Susan Morrison
Member
hi - quick question - can anyone tell me where the steel for the hull came from ? Is there a thread on the site that answers that ?
Who made the steel
- Thread starter Susan Morrison
- Start date
Scott R. Andrews
Guest
Susan,
The steel was produced by David Colville & Sons Ltd., Dalzell Works, Motherwell, Scotland. They supplied everything from steel sheet and plate through structural shapes such as angle, channel, T-, I- and H-section.
Scott Andrews
The steel was produced by David Colville & Sons Ltd., Dalzell Works, Motherwell, Scotland. They supplied everything from steel sheet and plate through structural shapes such as angle, channel, T-, I- and H-section.
Scott Andrews
Susan Morrison
Member
Thanks Scott !
James Alexander Carlisle
Member
The firm of Colville was purchased by Harland and Wolff in the 1920's. They supplied the steel for Queen Mary as well.
James Alexander Carlisle
James Alexander Carlisle
Michael H. Standart
Member
Does this firm still exist?
James Alexander Carlisle
Member
The firm has now closed like most heavy industry in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Michael H. Standart
Member
I had a feeling you were going to say that. Damned shame that so much industry has gone away for one reason or another.
Susan Morrison
Member
Too right, Michael. On Friday (6 August ) I was lucky enough to be on the PS Waverley going down the Clyde - it's tragic to go past the site of the shipyards and see nothing but grass and mud. Even the site of John Browns - where they built the Lusitania, Aquitania and two Queens is nothing more than a mudflat. Grrrrr.....
Colin Findlay
Guest
Although David Colville & Sons no longer exists as a company name, Dalzell steelworks does still exist. It became part of Colvilles Ltd, then British Steel Corporation and is now part of Corus. Its basic open hearth furnaces closed in 1978 but its relatively new heavy plate mill is still in operation. When the Titanic was built Dalzell had a worldwide reputation for high quality steel, indeed the first steel plates rolled in the United States were made from steel slabs supplied from Dalzell Works.
Jamie Bryant
Member
Was that the company that was responsible for the high content of sulphur in Titanic's steel, which resulted in her steel becoming brittle in low temperatures?
Michael H. Standart
Member
Yes, that was the company. They made the steel, and having made it, would be the ones who would have been responsible for any of it's good and bad qualities.
Having said that, I wouldn't get too carried away with the Brittle steel thing as there is no real evidence that it played any signifigent role on the disaster. Any modern ship with modern steels having suffered similar damage would have gone to the bottom as well. For more information, insights, and opinions on this, click on the following links: The Royal Mail Ship Titanic: Did a Metallurgical Failure Cause a Night to Remember?
NIST Webpage for Tim Foecke
Marconigraph.com Be sure to click on "Titanic" in the frame on the left, then on Sparks Titanic FAQs by Parks Stephenson
Having said that, I wouldn't get too carried away with the Brittle steel thing as there is no real evidence that it played any signifigent role on the disaster. Any modern ship with modern steels having suffered similar damage would have gone to the bottom as well. For more information, insights, and opinions on this, click on the following links: The Royal Mail Ship Titanic: Did a Metallurgical Failure Cause a Night to Remember?
NIST Webpage for Tim Foecke
Marconigraph.com Be sure to click on "Titanic" in the frame on the left, then on Sparks Titanic FAQs by Parks Stephenson
James Alexander Carlisle
Member
I wouldn't go to deep into the brittle steel theory, remember Olympic had the same steel and rivets as Titanic and she sunk an enemy submarine in the First World war.
All the best
Jim Carlisle
All the best
Jim Carlisle
Dennis Smith
Member
Hi Paul,
Just to confirm what you already know, according to the book "The Birth of Titanic" the stern frame (Made of Special Mild Steel??) was indeed made by The Darlington Forge Co.
Any idea about the significance of the "Special Mild Steel" used ??
Best wishes and Rgds
Dennis
Just to confirm what you already know, according to the book "The Birth of Titanic" the stern frame (Made of Special Mild Steel??) was indeed made by The Darlington Forge Co.
Any idea about the significance of the "Special Mild Steel" used ??
Best wishes and Rgds
Dennis
Sadly I don't. I do have a bit more info on the Forge though. After the brittle steel tests were done, local rag "The Northern Echo" ran a story called "Titanic experts sink careless captain theory".
The relevant bits are thus:
"The Titanic has strong North-East connections, Its rudder brackets and stern frame were made by the Darlington Forge Company, which closed in 1967".
"The Forge formed the backbone of Britain's shipping industry and during its ehydey employed more than 1000 people making castings for battleships and merchant vessels. It formed a formidable partnership with the nearby Consett steelworks which produced the raw materials for making ship hulls".
"David Adamson, a North-East British Steel spokesman based in Redcar said:" I don't think we have any records that go that far back. It seems to be to be just speculation".
Hopefully this is of use to someone?
With best wishes
Paul
The relevant bits are thus:
"The Titanic has strong North-East connections, Its rudder brackets and stern frame were made by the Darlington Forge Company, which closed in 1967".
"The Forge formed the backbone of Britain's shipping industry and during its ehydey employed more than 1000 people making castings for battleships and merchant vessels. It formed a formidable partnership with the nearby Consett steelworks which produced the raw materials for making ship hulls".
"David Adamson, a North-East British Steel spokesman based in Redcar said:" I don't think we have any records that go that far back. It seems to be to be just speculation".
Hopefully this is of use to someone?
With best wishes
Paul
