Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering

British shipbuilding company

Vickers Shipbuilding & Engineering Limited (VSEL)

Company type| Limited company
Industry| Shipbuilding
Marine Engineering
Founded| 1871
Defunct| 2007
Fate| Acquired
Successor| BAE Systems Submarine Solutions
BAE Systems Land & Armaments
Headquarters|

Barrow-in-Furness

England

Parent| British Shipbuilders (1977–1986)
GEC (1995–1999)
BAE Systems (1999–present)

Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Limited (VSEL) was a shipbuilding company based at Barrow-in-Furness, England that built warships, civilian ships, submarines and armaments. The company was historically the Naval Construction Works of Vickers Armstrongs and has a heritage of building large naval warships and armaments. Through a complicated history the company's shipbuilding division is now BAE Systems Submarine Solutions and the armaments division is now part of BAE Systems Land & Armaments.

## History

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A Vickers advert from 1914

The company was founded in 1871 by James Ramsden as the Iron Shipbuilding Company, but its name was soon changed to Barrow Shipbuilding Company.[1]

In 1897, Vickers & Sons bought the Barrow Shipbuilding Company and its subsidiary the Maxim Nordenfelt Guns and Ammunition Company, becoming Vickers, Sons and Maxim Limited.[2] The shipyard at Barrow became the Naval Construction & Armaments Company. In 1911 the company was renamed Vickers Limited, and in 1927 became Vickers Armstrongs Limited after a merger with Armstrong Whitworth, whose shipyard at High Walker on the River Tyne became the "Naval Yard".

In 1955 the name of the shipbuilding division changed to Vickers Armstrongs Shipbuilders, Ltd and changed again in 1968 to Vickers Limited Shipbuilding Group.[3]

The shipbuilding group was nationalised under the Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act in 1977 and subsumed into British Shipbuilders.[3]

The ex-Vickers yard at Barrow was the first shipyard of the British Shipbuilders group to return to the private sector. It was sold in March 1986 to an employee-led company, VSEL Consortium, which also included its Birkenhead-based subsidiary, Cammell Laird. The company was floated on the London Stock Exchange in December 1986.[4]

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Map showing the location of VSEL within Cumbria

In 1988, a mistake by senior management and changing shipbuilding methods meant that the Vickers shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness accidentally welded part of HMS Triumph (a nuclear submarine) in an upside-down position.[5]

In 1994 VSEL was subject to two takeover proposals, one from GEC[6] and another from British Aerospace (BAe).[7] VSEL was willing to participate in a merger with a larger company to reduce its exposure to cycles in warship production, particularly following the Options for Change defence review after the end of the Cold War. Both bids were referred to the Monopolies & Mergers Commission (MMC) which issued its conclusions and advice to government in May 1995.[8] BAe's bid was approved, while the MMC concluded (with two of six members dissenting) that GEC's bid was likely to "operate against the public interest".[9] However it was GEC's bid that was approved and accepted by VSEL, since Secretary of State Michael Heseltine did not accept the MMC's recommendation and allowed the bid to proceed.[10]

Following GEC's purchase VSEL became Marconi Marine (VSEL), part of the company's GEC-Marconi division. With the merger of British Aerospace and GEC's defence business – Marconi Electronic Systems – VSEL passed to the resulting company, BAE Systems as part of BAE Systems Marine. In 2003 it became an independent division known as BAE Systems Submarines after BAE systems split its ship and submarine building operations. This was renamed BAE Systems Submarine Solutions in January 2007.[11]

## Ships built by VSEL

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Main article: List of ships and submarines built in Barrow-in-Furness

## See also

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* Port of Barrow
* Vickerstown

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "The history of Shipbuilding in the North East". BBC. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
2. ^ 'Armour Plate Planing Shop', 1902 Archived 13 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine Ingenious
3. ^ a b Waymarks: BAe Systems Barrow
4. ^ "Actuaries Index 1987" (PDF). FTSE. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 February 2010. Retrieved 3 May 2009.
5. ^ West, Michael (8 April 1988). "Upside-down submarine section embarrassing". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 29 May 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2023.`{{cite news}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
6. ^ GEC makes rival bid for VSEL The Independent 29 October 1994
7. ^ Cash-in ahead at VSEL: Cambridge don stands to gain nearly £1m from bid for shipyard The Independent 2 October 1994
8. ^ BAe fuels VSEL hopes in cash call for VSEL The Independent 31 March 1995
9. ^ Parliamentary debates Hansard, 23 May 1995
10. ^ GEC's knockout bid wins fight for VSEL Janes Information Services 1995
11. ^ BAe Systems Submarine Solutions BAE Systems

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Modern timeline of British shipbuilding companies, 1960–present

| 1960s  | 1970s  | 1980s  | 1990s  | 2000s  | 2010s

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0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9  | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9  | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9  | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9  | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9  | 0 | 1 |
Hawthorn Leslie & Company |
Caledon Sh'b. & Eng. Co. | Robb Caledon Shipbuilding  |
Henry Robb |
Harland & Wolff | Harland & Wolff Heavy Industries
Ailsa Shipbuilding Company |  | Ferguson Ailsa  | Ailsa & Perth
Ferguson Brothers |  | Ferguson Shipbuilders
Lithgows | Scott Lithgow |  | Scott Lithgow
Scotts Sh'b. & Eng. Co.
Greenock Dockyard Co. |  |
Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson | Swan Hunter Group |  | Swan Hunter
Smith's Dock Co.
John Readhead & Sons |
Hall Russell & Co. |  | Hall Russell | A&P
Austin & Pickersgill |  | North East Shipbuilders | A&P Appledore International | A&P Group |
William Doxford & Sons |
Appledore Shipbuilders |  | DML Appledore | Babcock Marine Appledore
Cammell Laird & Company |  | VSEL | Coastline  | Cammell Laird | A&P Shiprepair | NWSL | CLSS
Vickers-Armstrongs | Vickers Ltd. Shipbuilding |  | Marconi Marine (VSEL) | BAE Systems Marine | BAE Systems Submarines
Yarrow & Co. | Y'w. Sh'b. Ltd. | Upper Clyde Shipbuilders | YSL |  | Marconi Marine (YSL) | BAE Surf. Flt. Solutions | BVT Surface Fleet | BAE Systems Surface Ships
Fairfield Sh'b. & Eng. Co. |  |  | Govan Sh'b. |  | Kvaerner Govan
Charles Connell & Company | Scotstoun Marine |
John Brown & Company | Marathon (Clydebank) | UiE Scotland
Alexander Stephen & Sons
W Denny & Bros
A. & J. Inglis
Simons & Lobnitz
Barclay Curle
JI Thornycroft & Co | Vosper Thornycroft |  | Vosper Thornycroft | VT Group
Vosper & Co
| British Hovercraft Corporation
| Hoverwork  | Griffon Hoverwork
| Griffon Hovercraft
0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9  | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9  | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9  | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9  | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9  | 0 | 1 |
1960s  | 1970s  | 1980s  | 1990s  | 2000s  | 2010s
BSC = British Shipbuilders Corporation

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Districts and wards of the former Borough of Barrow-in-Furness

Main settlements|

* Barrow-in-Furness
* Dalton-in-Furness

Districts|

* Askam
* Biggar
* Foulney Island
* Holbeck
* Ireleth
* Lindal
* Marton
* Newton
* North Scale
* Piel Island
* Port
* Rampside
* Roa Island
* Roanhead
* Salthouse
* Sheep Island
* Vickerstown
* Yarlside

Wards|

* Barrow Island
* Central Barrow
* Dalton North
* Dalton South
* Hawcoat
* Hindpool
* Newbarns
* Ormsgill
* Parkside
* Risedale
* Roose
* Walney North
* Walney South

* Borough of Barrow-in-Furness
* Cumbria
* North West England
* United Kingdom

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General Electric Company

Former subsidiaries
and divisions|

* GEC Computers
* GEC Research
* GEC Traction
* Hirst Research Centre
* Marconi Company
* Marconi Electronic Systems
* Marconi Instruments
* Marconi-Osram Valve
* Marconi Research Centre
* Osram
* Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering

Former joint ventures|

* Alenia Marconi Systems
* GEC Alsthom
* GEC Plessey Telecommunications
* Matra Marconi Space
* Thomson Marconi Sonar

Predecessors
and acquisitions|

* A.B. Dick Company
* Associated Electrical Industries
* Birlec
* British Thomson-Houston (BTH)
* Edison Swan
* Hotpoint
* Metropolitan-Vickers
* Siemens Brothers & Co
* William Thomas Henley
* English Electric
* Dick, Kerr & Co.
* Elliott Brothers
* Marconi Company
* Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns
* Ruston & Hornsby
* Vulcan Foundry
* Willans & Robinson
* Gilbarco Veeder-Root
* Radio & Allied Industries
* Tracor
* W & T Avery
* Yarrow Shipbuilders

Successors|

* BAE Systems
* Marconi Communications
* Telent
* Unify

Products|

| Computers|

* GEC 2050
* GEC 4000 series
* GEC Series 63
* OS4000

|

Locomotives|

* British Rail Class 91
* GEC Stephenson locomotive
* South African Class 4E
* South African Class 9E, Series 1
* South African Class 9E, Series 2
* South African Class 10E1, Series 1
* South African Class 10E1, Series 2

People|

* Cyril Hilsum
* Hugo Hirst
* George Simpson
* Martin Sixsmith
* Michael Sobell
* Arnold Weinstock

Other|

* GEC-Marconi scientist deaths conspiracy theory
* Phoebus cartel

* Category
* Commons

Authority control databases |

* VIAF

|

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