The Burntisland Shipbuilding Company was a shipbuilder and repairer in Burntisland, Fife, Scotland that was founded in 1918. In 1969 it was taken over by Robb-Caledon Shipbuilders, which in turn was nationalised in 1977 as part of British Shipbuilders.
In the 1970s the Burntisland yard switched from shipbuilding to prefabricating modules of superstructure for offshore oil platforms, but orders were intermittent and by the 1980s the yard was largely idle. In 1990 new owners returned the yard to production as Burntisland Fabrications or BiFab, resuming the manufacture of superstructure modules for oil platforms. Under a management buyout in 2001 the Burntisland yard returned to being an independent company.
Founding and early years Brothers Amos Ayre and Wilfrid Ayre founded Burntisland Shipbuilding Co. in 1918 as a First World War emergency shipyard.Built at Burntisland Ships Monthly August 2014 pages 48-51 Its yard at Burntisland West Dock had four berths and capacity to build ships up to long and up to beam. However, until the 1950s Burntisland built relatively few vessels more than about long and beam.
The yard was connected to the North British Railway by an extensive internal rail network that carried steel to various parts of the yard.
Burntisland's first three vessels were standard "C" type cargo ships of just over 3,100 GRT each for the UK Government's wartime Shipping Controller, laid down in 1918 as hull numbers 101, 102 and 103. They were launched in 1919 after the Armistice: hull 101 in June as , 102 in September as and 103 in November as .
Burntisland's first peacetime order was for a pair of 2,300 GRT cargo steamers for Compagnie Lasry of Oran, Algeria. Hulls 104 and 105 were launched in 1920 as Nelly Lasry and Sidney Lasry. In the 1920s the yard built merchant ships ranging from coasters of about 600 tons to ocean-going cargo ships of up to 4,700 tons GRT. Most common were ocean-going four- or five-hold tramp steamers of 1,500 to 2,500 tons.
The yard also built a number of arch-deck colliers from 900 to 2,300 tons GRT. Burntisland built numerous flatiron colliers with low superstructures, hinged funnel and hinged or telescopic mast(s) to fit under bridges upriver from the Pool of London on the River Thames. Burntisland's first flatiron was hull 119, launched in 1922 as the 932 GRT coastal collier Wandle for the Wandsworth, Wimbledon and Epsom District Gas Company. From 1923 to 1946 Burntisland built a further 11 colliers for the same customer, which from 1932 was called the Wandsworth and District Gas Company.
Surviving the Great Depression Being built in 1918 the yard was modern, well-equipped and thus well-placed to compete during the Great Depression. In 1929 the company introduced its "Burntisland Economy" ship design, intended for maximum fuel efficiency. The concept was popular with ship-owners during the depression and Burntisland continued the design with a succession of developments during the 1930s.
Some ships that Burntisland built for shipping companies went on to become Empire ships under the Ministry of War Transport in the Second World War. Hull 164, launched in 1935 as Roxburgh, became in 1942. Hull 207, launched in 1937 as Ginnheim, became Empire Ouse in 1945.
Burntisland continued to build numerous colliers. Hulls 171 and 172, launched in 1932 as Alexander Kennedy and Ferranti, were a pair of 1,315 GRT flatirons for the London Power Company, which operated Battersea Power Station and Deptford Power Station. Burntisland went on to build six further colliers for the LPC between 1933 and 1945.
Hull 173 was launched in 1932 as , a 1,482 GRT flatirons for the Wandsworth, Wimbledon and Epsom District Gas Company. She replaced the previous Wandle that Burntisland had built for the same owner in 1922 (see above).
Hull 174 was launched in 1933 as London Queen, a 781 GRT coaster for the London and Channel Islands Shipping Company. Her owners became British Channel Islands Shipping Co, for whom Burntisland launched a further seven ships between 1937 and 1948.
Hulls 178 and 179, launched in 1933 and 1934 as Pulborough and Petworth, were for Stephenson, Clarke and Associates. Burntisland went on to build eight ships for Stephenson, Clarke spread over nearly 30 years, the last being hull 398 launched in 1961 as MV Gilsland.
Hull 184, launched in 1934 as , was Burntisland's first diesel ship. She was a 403 GRT coaster with a Humboldt-Deutz engine and was built for T.J. Metcalf of London. Burntisland built a second Humboldt-Deutz-engined motor coaster for Metcalf, hull 196, that was launched in 1936 as .
Hulls 191 and 192, launched in 1935 as Corbrae and Corburn, were for William Cory & Son. Over the next 21 years Burntisland went on to build a total of 17 colliers for Cory, the last two being hulls 376 and 378 launched in 1956 as MV Corstar and MV Corsea.
Hulls 193–195 were a trio of flatirons launched in successive years as Fulham in 1935, Fulham II in 1936 and Fulham III in 1937. They were built for the Metropolitan Borough of Fulham to supply Fulham Power Station. Burntisland went on to build six further flatirons for Fulham between 1938 and 1948.
Hull 213, launched in 1938 as MV Derrymore, was a 4,799 GRT cargo ship for McCowen and Gross of London. Burntisland went on to build a further five ships for McCowen and Gross between 1938 and 1951.
Second World War
During the Second World War Burntisland continued to concentrate on building merchant ships. However, in 1943 it also built three s: , and .
In May 1941 Burntisland launched hull 233 as Merton, the first of several large standard-design 7,195 GRT cargo ships for the Carlton Steam Ship Co of Newcastle upon Tyne. War shipping needs and losses called for an unprecedented rate of shipbuilding. In July, August and October 1941 Burntisland launched three further large ships of the same standard design for Carlton. They included , which was torpedoed and sunk off the North Cape in July 1942 less than a year after her launch. Burntisland launched a further two large ships per year for Carlton in 1942–44.
Also in 1941, Burntisland started to build colliers for the Gas Light and Coke Company to supply Beckton Gas Works in east London. Hull 235 was launched in April as the 2,816 GRT Adams Beck. Burntisland went on to build five further colliers for the GL&CC in the 1940s.
In 1942 Burntisland launched hull 264 as the 7,043 GRT cargo ship MV Highland Prince for Prince Line. In 1944 hull 280 was launched as the 7,150 GRT MV Scottish Prince. Burntisland went on to build eight further merchant ships for Prince line between 1946 and 1960.
Burntisland built a number of war standard ships for the Ministry of War Transport, including the 7,290 GRT hulls 261 and 266 launched as Empire Rosalind and Empire Glory in 1942 and 1943. Other MoWT orders included two merchant aircraft carriers: hull 268 launched in 1942 as and hull 277 launched in 1943 as . Hulls 291 to 294 were launched in February and March 1944 as CHANT 66 to CHANT 69: part of the large CHANT fleet of 400 GRT prefabricated coastal tankers.
Wartime demand rose so high that in 1944–45 Burntisland subcontracted orders for five coasters to Hall, Russell & Company of Aberdeen: hulls 270, 273, 274, 276 and 281.
In April 1945 Burntisland launched hull 290, the 7,541 GRT for the British-India Steam Navigation Company. BI ordered two more cargo ships from Burntisland after the war (see below).
Completion of MoWT orders continued after the surrender of Germany with the launches of hull 298 in May 1945 as the 1,337 GRT coaster and finally hull 289 in July as the 7,134 GRT cargo ship MV Empire Calshot.
Post-war production Burntisland continued to build colliers after the war. Hulls 295 and 301, launched in 1946 as Chessington and Mitcham, were the last two flatirons for the Wandsworth and District Gas Co. Hull 328 was launched in 1948 as MV Adams Beck for the GL&CC. Under the Gas Act 1948 the Wandsworth and District Gas Co became part of South Eastern Gas Board, whom Burntisland supplied with five further flatirons between 1949 and 1956.
Hulls 307 and 308, launched in 1947 and 1948 as the 1,776 GRT MV Fulham VIII and 1,759 GRT MV Fulham IX, were the last two flatirons for Fulham Borough Council before the Electricity Act 1947 nationalised Britain's electricity supply industry. Burntisland supplied one collier for the new state-owned British Electricity Authority: hull 341, launched in 1951 as the 1,837 GRT Brimsdown, named after Brimsdown Power Station in north London.
Burntisland maintained its reputation for high quality tramps and cargo-liners. By 1945 a majority of orders were for motor vessels. Hulls 316 and 317 were a pair of 3,668 GRT sister ships for British-India S.N. Co launched in 1948 as and . Each had a Barclay Curle-Doxford three-cylinder diesel engine.
Hulls 319–321 were launched for the newly founded Christensen Canadian African Lines as the 3,623 GRT MV Thorshall in May 1948, 3,632 GRT MV Thorstrand in December 1948 and 3,713 GRT MV Thorsisle in March 1949. Each ship had a Hawthorn Leslie-Doxford four-cylinder diesel engine.
Hull 330 was launched in 1949 as MV Sycamore, a 3,343 GRT cargo ship for Johnston Warren Lines of Liverpool. Further orders from Johnston Warren Lines were hulls 353 and 355 launched in 1954 as the 3,596 GRT MV Beechmore and 3,597 GRT MV Pinemore, and hull 385 launched in 1958 as the 6,659 GRT cargo ship MV Mystic.
Hulls 334 and 335 were a pair of 3,364 GRT cargo liners for Prince line, launched in 1950 as and . Each ship had a 300 BHP Hawthorn Leslie four-cylinder diesel engine, a top speed of and accommodation for 12 passengers.
Hull 337 was launched in February 1951 as MV Derrymore, a 5,678 GRT cargo ship that replaced one of the same name that Burntisland built for the same customer in 1938. Before the end of 1951 the new Derrymore passed to O. Gross's Power Steam Ship Co as MV Huntsmore. Burntisland built three further ships for Power S.S. Co between 1954 and 1958.
Hull 349 was launched in September 1952 as MV Master Nicos, an 8,453 GRT cargo ship for Motores Maritimos Compañía Limitada, a Greek-owned company registered in Costa Rica. From February 1952 until her launch the resident engineer supervising Master Nicos construction was Victoria Drummond MBE, the first British woman to have qualified as a marine engineer.
During and after the Second World War the demand for larger cargo ships increased. Burntisland's slipways and berths were limited in size, but in the 1950s the yard managed to build a number of ships of more than length and beam. Hull 347, launched in 1954 as the 6,515 GRT for Power S.S. Co, had a length and beam of and . Hull 362, launched in 1956 as the 8,390 GRT (11,850 DWT) for the Tramp Chartering Corporation of Piraeus, had a length, beam and draught of , and .
Hull 367, launched in October 1956 as the 1,873 GRT MV Kingston, was the final flatiron collier for the South Eastern Gas Board. She also turned out to be the last of 28 flatirons that Burntisland had built for various customers over a period of 34 years.
In the 1950s The Scottish and Mercantile Investment Co bought a majority shareholding in the company. However, the Ayre brothers continued to manage the business.
By the mid-1950s orders were sufficient for Burntisland to subcontract two coasters to Hall Russell in Aberdeen. In 1956 Hall Russell launched hull 378 as the 3,373 GRT MV Corsea for Wm. Cory. Hull 379 was launched in Aberdeen as for Glen and Company of Glasgow and completed in 1957. Winga proved to be Burntisland's last steam-powered ship.
Turbine steamers In the 1950s there were far fewer orders for ships with reciprocating steam engines. However, geared steam turbines are more compact, more powerful and less vibratory than reciprocating engines. Early in the 1950s Burntisland took two orders for steam turbine cargo ships.