The Rise and Fall of British Shipbuilding

The Rise and Fall of British Shipbuilding
Author: Anthony Burton
Publisher: The History Press
Total Pages: 328
Release: 2013-05-01
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 0752492861

From modest beginnings, Britain rose throughout the nineteenth century to become the greatest shipbuilding nation in the world, yet by the end of the following century the British merchant fleet ranked just 38 in the world. The glory days of sail had given way to the introduction of the steam age. Traditional shipwrights had railed against new industrial methods resulting in the infamous demarcation disputes. Talented men, like Brunel and Armstrong, had always sought change and development, but too many shipbuilders were relying on old technologies. From building mighty battleships and extravagant ocean liners, the nation became complacent and its yards were eventually no longer as innovative as their foreign competitors. In the twenty-first century, British shipbuilding has shrunk to a mere fraction of its former size and has become almost totally dependent on government contracts. The popularity of and fascination with this subject has prompted a new edition of Anthony Burton's successful book. With fresh images and a new, final chapter, the story of the rise and cataclysmic fall of British shipbuilding has been brought right up to date.

The Rise and Fall of Harland and Wolff

The Rise and Fall of Harland and Wolff
Author: Tom McCluskie MBE MBE
Publisher: The History Press
Total Pages: 173
Release: 2013-03-01
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 0752492411

Harland and Wolff, once acknowledged as the greatest and best-known shipbuilding company in the world, for many years enjoyed a mighty eminence before a gradual descent into near obscurity. This illustrated book, told from the unique perspective of someone who was there at the time, chronicles the history of the organisation from its creation to the present day, from its halcyon days to its present incarnation. Today, the company is no longer involved in shipbuilding, maintaining only a small ship repair and engineering facility and occupying a fraction of its previously vast complex. At its peak Harland and Wolff directly employed over 45,000 people, with even more in its subsidiary companies. Well-known Harland and Wolff former employee Tom McCluskie, who was a technical consultant to James Cameron on the movie Titanic, sheds light on many little-known facts about the business, delves into the human interest stories, and recounts both the mighty zenith and ignominious demise of this great enterprise.

The Rise And Fall of British Naval Mastery

The Rise And Fall of British Naval Mastery
Author: Paul Kennedy
Publisher: Penguin UK
Total Pages: 592
Release: 2017-01-26
Genre: History
ISBN: 0141983833

Paul Kennedy's classic naval history, now updated with a new introduction by the author This acclaimed book traces Britain's rise and fall as a sea power from the Tudors to the present day. Challenging the traditional view that the British are natural 'sons of the waves', he suggests instead that the country's fortunes as a significant maritime force have always been bound up with its economic growth. In doing so, he contributes significantly to the centuries-long debate between 'continental' and 'maritime' schools of strategy over Britain's policy in times of war. Setting British naval history within a framework of national, international, economic, political and strategic considerations, he offers a fresh approach to one of the central questions in British history. A new introduction extends his analysis into the twenty-first century and reflects on current American and Chinese ambitions for naval mastery. 'Excellent and stimulating' Correlli Barnett 'The first scholar to have set the sweep of British Naval history against the background of economic history' Michael Howard, Sunday Times 'By far the best study that has ever been done on the subject ... a sparkling and apt quotation on practically every page' Daniel A. Baugh, International History Review 'The best single-volume study of Britain and her naval past now available to us' Jon Sumida, Journal of Modern History

Britain and the Sea

Britain and the Sea
Author: Glen O'Hara
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 335
Release: 2010-06-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 1137073128

O'Hara presents the first general history of Britons' relationship with the surrounding oceans from 1600 to the present day. This all-encompassing account covers individual seafarers, ship-borne migration, warfare and the maritime economy, as well as the British people's maritime ideas and self perception throughout the centuries.

The Rise and Fall of Harland and Wolff

The Rise and Fall of Harland and Wolff
Author: Tom McCluskie
Publisher: The History Press
Total Pages: 158
Release: 2013-03-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0752492411

Harland and Wolff, once acknowledged as the greatest and best-known shipbuilding company in the world, for many years enjoyed a mighty eminence before a gradual descent into near obscurity. This illustrated book, told from the unique perspective of someone who was there at the time, chronicles the history of the organisation from its creation to the present day, from its halcyon days to its present incarnation. Today, the company is no longer involved in shipbuilding, maintaining only a small ship repair and engineering facility and occupying a fraction of its previously vast complex. At its peak Harland and Wolff directly employed over 45,000 people, with even more in its subsidiary companies. Well-known Harland and Wolff former employee Tom McCluskie, who was a technical consultant to James Cameron on the movie Titanic, sheds light on many little-known facts about the business, delves into the human interest stories, and recounts both the mighty zenith and ignominious demise of this great enterprise.

Shipbuilding in the United Kingdom

Shipbuilding in the United Kingdom
Author: Hugh Murphy
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 193
Release: 2020-12-28
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1000331792

Shipbuilding in the United Kingdom provides a systematic historical account of the British Shipbuilders Corporation, first looking at this major industry under private enterprise, then under state control, and finally back in private hands. The chapters trace the evolution of public policy regarding shipbuilding, ship repair, and large marine engine building through the tenures of radically different Labour and Conservative governments, and through the response of the board of the British Shipbuilders Corporation, trade unions, and local management also. The book benefits from comprehensive archival research and interviews from the 1990s with leading players in the industry, as well as politicians, shipbuilders, trade union leaders, and senior civil servants. This authoritative monograph is a valuable resource for advanced students and researchers across the fields of business history, economic history, industrial history, labour history, maritime history, and British history.

Scott Lithgow

Scott Lithgow
Author: Lewis Johnman
Publisher: Liverpool University Press
Total Pages: 382
Release: 2017-10-18
Genre: History
ISBN: 1786949059

This work studies the history of two major Scottish shipbuilding firms based on the River Clyde - Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company and Lithgows Limited. It traces each firm’s origin, success, decline, and collapse, and places the events into the historical context of maritime Britain. The aim is to enhance the academic understanding of the cause and effect of the decline of the British shipbuilding industry, delving beyond the factors of poor industrial relations, international market conditions, and entrepreneurial failure in search of further answers. As a private company, Lithgows Limited provides useful insights into company management outside of state control. The authors base their analysis on the catalogued volumes of Scotts and Lithgows records, though due to the large number of gaps in the data, they also conducted interviews with major players in each company from the post-war period. Public, business, and banking records also provide supplementary material. The book is separated into eight chapters, plus a concluding ninth, an appendix listing ships built by Scott Lithgow Limited between 1970-1987, and a select bibliography.

Atomic Empire, An: A Technical History Of The Rise And Fall Of The British Atomic Energy Programme

Atomic Empire, An: A Technical History Of The Rise And Fall Of The British Atomic Energy Programme
Author: Charles N Hill
Publisher: World Scientific
Total Pages: 366
Release: 2013-07-31
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1908977442

Britain was the first country to exploit atomic energy on a large scale, and at its peak in the mid-1960s, it had generated more electricity from nuclear power than the rest of the world combined.The civil atomic energy programme grew out of the military programme which produced plutonium for atomic weapons. In 1956, Calder Hall power station was opened by the Queen. The very next year, one of the early Windscale reactors caught fire and the world's first major nuclear accident occurred.The civil programme ran into further difficulty in the mid-1960s and as a consequence of procrastination in the decision-making process, the programme lost momentum and effectively died. No nuclear power stations have been built since Sizewell B in the late 1980s.This book presents a study of Government papers that have recently become available in the public domain. For the first time in history, the research reactor programme is presented in detail, along with a study of the decision-making by the Government, the Atomic Energy Authority (AEA), and the Central Electricity Board (CEGB). This book is aimed at both specialists in nuclear power and the interested public as a technical history on the development and ultimate failure of the British atomic energy programme.

The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers

The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers
Author: Paul Kennedy
Publisher: Vintage
Total Pages: 1159
Release: 2010-10-27
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0307773566

About national and international power in the "modern" or Post Renaissance period. Explains how the various powers have risen and fallen over the 5 centuries since the formation of the "new monarchies" in W. Europe.