Ailsa Shipbuilding Company

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Ailsa Shipbuilding Company was a shipbuilding company based in Troon, Scotland. The company was founded in 1885 by Archibland Kennedy, the 3rd Marquess of Ailsa.

Contents 1 Spirit of the Scotia 2 Wartime Service 3 Later Years 4 Sources 5 External links

[edit] Spirit of the Scotia

The Ailsa yard fitted out the polar exploration ship Scotia for the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition of 1902-04. The Scotia sailed from Troon for the South Atlantic on 30 October 1902. The 100th anniversary of the sailing of the Scotia was celebrated in 2002. [1]

[edit] Wartime Service

During the First World War, the shipyard built the Royal Navy's first paddle minesweeper of the Bird class. [2] During the Second World War, Ailsa built vessels for the Navy, including several Bangor class minesweepers.

[edit] Later Years

Brian Donohoe, Member of Parliament for Ayrshire Central was an apprentice fitter and turner at the Ailsa shipyard from 1965, before becoming a draughtsman in 1969. In 1977, Ailsa was nationalised into the British Shipbuilders Corporation. In 1981, the assets of Ailsa and those of Ferguson Brothers were merged to form Ferguson-Ailsa, Limited. This grouping was split and privatised in 1986, the Ailsa yard being acquired by Perth Corporation as Ailsa & Perth, Limited. Ailsa stopped large-scale shipbuilding in 1988 and finally closed in 2003. The company's papers are archived at Glasgow University.

[edit] Sources

• Janes Fighting Ships 1919
• The Decline of Shipbuilding on the Clyde
• SNAE Centenary

[edit] External links

• Glasgow University Archive Services