The Fairfield fitting-out basin in Govan, 1930. The diversity of the yard's output is illustrated by the ships in the photograph: the cruiser HMS Norfolk, the ferry Princess Joan, the liner Empress of Japan and the paddle steamer Southsea.
The 9,925-ton HMS Norfolk had a main armament of eight 8-inch guns, and carried a seaplane launched from a catapult. During the Second World War she took part in the actions which resulted in the sinking of the German battleships Bismarck and Scharnhorst.
Built for the Canadian Pacific Railway Co, Princess Joan was a ferry used for coastal traffic based on Vancouver, until she was sold to a Greek shipping company in 1961.
Canadian Pacific also owned the Empress of Japan, a 26,032-ton liner which was fitted with the most advanced machinery of her day. She broke the speed record for the Yokohama-Vancouver run on her maiden voyage, and also sailed on the Hong Kong-Vancouver route. After Japan's entry into the Second World War, she was renamed Empress of Scotland, and served as a troopship. After the war she switched to the North Atlantic run before being sold to the Hamburg Atlantic Line in 1958.
The paddle steamer Southsea was operated by the Southern Railway Co to carry passengers on excursions along the English Channel coast. She was lost when serving as a minesweeper in the mouth of the River Tyne in 1941.
Reference: Mitchell Library, G 623.809 FAI
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Libraries Information and Learning
Keywords:
Bismarck, Canadian Pacific Railway Co, cranes, cruisers, Empress of Japan, Empress of Scotland, Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Co, Fairfield Shipyard, ferries, fitting-out basins, liners, Norfolk, paddle steamers, passenger ships, Princess Joan, Royal Navy, Scharnhorst, Second World War, shipbuilders, shipbuilding, shipyards, Southern Railway Co, Southsea, troopships, warships
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