Editing Govan (section)

==Economy==
[[File:Govan.jpg|left|thumb|Govan street scene]]
Govan was at one point the centre of the world-renowned Clydeside shipbuilding industry. In 1841, [[Robert Napier and Sons|Robert Napier]] began iron shipbuilding in Govan, and in 1843 produced its first ship, the ''Vanguard''. He also procured a contract with the [[Royal Navy]] to produce vessels, notably the ''[[HMS Jackal (1844)|Jackal]]'', the ''[[HMS Lizard (1844)|Lizard]]'', and the ''[[HMS Bloodhound (1845)|Bloodhound]]''. He also allowed naval officers in training to visit the shipyard to familiarise themselves with the new vessels. Napier's Shipyard in Govan was later acquired by [[William Beardmore and Company]] in 1876 and incorporated into William Beardmore and Company in around 1900.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.glasgowwestaddress.co.uk/1909_Glasgow_Men/Beardmore_William.htm|title=William Beardmore|publisher=Glasgow West Addresses and Their Occupants|access-date=16 October 2022}}</ref>

Govan's other major shipbuilding firm, Randolph, Elder and Company who had taken a lease of Robert Napier's Old Yard at Water Row in 1860, launched their first ship at the yard in 1861, however in 1863 the company acquired land at nearby Fairfield estate to lay out a new larger shipyard. After [[John_Elder_(shipbuilder)|John Elder's]] death in 1869 the company was renamed John Elder and Company. In 1885, under William Pearce, the company was reorganised as the [[Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company|Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Ltd.]] This company continued until 1965, when it filed for bankruptcy.<ref>{{cite book|last=Johnston|first=Ian|title=Fairfield: A Shipyard Success Story 1834 - 2024|publisher=Seaforth Publishing|year=2024|isbn=978-1399089661}}</ref> The following year in 1966, the yard was again reorganised as Fairfields and guaranteed by the government in response. The following year, Fairfields and the other major Clydeside yards (Stephens, Connels, Yarrows and John Browns) were merged to form [[Upper Clyde Shipbuilders]] (UCS).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gcu.ac.uk/radicalglasgow/chapters/ucs_workin.html|title=Glasgow Caledonian University Archives|website=Gcu.ac.uk|access-date=16 September 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120151941/http://www.gcu.ac.uk/radicalglasgow/chapters/ucs_workin.html|archive-date=20 January 2013}}</ref>


In 1971, Upper Clyde Shipbuilders went into receivership and the Conservative government led by [[Edward Heath]] refused to give them a £6,000,000 loan. Rather than go on strike, which was the traditional form of industrial action, the union leadership of the yards decided to have a [[Upper Clyde Shipbuilders Work-in|work-in]] and complete the orders that the shipyards had in place. In this way they dispelled the idea of the workers being "work-shy" and also wanted to illustrate the long-term viability of the yards. Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company was renamed [[Govan Shipbuilders]] in 1973.<ref>{{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}}</ref> 

In 1977, the Labour government of [[James Callaghan]] passed the [[Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act 1977]] (c. 3) which nationalised Govan and grouped it with other major British shipyards as [[British Shipbuilders]]. In May 1979, Margaret Thatcher was elected [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] and her ministry soon began its privatisation programme. British Aerospace, established by the same act, was privatised in 1981. British Shipbuilders road to privatisation was not as swift, and the group was sold piece by piece throughout the course of the 1980s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/187010/12-973-proposed-abolition-british-shipbuilders-corporation-response.pdf|title=Proposed Abolition of British Shipbuilders|publisher=Department for Business Innovationand Skills|date=1 July 2012|page=7|access-date=16 October 2022}}</ref>

[[Kværner]] of Norway, as part of a planned development of a large international shipbuilding group, took over Govan.<ref>Birkler, J.L. ''et al.'' (2002). [https://books.google.com/books?id=nmr2vtEzsFIC&q=Govan&pg=PA13  ''The Royal Navy's New-generation Type 45 Destroyer: Acquisition Options and Implications,'' p. 13.]</ref>  British Shipbuilders' sale of Govan to the Norwegian firm was completed in 1988, and the yard was renamed [[Kvaerner Govan]].<ref name="b14">Birkler, [https://books.google.com/books?id=nmr2vtEzsFIC&q=Govan&pg=PA14 p. 14.]</ref>

In 1999, [[The General Electric Company|GEC]]'s Marconi Marine division purchased the yard when Kværner announced its departure from the shipbuilding industry.<ref name="b14" /> GEC's Marconi Marine division already owned YSL (purchased in 1985) and [[Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd|VSEL]] (purchased in 1995). [[Marconi Electronic Systems]] and its Marconi Marine unit were sold to [[British Aerospace]] in 1999 to form [[BAE Systems]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theglasgowstory.com/image/?inum=TGSA00828|title=An aerial view from the south of the Fairfield Shipyard, taken around 1932|publisher=The Glasgow Story|access-date=16 October 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theglasgowstory.com/image/?inum=TGSA00826|title=An aerial view of the River Clyde looking down-river from the Yarrow's Shipyard, c 1932.|publisher=The Glasgow Story|access-date=16 October 2022}}</ref> The shipbuilding operations became [[BAE Systems Marine]], which subsequently became part of [[BVT Surface Fleet]], a naval shipbuilding joint venture between [[BAE Systems]] and [[VT Group]], which became [[BAE Systems Surface Ships]] in 2009.<ref>{{cite news|first=Jonathan|last=Buck|title=VT Group Seals Deal To Sell BVT Stake To BAE Systems|url=https://www.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090924-703897.html|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|access-date=25 September 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091004091749/http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090924-703897.html|archive-date=4 October 2009}}</ref>

[[Alexander Stephen and Sons]] also established a shipyard in nearby [[Linthouse]] in 1870. The yard eventually closed in the wake of the collapse of the [[Upper Clyde Shipbuilders]] consortium in 1971.<ref>[https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1971/jun/14/upper-clyde-shipbuilders Parliamentary debates] Hansard, 4 June 1971</ref> 

===Ships built at Govan===
{{dynamic list}}
{{Columns-start|num=3}}
*[[PS Vanguard (1843)]]<ref name="Clydebuilt Database - Shipping Times"/>
*[[PS Scotia (1861)]]
*[[HMS Northampton (1876)|HMS ''Northampton'' (1876)]]
*[[HMS Nelson (1876)|HMS ''Nelson'' (1876)]]
*[[HMS Curacoa (1878)|HMS ''Curacoa'' (1878)]]
*[[SS Arizona (1879)|SS ''Arizona'' (1879)]]<ref name="Ships Monthly">Johnston, Ian. "Govan Shipyard" in [http://www.shipsmonthly.com/ships/home.htm  ''Ships Monthly.''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080611163521/http://www.shipsmonthly.com/ships/home.htm |date=11 June 2008 }} June 1985.</ref>
*[[IBIS (1886)|''Ibis'' (1886)]]<ref name="Clydebuilt Database - Shipping Times">Clydebuilt Database – Shipping Times, Stuart Cameron</ref>
*[[Akasha (1886)|''Akasha'' (1886)]]<ref name="Clydebuilt Database - Shipping Times"/>
*[[Livadia (yacht, 1880)|''Livadia'' (1880)]]<ref name="Ships Monthly" />
*''Victoria'' (1886)<!-- {{Disambiguation needed|date=June 2011}} Not [[HMS Victoria (1887)]], built by [[Armstrong Whitworth]] --><ref name="Ships Monthly" />
*[[RMS Campania|RMS ''Campania'' (1891)]]
*[[RMS Lucania|RMS ''Lucania'' (1893)]]
*[[HMS Venus (1895)|HMS ''Venus'' (1895)]]
*[[HMS Diana (1895)|HMS ''Diana'' (1895)]]
*[[HMS Highflyer (1898)|HMS ''Highflyer'' (1898)]]
*[[HMS Hermes (1898)|HMS ''Hermes'' (1898)]]
*[[HMS Cressy (1899)|HMS ''Cressy'' (1899)]]
*[[HMS Aboukir (1900)|HMS ''Aboukir'' (1900)]]
*[[HMS Good Hope (1901)|HMS ''Good Hope'' (1901)]]
*[[HMS Bedford (1901)|HMS ''Bedford'' (1901)]]
*[[SS Armadale Castle|SS ''Armadale Castle'' (1903)]]<ref name="Ships Monthly" />
*RMS ''Port Kingston'' (1904) renamed [[RMS Tahiti|RMS ''Tahiti'']]
*[[HMS Cochrane (1905)|HMS ''Cochrane'' (1905)]]<ref name="Ships Monthly" />
*[[HMS Commonwealth (1903)|HMS ''Commonwealth'' (1905)]]<ref name="Ships Monthly" />
*[[RMS Empress of Britain (1906)|RMS ''Empress of Britain'' (1906)]]<ref name="Ships Monthly" />
*[[Empress of Ireland|RMS ''Empress of Ireland'' (1906)]]<ref name="Ships Monthly" />
* {{SS|Volturno|1906}}
*[[HMS Indomitable (1907)|HMS ''Indomitable'' (1907)]]<ref name="Ships Monthly" />
*[[SS Balmoral Castle|SS ''Balmoral Castle'' (1910)]]<ref name="Ships Monthly" />
*[[HMS New Zealand (1911)|HMS ''New Zealand'' (1911)]]
*[[HMAS Sydney (1912)|HMAS ''Sydney'' (1912)]]
*[[RMS Empress of Russia (1913)|RMS ''Empress of Russia'' (1913)]]<ref name="Ships Monthly" />
{{Column}}
*[[RMS Empress of Asia (1913)|RMS ''Empress of Asia'' (1913)]]<ref name="Ships Monthly" />
*[[SS Calgarian|SS ''Calgarian'' (1913)]]<ref name="Ships Monthly" />
*[[HMS Valiant (1914)|HMS ''Valiant'' (1914)]]
*[[HMS Renown (1916)|HMS ''Renown'' (1916)]]
*[[RMS Empress of Canada (1922)|RMS ''Empress of Canada'' (1922)]]<ref name="Ships Monthly" />
*[[SS Athenia (1922)|SS ''Athenia'' (1922)]]
*[[Aorangi (ship)|''Aorangi'' (1922)]]
*[[SS Tuscania (1921)|TSS ''Tuscania'' (1923)]]
*[[SS Letitia|SS ''Letitia'' (1924)]]
*[[MV Speybank|MV ''Speybank'' (1926)]]
*[[HMS Berwick (65)|HMS ''Berwick'' (1926)]]
*[[HMS Norfolk (78)|HMS ''Norfolk'' (1928)]]
*[[RMS Empress of Japan (1930)|RMS ''Empress of Japan'' (1930)]]
*[[HMS Delight (H38)|HMS ''Delight'' (1932)]]
*[[HMS Woolwich (F80)|HMS ''Woolwich'' (1934)]]
*[[HMS Liverpool (C11)|HMS ''Liverpool'' (1937)]]
*[[HMS Phoebe (43)|HMS ''Phoebe'' (1937)]]
*[[HMS Howe (32)|HMS ''Howe'' (1940)]]
*[[HMS Bellona (63)|HMS ''Bellona'' (1942)]]
*[[HMS Implacable (R86)|HMS ''Implacable'' (1942)]]
*[[HMS Theseus (R64)|HMS ''Theseus'' (1944)]]
*[[HMS Chichester (F59)|HMS ''Chichester'']]
*[[HMS Blake (C99)|HMS ''Blake'' (1945)]]
*[[SS Karanja|SS ''Karanja'' (1948)]]
{{Column}}
*[[TS Oxfordshire|TS ''Oxfordshire'' (1955)]]
*[[Empress of Britain (1956)|TS/SS ''Empress of Britain'' (1956)]]<ref name="Clydebuilt Database - Shipping Times"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.clydesite.co.uk/clydebuilt/viewship.asp?id=1049|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050426213009/http://www.clydesite.co.uk/clydebuilt/viewship.asp?id=1049|url-status=usurped|archive-date=26 April 2005|title=Shipping Times|access-date=17 March 2008}}</ref>
*[[TS Leecliffe Hall|TS ''Leecliffe Hall'' (1961)]]
*[[HMS Fife (D20)|HMS ''Fife'' (1964)]]
*[[HMS Antrim (D18)|HMS ''Antrim'' (1967)]]
*[[USNS Harkness (T-AGS-32)|USNS ''Harkness'' (1968)]]
*[[MV Jervis Bay|''Jervis Bay'' (1969)]]
*''Pacifique'' (1969)
*[[USNS Chauvenet (T-AGS-29)|USNS ''Chauvenet'' (1970)]]
*[[Pacific Peace|''Pacific Peace'' (1981)]]
*[[MV Selkirk Settler|MV ''Selkirk Settler'' (1983)]]
*[[MV Saskatchewan Pioneer|MV ''Saskatchewan Pioneer'' (1983)]]
*[[St. Lawrence Seaway (1983)|''St. Lawrence Seaway'' (1983)]]
*[[Sir Charles Parsons|''Sir Charles Parsons'' (1985)]]
*[[MS GNV Aries|MV ''Norsea'' (1986)]]
*[[MV Havis|MV ''Havis'' (1992)]]
*[[Sea Launch Commander|''Sea Launch Commander'' (1996)]]
*[[RFA Wave Ruler (A390)|RFA ''Wave Ruler'' (2003)]]<ref>Royal Navy, Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA): [http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/server/show/nav.5418 RFA ''Wave Ruler''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080609064032/http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/server/show/nav.5418 |date=9 June 2008 }}</ref>
*[[RFA Mounts Bay|RFA ''Mounts Bay'' (2004)]]<ref>Royal Navy, Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA): [http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/server/show/nav.5815 RFA ''Mounts Bay''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080609075724/http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/server/show/nav.5815 |date=9 June 2008 }}</ref>
*[[HMS Daring (D32)|HMS ''Daring'' (2006)]]
*[[HMS Dauntless (D33)|HMS ''Dauntless'' (2007)]]
*[[HMS Diamond (D34)|HMS ''Diamond'' (2007)]]
*[[HMS Dragon (D35)|HMS ''Dragon'' (2008)]]
*[[HMS Defender (D36)|HMS ''Defender'' (2009)]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Clyde's new ship to make a splash|work=[[Evening Times]]|last=Stewart|first=Catriona|publisher=Evening Times|page=22|date=21 October 2009}}</ref>
*[[HMS Duncan (D37)|HMS ''Duncan'' (2010)]]

{{Columns-end}}

A list of almost 3000 ships built at Govan has been collected in the "Clydebuilt Database".<ref>[https://www.clydeships.co.uk/ Scottish built ships ] Caledonian Maritime Research Trust</ref> Ships built by the following companies: Robert Napier & Company, Randolph Elder & Company, Dobbie Hedderwick & Co., Dobie & Company, Mackie & Thomson, Smith & Rodgers, London & Glasgow Engineering and Iron Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., William Beardmore & Company, John Elder & Company, [[Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering|Fairfield Shipbuilding & Eng. Co. Ltd.]], Alexander Stephens & Sons, J & G Thomson, Harland & Wolff and more.