When shipbuilding joined science - a recipe for Britain’s industry success

Over a century has passed since Sir William Froude began testing model hulls in his makeshift laboratory at Torquay on England’s Devon coast.

By 1908 growth in the demand for ship and design research was such that England’s National Physical Laboratory had to start a separate Ship Division. This was made possible due to a £200,000 gift from Sir Alfred Yarrow and government subsidy. From this investment was born the Feltham Project, enabling dedicated scientists to design intricate ships and propulsion studies, growing Britain’s shipbuilding industry.