Some of the most famous ships in the world were built on the River Clyde, among them the great Cunard liners Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth and QE2, the ill-fated Lusitania, the battlecruiser HMS Hood and the royal yacht Britannia. Over roughly two centuries the Clyde launched around thirty thousand vessels, and ‘Clyde-built’ became a byword for quality the world over. The story of the yards that made them is told on our shipbuilding page.

The great ocean liners

The Clyde’s most glamorous ships were the transatlantic liners. The RMS Lusitania, the largest liner in the world when she was launched in 1906, was sunk by a German torpedo in 1915. The RMS Queen Mary, launched in 1934, won the Blue Riband for the fastest Atlantic crossing and survives today as a hotel in California. Her sister the RMS Queen Elizabeth, of 1938, was the largest ship ever built on the river, and the QE2 of 1967 was the last of the great Clyde superliners. Nearly all of them came from a single yard, John Brown’s at Clydebank.

Warships and the royal yacht

The Clyde also built for the Royal Navy. HMS Hood, launched in 1918, was the largest warship in the world for twenty years, until she was sunk by the German battleship Bismarck in 1941. From the same Clydebank yard came the royal yacht HMY Britannia in 1953. Warships are still built on the river today, at the Govan and Scotstoun yards.

Pioneers and paddle steamers

Some of the Clyde’s most historic ships were also its smallest. The PS Comet of 1812, built for Henry Bell, was the first commercially successful steamboat in Europe and began the age of steam navigation. The PS Waverley, built in 1946, is the last seagoing paddle steamer in the world and still carries passengers ‘doon the watter’ on the Firth of Clyde. Even the famous tea clipper Cutty Sark, one of the fastest sailing ships of her age, was built on the Clyde, at Dumbarton, in 1869. These vessels are a proud part of the story of Glasgow transport.

The river that built them

All of this was possible because the River Clyde had been deepened into a great highway of trade and industry, as our post on why the river mattered explains. The yards that lined it launched their last great ships within living memory, and the reasons that once-mighty industry faded are set out in our post on why Glasgow’s shipbuilding declined.

What was the most famous ship built on the Clyde?

The RMS Queen Mary is often called the most famous, though the QE2, the Queen Elizabeth and the ill-fated Lusitania are all strong contenders. All four were built at John Brown’s yard in Clydebank.

Where were the Cunard Queens built?

The Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth and QE2 were all built at John Brown’s shipyard in Clydebank, on the Clyde just west of Glasgow.

Was the Cutty Sark built on the Clyde?

Yes. The famous tea clipper, one of the fastest sailing ships of her day, was built at Dumbarton, on the Clyde, in 1869.