Harland and Wolff and Workman Clark translated a simple, urgent requirement into hulls at wartime speed. Three ships went to Harland and Wolff and two, including M33, to Workman Clark, then one of Britain's larger shipbuilders. Workman Clark had ranked among Britain's largest yards in the 1890s and built transatlantic liners for customers including Cunard and Alfred Holt. Its wartime expansion was followed by acquisition by Northumberland Shipbuilding in 1918, that company's receivership in 1927, and Workman Clark's own receivership in 1935. Laid down in March 1915, the class was launched in May or June and completed by June or July, bringing all five ships into existence in roughly five months. The speed of construction depended on industrial breadth that Britain later lost.
Notable Point · 7:25-10:01
Five months from laying down to service
The class demonstrates the value of industrial capacity: ships ordered and laid down in 1915 were completed within roughly five months.