Henry Robb

Henry Robb, Limited
Company type	Private (before nationalization), then state-owned
Industry	Shipbuilding
Predecessor	Ramage & Ferguson (yard managed by founder before)
Founded	April 1, 1918; 108 years ago in Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland
Founder	Henry Robb
Defunct	1983
Fate	Nationalized under British Shipbuilders in 1977; yard closed in 1983
Successor	Robb Caledon Shipbuilding (after 1968 merger)
Headquarters	Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
Area served	United Kingdom, Royal Navy, Commonwealth navies
Key people	Henry Robb (founder)
Products	Small to medium-sized vessels including tugs, dredgers, naval vessels
Owner	British Shipbuilders (from 1977)
Parent	British Shipbuilders (from 1977)

Henry Robb, Limited, commonly referred to as Robbs, was a shipbuilding firm located at Leith Docks in Edinburgh, Scotland. The company primarily focused on constructing small to medium-sized vessels, with a particular emphasis on tugs and dredgers.

History

Established on 1 April 1918 by Henry Robb, who previously managed a yard at nearby Ramage & Ferguson, the company grew through the acquisition of various berths: Hawthorns in 1924, Cran and Somerville in 1926, and Ramage and Ferguson yards in 1934. This combined facility became known as the Victoria Shipyard.

During the 1920s, Robbs ceased its operations in Arbroath and on the Clyde to concentrate efforts solely at Leith. Throughout World War II, the yard produced numerous naval vessels for the Royal Navy, including the prototype Basset-class anti-submarine trawler. Among its wartime contributions were three Bird-class corvettes built for the Royal New Zealand Navy; two of these played a key role in sinking the Japanese submarine I-1 in 1943, while the third assisted in the destruction of I-17 later that year.

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth made two visits to the shipyard during the war years, first in 1940 and again in 1943.

In 1963, Robbs expanded by purchasing the adjacent Menzies & Co. yard. Five years later, in 1968, it merged with Dundee’s Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company to form Robb Caledon Shipbuilding, which subsequently took control of Burntisland Shipbuilding Company in 1969. The company was nationalized under British Shipbuilders in 1977; following this, the Caledon yard shut down in 1981 and Robb’s Leith yard ceased operations in 1983.

Today, the former shipyard site houses the Ocean Terminal shopping centre, which also contains the former Royal Yacht Britannia. A riveted iron paint shed from the original yard has been preserved and relocated as a Category B listed structure.

The shipyard is featured in The Proclaimers’ 1987 video for "Letter From America." The song reflects on Scotland’s industrial decline and patterns of emigration; notably, the band’s father was employed at Robbs.

Naval

s

Storage Vessels

MV Pembroke Coast
MV British Coast
MV Atlantic Coast
MV Ocean Coast

Armed Trawlers

HMS Basset
HMS Mastiff

Hoppers

MV Gallions Reach
Tree-class trawlers
HMS Hazel
HMS Hickory

s

HMS Ringdove
HMS Redstart

Additional Minesweepers

HMS Sword Dance
HMS Staffa
HMS Sidmouth
HMS Stornoway

s

(formerly HMS Glenarm)
HMS Naver – cancelled and reordered as HMS Loch Achanalt.

s

– delivered to Royal Canadian Navy upon completion.
– transferred to Royal Malaysian Navy in 1964 as Hang Tuah.
– handed over to Royal New Zealand Navy in 1949 as Rotoiti.
Three additional vessels – Loch Kishorn, Loch Nell, and Loch Odairn – were cancelled.

s

(formerly HMS Loch Laxford)
(formerly HMS Loch Maddy)
(formerly HMS Loch Coulside)

Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels

– stores ship for naval supplies
– aviation training vessel
– stores ship for naval supplies

During World War II, Robbs constructed Bustler-class ocean rescue tugs capable of towing large ships over long distances; these tugs notably assisted in hauling Mulberry Harbour sections during the D-Day landings.

{{ship|HMRT|Bustler|W72|}

Other Tugboats

MV George Salt
MV Firefly

Vessels for Robertson Line

MS Jacinth
MS Spinel

Additional Ships

MS Kodara for Robertson Company
MS Edina for Currie Line
MV Creole
MV The Miller for E Marriage & Son
MV Goldengown
MV Puriri for Anchor Line of New Zealand
MV Underwood for Union Steam Company of New Zealand
MV Port Tauranga

Wild Duck-class RMAS cable-laying and salvage vessels:

Merchant

Yard Number	Vessel Name	Category	Year Launched	Owner/Additional Information

External links