HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Vosper & Company, often referred to simply as Vospers, was a British
shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...
company based in
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
, England.


History

The Company was established in 1871 by Herbert Edward Vosper, concentrating on ship repair and refitting work. By the turn of the century, Vosper was prospering as a general-purpose builder of small craft, boilers and marine engines, for which they had made a name for themselves as a producer of reliable designs. In the lean times after
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, they concentrated mainly on ship repair to survive. By the early 1930s, the company began to concentrate on high speed naval craft, yachts and power boats, for which they would become renowned. In 1936 they became listed as a public company, known as Vosper, Limited, at which time they moved to a new yard at
Portchester Portchester is a village in the borough of Fareham in Hampshire, England. It is northwest of Portsmouth and around 18 miles east of Southampton on the A27 road. Its population according to the 2011 United Kingdom census was 17,789. Name Portc ...
. They built
Sir Malcolm Campbell Major Sir Malcolm Campbell (11 March 1885 – 31 December 1948) was a British racing motorist and motoring journalist. He gained the world speed record on land and on water at various times, using vehicles called ''Blue Bird'', including a 1 ...
's water speed record breaking ''
Bluebird K4 ''Blue Bird K4'' was a powerboat commissioned in 1939 by Sir Malcolm Campbell, to rival the Americans' efforts in the fight for the world water speed record. The name "K4" was derived from its Lloyd's unlimited rating, and was carried in a prom ...
'', reaching 141.74 mph in 1939. Vosper would become famous as the builder of small (60 to 70-foot) un-stepped planing hull-form naval Motor Torpedo Boats (MTB) and
Motor Gun Boat The motor gunboat (MGB) was a small, high-speed British military vessel of the Second World War, which was armed with a mix of guns, in contrast to the physically similar motor torpedo boat (MTB), whose main offensive weapon were torpedoes. ...
s (MGB) for the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The original boats had a length of 68 feet and were based upon the prototype
MTB 102 ''MTB 102'' is one of the few surviving motor torpedo boats that served with the Coastal Forces of the Royal Navy in the Second World War. She was built as a prototype but was purchased and taken into service by the Admiralty. She was the smal ...
, which survives to this day as a museum piece. Vosper's designs were widely emulated, and were also elaborated into high speed launches for the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
, for rescuing the crews of ditched aircraft. Vosper's wartime experience and accumulation of expertise led to a postwar concentration on high speed fast attack craft, for which they developed a novel " hard chine" V-section hull-form, incorporated in the postwar development MTB 1601, capable of 43 knots. They were selected to experiment with the
gas turbine A gas turbine or gas turbine engine is a type of Internal combustion engine#Continuous combustion, continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas gene ...
as a form of marine propulsion. The former Steam Gun Boat (SGB) HMS ''Grey Goose'' was rebuilt by Vosper with the two
Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
RM60 engines, followed by the two experimental Bold class fast patrol boats, HMS ''Bold Pioneer'' and HMS ''Bold Pathfinder'' fitted with
Metropolitan-Vickers Metropolitan-Vickers, Metrovick, or Metrovicks, was a British heavy electrical engineering company of the early-to-mid 20th century formerly known as British Westinghouse. Highly diversified, it was particularly well known for its industrial el ...
G2 engines. Unlike the ''Grey Goose'' the two Bold-class vessels had an auxiliary diesel engine for economic cruise. This pioneering hull and turbine propulsion work by Vosper reached its peak with the then revolutionary ''Brave''-class of 1958, powered by the
Bristol Siddeley Bristol Siddeley Engines Ltd (BSEL) was a British aero engine manufacturer. The company was formed in 1959 by a merger of Bristol Aero-Engines Limited and Armstrong Siddeley Motors Limited. In 1961 the company was expanded by the purchase of t ...
Proteus turboprop engine. The ''Brave''-class used special Vosper-developed "
super cavitating Super may refer to: Computing * SUPER (computer program), or Simplified Universal Player Encoder & Renderer, a video converter/player * Super (computer science), a keyword in object-oriented programming languages * Super key (keyboard button) ...
" propellers, later developed to allow speeds of up to 58 knots. In the 1960s the company began to move into producing larger vessels, especially for the many emerging navies of post-colonial countries, including the Mark V or ''Alvand''-class frigate, with VSEL, for the
Iranian Navy The Islamic Republic of Iran Navy (IRIN; ), also referred as the Iranian Navy (abbreviated NEDAJA; ), is the naval warfare service branch of Iran's regular military, the Islamic Republic of Iran Army (''Artesh''). It is one of Iran's two maritim ...
. Vosper alone, however, was unable to produce craft of this size, and in 1966 a merger with John I. Thornycroft & Company provided the shipbuilding capacity and experience to produce the larger vessels being designed by Vosper. The new group was known as
Vosper Thornycroft VTG (formerly VT Group) is a privately held United States defense and services company, with its origins in a former British shipbuilding group, previously known as Vosper Thornycroft. The British part of VTG was integrated into Babcock Interna ...
. The former Vosper designs were developed by the new company into the Mark 10 or ''Niteroi''-class frigates for the
Brazilian Navy The Brazilian Navy () is the navy, naval service branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces, responsible for conducting naval warfare, naval operations. The navy was involved in War of Independence of Brazil#Naval action, Brazil's war of independence ...
and subsequently elaborated into the handsome and pioneering Type 21 or ''Amazon''-class frigate for the Royal Navy, the first major Royal Navy warship built to a private design since World War II. Vosper Thornycroft continued trading in Woolston,
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
until 2003 when they relocated shipbuilding operations to Portsmouth operating as VT Group. The Vosper name is continued by "Vosper International", an independent ship design bureau since 1987. In July 2008 VT Group and BAE Systems merged their shipbuilding and naval support businesses in a joint venture which traded as BVT Surface Fleet. VT Group exited the shipbuilding industry in 2009 when BAE Systems acquired VT Group's interest in the joint venture. BVT Surface Fleet now trades as
BAE Systems Surface Ships BAE Systems plc is a British multinational aerospace, military and information security company, based in London. It is the largest manufacturer in Britain as of 2017. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe and the seventh largest i ...
.


See also

*
British Coastal Forces of World War II Coastal Forces was a division of the Royal Navy initially established during World War I, and then again in World War II under the command of Rear-Admiral, Coastal Forces. It remained active until the last minesweepers to wear the "HM Coastal F ...
*
British Power Boat Company The British Power Boat Company was a British manufacturer of motor boats from 1927 to 1946, particularly racing boats and later military patrol boats in Hythe, Hampshire. History The company was formed on 30 September 1927 when Hubert Scott-P ...
*
Electric Launch Company The Electric Launch Company, later renamed Elco Motor Yachts ("Elco"), is an American boat building and electric motor company that has operated from 1893 to 1949 and from 1987 to the present. History Elco first made its mark at the World's Col ...
*
Fairmile Marine Fairmile Marine was a British boat building company founded in 1939 by the car manufacturer Noel Macklin. Macklin used the garage at his home at Cobham Fairmile in Surrey for manufacturing assembly which is why the boats he designed came to be ...


References


Further reading

* ''Allied Coastal Forces of World War Two, Volume II : Vosper designs'' – by John Lambert and Al Ross, 1993, {{DEFAULTSORT:Vosper and Company 1871 establishments in England Companies based in Portsmouth Companies established in 1871 Defunct shipbuilding companies of the United Kingdom Marine engine manufacturers Engine manufacturers of the United Kingdom British Shipbuilders