Clyde Built Ships

The QE2 was the third largest ship built on the River Clyde at 65,863 tons. She was built at the John Brown shipyard in Clydebank, for the Cunard Line. This ship was launched on the 20th September 1967. The QE2 was operated on the Atlantic run, and world cruises from the 22nd April 1969, until her final voyage to Dubai on the 11th November 2008. This ship is expected to serve as a museum/hotel at Dubai.
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RMS Aquitania was the fourth largest ship built on the River Clyde, at 45,646 tons. She was built at the John Brown shipyard in Clydebank, for the Cunard Line. This ship was launched on the 21st April 1913, and operated crossing the Atlantic until 1949. Aquitania served in the two world wars. She was one of the largest ships in service at that time, built to compete with the three Belfast built 46,000 ton ships, Olympic, Titanic, and Britannic.
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The SS Empress of Britain was a 42,348 ton liner built at the John Brown shipyard in Clydebank, for the Canadian Pacific Line. This ship entered service on the 27th May 1931, on the Canadian run between Southampton and Quebec. The Empress of Britain was sunk during WWII, off the coast of Ireland in October 1940, after being damaged by German aircraft, and finished off by a submarine. RSS Information Page.

The RMS Lusitania was a 31,550 ton liner built at the John Brown shipyard, for the Cunard Line. This ship entered service on the Atlantic Run on the 7th September 1907. Lusitania was the fastest ship in the world at that time, breaking a number of records. She was sunk during WWI, off the coast of Ireland, on the 7th May 1915, by a German submarine. 1,198 civilians lost their lives in the attack, many of which were Americans. America entered the war against Germany soon after.
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The HMS Duke of York was a 42,000 ton Battleship built at the John Brown shipyard in Clydebank. This ship entered service in November 1941, as one of five sister ships in the King George V class. These were the main British battleships of WWII. Duke of York served throughout Europe, then in the Far East against Japan. She survived the war only to be scrapped at Faslane in about 1957. Wiki Page.

HMS Howe was a 42,000 ton Battleship built at Fairfield Shipbuilding in Govan. This ship entered service in August 1942, as one of five sister ships in the King George V class, largest ever British battleships. HMS Howe survived the wars in Europe and the Far East, only to be scrapped at Inverkeithing in 1958. Wiki Page.
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HMS Hood was a 41,000 ton Battle Cruiser built at the John Brown shipyard in Clydebank. This ship was the size of a battleship, but designed for speed with light armour. She entered service in March 1920, as the largest warship in the world, until WWII battleships began entering service in the 1940s. The Hood was sunk on the 24th May 1941, by the German Battleship Bismarck. Only three of her crew survived, 1,414 officers and men went down with the ship. RSS Information Page.

HMS Indefatigable was a 22,000 ton Aircraft Carrier built at the John Brown shipyard in Clydebank. This ship entered service in May 1944. Indefatigable was operated in Europe before steaming to the Far East. She was hit by a Japanese Kamikaze aircraft, but remained operational. Indefatigable was scrapped at Dalmuire and Troon in 1956. Wiki Page.

HMS Implacable was a 22,000 ton Aircraft Carrier, built at Fairfield Shipbuilding in Govan. This ship entered service in August 1944, seeing action in Europe before being deployed to the Far East. Implacable was the first British ship to be hit by a Kamikaze. Her 5-inch armoured deck saved her from any serious damage. She survived the war only to be scrapped at Inverkeithing in 1955. Implacable and Indefatigable were the two largest British carriers during WWII. RSS Information Page.

The SS Caronia was a 34,183 ton liner built at the John Brown shipyard in Clydebank, for the newly merged Cunard/White Star Line. Nearing completion, the company had this liner completed as a full time cruise ship. From April 1949, she was mainly operated on cruises out of New York to the West Indies and South America. Caronia sunk in 1974, when being towed to a ship breakers in Taiwan. RSS Information Page.

The MV Kungsholm was a 26,678 ton liner built at the John Brown shipyard in Clydebank, for the Swedish America Line. This ships maiden voyage was from Gothenburg to New York on the 22nd April 1966. Kungsholm was only operated on that route now and again, as she was used more as a cruise ship. This ship had a number of owners over the years, and now serves as an accommodation ship in Oman. RSS Information Page.

The SS Empress of Japan was a 26,032 ton liner built at Fairfield Shipbuilding in Govan, for the Canadian Pacific Line. This ship was operated on the Pacific run between Canada and the Far East. She served throughout WWII and was also operated under the name Empress of Scotland, after the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbour, and later as Hanseatic. This ship was scrapped at Hamburg in 1967. RSS Information Page.

The SS Empress of Britain was a 25,500 ton liner built at Fairfield Shipbuilding in Govan, for the Canadian Pacific Line. This ship, the third to use this name, was mainly used to provide a service between Liverpool or Greenock and Quebec and Montreal. She was later operated as a cruise ship under a number of names, before being scrapped at Kaohsiung/Malasia in 1975. RSS Information Page.

RMS Franconia was a 20,158 ton liner built at the John Brown shipyard in Clydebank, for the Cunard Line. This ship was operated between Liverpool and New York from the 23rd June 1923 in summer, and as a cruise ship in winter. After surviving WWII as a troopship, she was operated on the Liverpool and Greenock to Quebec run. Franconia was scrapped at Inverkeithing in 1957.
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RMS Caronia was a 19,524 ton liner built at the John Brown shipyard in Clydebank, as a sister ship of the Carmania, for the Cunard Line. This ship was one of the last to be fitted with the older steam piston engines. Caronia was operated between Liverpool and New York from the 25th February 1905. She was used as an armed merchant cruiser and troopship during WWI. Caronia was then used between the Atlantic run and cruising before being scrapped at Osaka/Japan in 1932.
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RMS Carmania was a 19,524 ton liner built at the John Brown shipyard in Clydebank, for the Cunard Line. This was one of the first large ships to be fitted with steam turbine engines. Carmania was operated between Liverpool and New York from the 2nd December 1905. She was operated during WWI as a merchant cruiser and a troopship. After the war, she was operated between the Atlantic run and as a cruise ship. Carmania was scrapped at Blyth/England in 1932. RSS Information Page.

RMS Windsor Castle was an 18,697 ton liner built at the John Brown shipyard in Clydebank, for the Union Castle Line. This ship was operated between Southampton and Cape Town from April 1922. Windsor Castle was operated as a troopship during WWII. She was sunk in the Mediterranean in 1943, by German aircraft. All but one of the 291 crew and 2,699 servicemen on board were rescued.
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The SS Empress of Ireland was a 14,191 ton liner built at Fairfield Shipbuilding in Govan, for the Canadian Pacific Line. This ship was operated between Liverpool and Quebec from the 29th June 1906. The Empress of Ireland sunk on the 29th May 1914, after colliding with the Norwegian collier ship Storstad, close to the mouth of the St Lawrence River. This was the worst ever-Canadian maritime disaster, as 1,012 of the Empress of Ireland's passengers and crew lost their lives.
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The RMS Virginian was a 10,754 ton liner built at Stephen & Sons in Linthouse by Govan, for the Glasgow based Allan Line. This ship was operated between Liverpool and St John/New Brunswick in Canada from the 6th April 1905. She was used during both world wars, and after, on the run between Sweden and America, on the run between Italy and South America, and on the run between Hamburg and New York, all under different names. Virginian was scrapped at Trieste/Italy in 1955.
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The SS City of New York was a 10,508 ton steamship built at the John Brown shipyard in Clydebank, for the American based Inman Line. This was the first twin propeller ship operated on the Atlantic run from 1888. Her sister ship City of Paris, built by J & G Thomson of Clydebank, entered service the following year. These were the fastest ships on the Atlantic run at that time, capable of 20 knots. These ships were scrapped in 1922 and 1923. Wiki Page.

The Glenlee is a 1,613 ton sailing vessel completed in 1896 by Anderson Rodger & Company of Port Glasgow, for the Glen-line of the Glasgow shipping company Archibald Sterling & Co. Ltd. This ship was a bulk cargo carrier that circumnavigated the globe four times. She was owned by the Spanish navy from 1922 to 1981. The Glenlee is now berthed at the Riverside Museum in Glasgow to serve as a museum ship. RSS Information Page.