John I. Thornycroft & Company

John I. Thornycroft & Company Limited, usually known simply as Thornycroft was a British shipbuilding firm started by John Isaac Thornycroft in the 19th century. The 16-year-old Thornycroft, helped only by his younger sister, began to build his first small steam launch in 1859 in his father's back garden at Chiswick on the River Thames. He returned from an apprenticeship in Glasgow in 1864 and began to build more steam launches.

Thornycroft first began shipbilding at its yard at Church Wharf in Chiswick in 1866. Here, the first instance was built of what would become the torpedo boat, the "Rap" for Norway in 1873. This was followed by HMS "Lightning" for the Royal Navy in 1877.

In June 1904 the company took the decision to relocate to Woolston, Hampshire, where it acquired the shipyard owned there by Mordey, Carney & Company. The former yard at Chiswick closed in August 1909. The first ship built by Thornycroft for the Royal Navy at the Woolston Yard was the Tribal class destroyer HMS "Tartar".

Thornycroft merged in 1966 with Vosper & Co. to form Vosper Thornycroft. The company now trades as VT Group. More recently the company moved its ship building facilities out of Southampton and into the neighbouring city of Portsmouth.

Royal Navy classes built by Thornycroft

* D class destroyer (1913)
* Coastal Motor Boats
* Thornycroft type leader
* Thornycroft M class destroyer
* Type IV Hunt class destroyer

External links

* [http://www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk/index.cfm/event/getNewVesselList/type/builder/searchterm/18 Historic Thornycroft vessels built at Chiswick] - nationalhistoricships.org.uk
* [http://www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk/index.cfm/event/getNewVesselList/type/builder/searchterm/374 Historic Thornycroft vessels built at Hampton-on-Thames] - nationalhistoric.org.uk
* [http://www.nationalhistoricships.uk/index.cfm/event/getNewVesselList/type/builder/searchterm/1 Historic Thornycroft vessels built at Woolston] - nationalhistoric.org.uk