Short Brothers of Sunderland

In the First World War the yard built 14 barges for the Admiralty, plus merchant ships including four cargo ships to the War Shipping Controller's standard B type design.^[1] After the war Short's built its first two turbine steamers;^[1] the 7,607 GRT sister ships TS Sandown Castle (1921) and TS Sandgate Castle (1922) for Union-Castle Line.

During the 1920s shipbuilding declined.^[1] Short's workforce struck in 1923 and 1926 and the yard closed in June 1930.^[1]

In 1933 Short's reopened to build SS Arcwear, a tramp steamer designed by Joseph Isherwood.^[1] She was the first of Isherwood's new "arcform" design, which increased cargo capacity by 10% and increased speed, but also reduced fuel consumption.^[1] Arcwear was launched in November 1933 and made her maiden voyage in 1934.^[1] Her fuel economy and speed exceeded expectations but she rolled badly in heavy weather and did not even move smoothly in calm weather.^[1] Only a few further arcform cargo ships and tankers were built.^[1] In 1938 Short's closed again, despite having a tramp ship still under construction.^[1]

In the summer of 1939 Short's reopened again.^[1] During the Second World War it built mostly tramp steamers, plus two tankers and one LCT.^[1] Under the direction of the Ministry of War Transport by the end of 1944 Short's switched from building ships to its own design to assembling partly prefabricated government standard C-type cargo ships.^[1] By the end of the war Short's was employing about 900 people.^[1]

In 1946 John H Short was company chairman and H.S. Short, great-grandson of the founder, joined the board of directors.^[1]

In the early 1960s the Short family did not want to invest in lengthening the yard's berths to build bigger ships.^[1] Therefore, after Short's launched the universal bulk carrier MV Carlton on 17 October 1963 and completed her in January 1964, they closed the business with the loss of 300 jobs.^[1]

• 1889 – SS Magnus Mail – hull 184
• 1892 – SS Hindustan
• 1910 – SS Cacique
• 1918 – SS Clan Macvicar
• 1927 – SS Laristan – hull 425
• 1940 – SS Empire Summer
• 1941 – SS Empire Sun
• 1941 – SS Empire Burton – hull 466
• 1941 – SS Empire Lightning
• 1941 – SS Empire Wycliff
• 1941 – SS Empire Story
• 1942 – SS Empire Bardolph – hull 474
• 1942 – SS Empire Southey
• 1942 – SS Empire Keats
• 1942 – SS Empire Webster
• 1942 – SS Empire Envoy
• 1943 – SS Empire Friendship
• 1943 – SS Empire Camp
• 1943 – SS Empire Stuart
• 1943 – SS Empire Duchess
• 1943 – SS Empire Cromer – hull 480
• 1944 – SS Empire Lagos
• 1945 – SS Empire Nairobi
• 1945 – SS Empire Honduras
• 1945 – SS Empire Dominica
• 1946 – MV Empire Tedburgh
• 1952 – MV Burutu Palm

• Media related to Short Brothers, Sunderland at Wikimedia Commons