Shipyard No.1 |access-date=24 February 2012}}</ref><ref name=cheptoday>{{cite news |url=http://www.chepstow-today.co.uk/featuresdetail.cfm?id=3719 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130420042803/http://www.chepstow-today.co.uk/featuresdetail.cfm?id=3719 |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 April 2013 |first=Sarah |last=Daly |title=Building Bridges |newspaper=Chepstow Review |date=4 May 2011 |access-date=24 February 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://filestore.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pdfs/small/cab-129-123-c-65-162.pdf |title=Cabinet Papers 1965 |work=National Archives}}</ref> The marine engine-building subsidiary Fairfield Rowan was closed in 1966.

=== Fairfield (Glasgow) Ltd ===
[[File:Govan Shipbuilders - geograph.org.uk - 465116.jpg|thumb|The former Fairfield shipyard continues in operation as part of [[BAE Systems Surface Ships]].]]
The recently modernised shipbuilding operation was reconstituted as Fairfield (Glasgow) Ltd in 1966, under its founding chairman and industrialist Sir [[Iain Maxwell Stewart]] who was also chairman of [[Thermotank Ltd]]. It became known as the famous [[Fairfield Experiment]], into new ways of improving productivity through new reforms to [[industrial relations]] and the application of [[scientific management]] methods to improve [[productivity]].<ref>Whatever Happened at Fairfields? by Sydney Paulden & Bill Hawkins, published by Gower Press, 1969</ref> The era of the Fairfield experiment was captured by [[Sean Connery]] in his documentary ''[[The Bowler and the Bunnet]]''.

=== Further decline and nationalization ===
In 1968 the company was made part of [[Upper Clyde Shipbuilders]],<ref>{{cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/uk_confidential/1717110.stm |title=Government's shipbuilding crisis |work=BBC News |date=1 January 2002 }}</ref> which collapsed in 1971<ref>{{cite web |url= https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1971/jun/14/upper-clyde-shipbuilders |title=Parliamentary debates |work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]] |date=4 June 1971}}</ref> when a strike and work-in received national press attention.<ref name=ucs>{{cite web |url=http://production.investis.com/heritage/nonflash/lineage/sea/1968_upper_clyde_shipbuilders/ |publisher=BAE Systems |title=Heritage 1968 Upper Clyde Shipbuilders |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100526184243/http://production.investis.com/heritage/nonflash/lineage/sea/1968_upper_clyde_shipbuilders/ |archive-date=26 May 2010 |df=dmy }}</ref> As part of the recovery deal, Fairfields was formed into [[Govan Shipbuilders]] in 1972, which was itself later [[nationalised]] and subsumed into [[British Shipbuilders]] in 1977.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://govan.eveningtimes.co.uk/area/what-do-you-know-about-govan.html |title=What do you know about Govan? |newspaper=[[Evening Times]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705223004/http://govan.eveningtimes.co.uk/area/what-do-you-know-about-govan.html |archive-date=5 July 2008 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

=== The shipyard as part of BAE ===
On the break-up of British Shipbuilders under denationalisation in 1988, the former Fairfield yard was sold to the Norwegian [[Kværner]] group and renamed [[Kvaerner Govan]].<ref name=bae>{{cite web |url=http://production.investis.com/heritage/nonflash/lineage/sea/1973_govan_shipbuilders/ |publisher=BAE Systems |title=Heritage 1973 Govan Shipbuilders |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100526183828/http://production.investis.com/heritage/nonflash/lineage/sea/1973_Govan_Shipbuilders/ |archive-date=26 May 2010 |df=dmy }}</ref> 
The yard passed to [[BAE Systems Marine]] in 1999 and is now part of [[BAE Systems Surface Ships]].<ref name=bae/>

==Ships built ==
[[File:United Kingdom. Clydeban, Scotland. First British all-welded destroyer gets its finishing touches at the Clydebank... - NARA - 541768.tif|thumb|right|{{HMS|Delight|D119|6}}, a [[Daring-class destroyer (1949)|''Daring''-class Destroyer]] launched at Fairfield in 1950, was the Royal Navy's first all-welded warship.]]
Some of the better-known ships built by Fairfield's include:
{{dynamic list}}
Two of three ships that were lost in the [[action of 22 September 1914]] were built at Fairfield's.  These ships alongside {{HMS|Hogue}} were the first vessels ever to be sunk by a German U-boat ([[SM U-9|SM ''U-9'']]).

[[HMS Cressy (1899)|HMS ''Cressy'']]

[[HMS Aboukir (1900)|HMS ''Aboukir'']]

* Battlecruisers:
** {{HMS|Indomitable|1907|6}}
** {{HMS|New Zealand|1911|6}}
** {{HMS|Renown|1916|6}}
* Battleships:
** {{HMS|Commonwealth|1903|6}}
** {{HMS|Valiant|1914|6}}
** {{HMS|Howe|32|6}}
* Cruisers:
** {{HMS|Liverpool|C11|6}}
** {{HMS|Norfolk|78|2}}
* Destroyers:
** {{HMS|Cameleon|1910|6}}
** {{HMS|Comet|1910|6}}
** {{HMS|Goldfinch|1910|6}}
** [[HMS Maori (F24)|HMS ''Maori'']]
* Torpedo boat destroyers:
** {{HMAS|Parramatta|D55|6}}
* Submarines
** {{HMS|K13}}<ref>[https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/19565136.amp/ Tragic tale behind K13 submarine memorial in Glasgow's Elder Park], Ann Fotheringhay, Glasgow Times, 11 September 2021</ref><ref>[https://www.theglasgowstory.com/image/?inum=TGSA00913 K13 Memorial {{!}} Mitchell Library, Glasgow Collection, Bulletin Photographs], The Glasgow Story</ref>
** {{HMS|K14}}
** {{HMS|L15}}
** {{HMS|L16}}
** {{HMS|L55}}
** {{HMS|L56}}
* Aircraft carriers:
** {{HMS|Implacable|R86|6}}
** {{HMS|Theseus|R64|6}}
* Passenger ships:
** {{SS|Assiniboia}}
** {{SS|Arizona}} (John Elder & Co.)
** {{SS|Athenia|1922|2}}
** {{RMS|Caledonia|1948}}<ref name="Circassia_Cilicia_Caledonia">{{cite web|publisher=ssMaritime|title=Anchor Line|url=http://ssmaritime.com/MS-Circassia-Cilicia-Caledonia.htm|access-date=1 Sep 2022}}</ref>
** {{SS|Campania}}
** [[PS Cardiff Queen (1947)|PS ''Cardiff Queen'']]
** [[HMS Cheshire|''Cheshire'']]
** {{RMS|Cilicia}}<ref name="Circassia_Cilicia_Caledonia"/>
** {{RMS|Circassia}}<ref name="Circassia_Cilicia_Caledonia"/>
** {{RMS|Empress of Britain (1905)}}
** {{RMS|Empress of Ireland}}
** {{RMS|Empress Queen}}
** {{SS|Keewatin}}
** {{SS|Koning der Nederlanden}} (John Elder & Co.)
** [[SS Heraklion|SS ''Leicestershire'']]
** {{RMS|Lucania}}
** [[HMS Forfar (F30)|SS ''Montrose'']]
** {{RMS|Orontes}}
** {{SS|Prins Hendrik|1871|6}} I (John Elder & Co.)
** {{SS|Prins Hendrik|1874|6}} II (John Elder & Co.)
** {{SS|Prins van Oranje}} II (John Elder & Co.)
** {{SS|Stirling Castle}} (John Elder & Co.)
** {{SS|Volturno|1906|6}}
** {{ship|TEV|Wahine}}
** {{SS|Willem III}} (John Elder & Co.)
** ''Worcestershire''<ref>{{cite web|publisher=uboat.net|title=HMS Worcestershire (F 29)|url=https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/856.html|access-date=10 May 2021}}</ref>
* Passenger steam ships for Şehir Hatları  (Turkish Maritime Lines):
** S/S Tarzi Nevin (Bosphorus No.47)
** S/S Dilnisin (Bosphorus No.48)
** P/S Hale (Bosphorus No.49)
** P/S Seyyale (Bosphorus No.50)
** S/S Sureyya (Bosphorus No.51)
** S/S Sihap (Bosphorus No.52)
** S/S Tarabya (Bosphorus No.57)
** S/S Nimet (Bosphorus No.58)
** S/S Sarayburnu (Bosphorus No.65)
** S/S Bogazici (Bosphorus No.66)
** S/S Halas (Bosphorus No.71)
** S/S Altinkum (Bosphorus No.74)
** S/S Kuzguncuk (Yard No:802)
** S/S Kanlıca (Yard No:803)
** S/S Pendik (Yard No:804)
** S/S Anadolu Kavağı (Yard No:805)
** S/S Ataköy (Yard No:806)
** S/S İnkılap (Yard No:807)
** S/S Harbiye (Yard No:808)
** S/S Teğmen Ali İhsan Kalmaz (Yard No:809)
** S/S Turan Emeksiz (Yard No:810)
*Private Steam Yachts:
*SY Atmah for Baron [[Edmond Rothschild]]
* Clyde paddle steamers:
** {{PS|Jeanie Deans}}
**PS ''Jupiter''
**PS ''Juno''
**PS ''Marchioness of Lorne''
*Union Castle Line – RMS ''Gloucester Castle'' launched 13 May 1911 requisitioned as HMHS ''Gloucester Castle'' 31 March 1917
*Tankers
** [[ARA Santa Cruz (1921)|ARA ''Santa Cruz'']]
*Icebreaker
** {{ship|CGS|Stanley}}

==See also==
* [[Ocean liner]]s for [[CP Ships|Canadian Pacific Steamships]]:
** {{RMS|Empress of Britain|1905|6}}
** {{RMS|Empress of Ireland||6}}
** {{RMS|Empress of Asia||6}}
** {{RMS|Empress of Russia||6}}
** {{RMS|Empress of Canada|1920|6}}
** {{RMS|Empress of Japan|1929|6}}
* [[John Elder F.C.]] (works [[association football]] side which competed in the [[Scottish Cup]] from 1877 to 1882)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Payne |first=Peter Lester |year=1967 |title=Studies in Scottish Business History |location=London |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-7146-1349-9 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=fLTCG1ELyRoC&q=Fairfield+Shipbuilding+and+Engineering+Company }}
*{{cite book| last1=Johnston|first1=Ian| last2 =Buxton| first2=Ian| title=The Battleship Builders - Constructing and Arming British Capital Ships| publisher=Naval Institute Press| location= Annapolis, Maryland| date=2013| isbn=978-1-59114-027-6}}
*{{cite book| last= Macquorn Rankine|first= W.J. | title=A Memoir of John Elder, Engineer and Ship-builder | publisher= William Blackwood and sons, Edinburgh and London |year=1871 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EeqW2hl5exQC}}
*{{cite journal | year=1879 | author = Philosophical Society of Glasgow | journal = Proceedings of the Philosophical Society of Glasgow | title= Obituary Notices |pages= 560| volume = 11 | publisher= John Smit and Son, Glasgow | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=2fAUAAAAIAAJ}}
*{{cite book| last= Mayer |first= John | title= Notices of some of the Principal Manufactures of the West of Scotland | publisher= Blackie & Son, Glasgow |year=1876 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=hmaDg_aIyHAC}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company}}
* [https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Randolph,_Elder_and_Co Randolph, Elder and Co at Grace's Guide ]
* [https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/John_Elder_and_Co John Elder and Co at Grace's Guide ]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120215133418/http://www.fairfieldgovan.org.uk/ Fairfield Heritage Project]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131104163216/http://www.clydewaterfrontheritage.com/elderpark.aspx Elder Park, Govan – monument to John Elder]

{{Clydeshipyards}}
{{British shipbuilders evolution}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:River Clyde]]
[[Category:Defunct shipbuilding companies of Scotland]]
[[Category:Former defence companies of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Govan]]
[[Category:Marine engine manufacturers]]
[[Category:1968 disestablishments in Scotland]]
[[Category:Manufacturing companies established in 1834]]
[[Category:1834 establishments in Scotland]]
[[Category:Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1968]]
[[Category:Engine manufacturers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Former submarine builders]]