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The Wigham Richardson shipbuilding company was named after its founder, John Wigham Richardson (1837-1908), the son of Edward Richardson, a tanner from Newcastle upon Tyne, and Jane Wigham from Edinburgh.
The Company was set up with less than £5,000, given to Richardson by his father in 1860. This was enough for him to found the Neptune Shipyard at Wallsend.
Its first ship, a 65 ft (20 m) paddle steamer called Victoria, was launched on the River Tyne that summer. She was commissioned to carry passengers, carts and livestock between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight, and is thought to have cost around £700.
At least part of Wigham Richardson's success in the latter part of the 19th century was through the surge in demand for passenger ships, taking emigrants to the New World.
In 1903, Wigham Richardson merged with Swan and Hunter specifically to bid for the prestigious contract to build the RMS Mauretania. Their bid was successful, and she went on to capture the Blue Riband for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic - a record she held for two decades. Even today, she is the largest liner ever built on the Tyne.
The company flourished, and between 1906 and 1912, no other company in the world could match it in terms of the tonnage of shipping produced. In 1907, for example, 15% of the world's shipping, in tonnage terms, was built by Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson.
Ships built by Wigham Richardson's Neptune Yard, prior to the merger with Swan Hunter included:
RMS Homeric, originally launched as Columbus, was an ocean liner built for Norddeutscher Lloyd and launched in 1913 at the F. Schichau yard in Danzig, Germany. Columbus was ceded to Great Britain in 1919 as part of German war reparations. She was sold to the White Star Line in 1920, which named her Homeric. Her sister ship Hindenburg remained in German ownership and was renamed Columbus. Homeric was operated by White Star from 1922 to 1935.
SS Sangola was a steam cargo liner that was launched in Scotland in 1901, renamed Goshu Maru in 1923, and scrapped in Japan in 1933. She was one of a class of seven steamships that were built for the British India Steam Navigation Company (BI) in 1901 and 1902. From 1908 until 1910 she took Indian indentured labourers to Fiji.
SS Vadala was a cargo steamship that was launched in Scotland in 1890, renamed Kenkon Maru No. 12 in 1913, and sank as the result of a collision in 1928. She was built for the British India Steam Navigation Company (BI). In 1895 she took Indian indentured labourers to Fiji. In 1899 was a troop ship in the Second Boer War. From 1913 she was in Japanese ownership.
SS Pasteur was a steam turbine ocean liner built for Compagnie de Navigation Sud-Atlantique. She later sailed as Bremen for Norddeutscher Lloyd. In the course of her career, she sailed for 41 years under four names and six countries' flags.
The Grand Trunk steamship Prince Rupert and her sister ship SS Prince George served the coast of British Columbia and Alaska. Prince Rupert had a 45-year career serving northern ports from Vancouver, British Columbia, from 1910 to 1955. The ship was considered "unlucky" and suffered several incidents during her career, including two significant ones that left large portions of the vessel underwater. The ship was broken up in 1956.
SS Mulbera was a British India Steam Navigation Company (BI) turbine steamship that was built in 1922 and scrapped in 1954. She belonged to BI's "M" class of cargo liners. She was the last member of the class to be built, and the last to survive in service.
HMS Hilary was a Booth Line passenger steamship that was built in Scotland in 1908 and operated scheduled services between Liverpool and Brazil until 1914. In the First World War she was an armed merchant cruiser (AMC) until a U-boat sank her in the Atlantic Ocean in 1917.
Ural was an auxiliary cruiser of the Imperial Russian Navy during the Russo-Japanese War. She was originally a Rivers-class ocean liner for Norddeutscher Lloyd, launched in 1890 under the name Spree. She was renamed Kaiserin Maria Theresia in 1899, before being sold to the Russians in 1904.
SS Lydia was a passenger ferry that was built in Scotland in 1890 for the London and South Western Railway. From 1920 onward she passed through several owners. In 1923 she was renamed Ierax and registered in Greece. She was scrapped in 1933.
SS Bungaree was a steam cargo liner. She was launched in England in 1889 for Blue Anchor Line, who ran her between England and Australia. The Quebec Steamship Company bought her in 1903 and renamed her Parima. Furness, Withy & Company took over the Quebec SS Co in 1919. She was scrapped in Italy in 1925.
The T1 tanker or T1 are a class of sea worthy small tanker ships used to transport fuel oil before and during World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War. The T1 tanker classification is still in use today. T1 tankers are about 200 to 250 feet in length and are able to sustain a top speed of about 12 knots. The hull designation AO is used by the US Navy to denote the ship is a T1 oil tanker and AOG that the T1 is a gasoline tanker. The small size allows the T1 to enter just about any sea port or to anchor around a small island, this was very useful during the Pacific War. The T1 tanker can carry about 48,000 to 280,000 bbls. Some T1 tankers were used to transport goods other than oil, a few were used for black oil-crude oil, diesel, chemicals and rarely bulk cargo like grain. T1 tankers are also called liquid cargo carriers. The T1 tanker has about a 6,000 to 35,000 deadweight tonnage (DWT) of cargo. The small size also gives the ships short turn around time for repair, cleaning, loading and unloading. A T1 tanker carrying dirty cargo, like crude oil needs a few weeks of labor to clean before carrying clean cargo. Most T1 ships during World War II were named after major oil fields.
SS Vauban was a 1912 steam ocean liner operated by Lamport and Holt Line and used on its service between New York and the River Plate. She was named after the French military engineer Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban (1633–1707). She was a troop ship in the First World War, resumed passenger service until 1930 and was scrapped in 1932.
The Type R ship is a United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) designation for World War II refrigerated cargo ship, also called a reefer ship. The R type ship was used in World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War and the Cold War. Type R ships were used to transport perishable commodities which require temperature-controlled transportation, such as fruit, meat, fish, vegetables, dairy products and other foods. The US Maritime Commission ordered 41 new refrigerated ships for the US Navy. Because of the difficulty of building refrigerated ships only two were delivered in 1944, and just 26 were delivered in 1945 and the remainder in 1946–48. The 41 R type ships were built in four groups. Two of design types were modified type C1 ships and two were modified type C2 ships. The United Fruit Company operated many of the R type ships in World War II. The type R2-S-BV1 became the US Navy Alstede-class stores ship and the type R1-M-AV3 became the US Navy Adria-class stores ship.
The Type V ship is a United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) designation for World War II tugboats. Type V was used in World War II, Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Type V ships were used to move ships and barges. Type V tugboats were made of either steel or wood hulls. There were four types of tugboats ordered for World War II. The largest type V design was the sea worthy 186-foot (57 m) long steel hull, V4-M-A1. The V4-M-A1 design was used by a number of manufacturers; a total of 49 were built. A smaller steel hull tugboat was the 94-foot (29 m) V2-ME-A1; 26 were built. The largest wooden hull was the 148-foot (45 m) V3-S-AH2, of which 14 were built. The smaller wooden hull was the 58-foot (18 m) V2-M-AL1, which 35 were built. Most V2-M-AL1 tugboats were sent to the United Kingdom for the war efforts under the lend-lease act. The Type V tugs served across the globe during World War II including: Pacific War, European theatre, and in the United States. SS Farallon, and other Type V tugs, were used to help built Normandy ports, including Mulberry harbour, on D-Day, 6 June 1944, and made nine round trips to Normandy to deliver Phoenix breakwaters.
SS Ruahine was a UK-built ocean liner and refrigerated cargo ship. She was launched in 1909 in Scotland for the New Zealand Shipping Company, who operated her in scheduled service between Britain and New Zealand. She survived both World wars.
SS Shinyō Maru (春洋丸) was built in Nagasaki in 1911 by Mitsubishi Dockyard & Engine Works. Her length was 558 ft (170 m) and breadth 61.9 ft (18.9 m) Her tonnage was 13,426 GRT, with a displacement of 21,650 tons. Her triple screws gave her a speed of 21 knots. The liner had accommodation for 275 first class, 75 second class, and 800 steerage passengers. Shinyo Maru was powered by thirteen Scotch boilers providing steam for three sets of Parsons turbines for 17,000 horsepower.
SS Bärenfels was a German steam cargo liner that was launched in 1921 for DDG Hansa. In 1940, she took part in the German invasion of Norway and was sunk by Fleet Air Arm dive bombers. Her wreck was raised, and in 1941, she was returned to service. In 1944, a Royal Navy midget submarine sank her, killing 11 of her complement. In 1947, her wreck was raised to be scrapped, but while under tow she sank a third time. The wreck is now a recreational wreck diving site.
SS Teiryu Maru was a steam cargo ship that was launched in England in 1914 as Northwestern Miller. Furness, Withy & Co managed her until 1927, when Norddeutscher Lloyd bought her and renamed her Augsburg.
SS Reliance was one of a pair of transatlantic steam ocean liners that were launched in 1914 in Germany for the Hamburg America Line (HAPAG), sold to a Dutch shipping line in 1916, and seized by the United States as World War I reparations in 1922. United American Lines (UAL) operated her until 1926, when HAPAG bought her back.
SS Lombardia was one of a pair of transatlantic steam ocean liners that were launched in 1914 in Germany for the Hamburg America Line (HAPAG), sold to a Dutch shipping line in 1916, and seized by the United States as World War I reparations in 1922. United American Lines (UAL) operated her until 1926, when HAPAG bought her back.