J. J. Saville and Co
J. J. Saville and Co Ltd. of Triumph Steelworks, Sheffield.
1905 See 1905 Industries of Sheffield and District
1909 High-Speed Tool Steels[1]
1911 Manufacturer of Tool Steels and Files for the Railways.[2]
1919 'NAVAL SECRET REVEALED. FISHING TRAWLERS' AND OTTER BOARDS The “London - Times” Engineering Supplement for February states :— “That one of the Navy's secrets that has been disclosed since the cessation of hostilities is the use made of otters, or Paravanes, for enabling ships to pass through minefields with almost complete immunity.”
Now that the secret has been made public it will be interesting to note that the otter board has a close association with Fleetwood, inasmuch as these boards are used in connection with the nets on fishing trawlers. The Paravane was invented by Lieutenant Burney, son of Admiral Sir Cecil Burney. By a strange coincidence a Fleetwood man, who at one time was a well-known Trinity House Pilot for the Port of Barrow, thought out the idea of using the otter board and a net fer deflecting torpedoes from a ship’s side shortly after the war broke out. The idea took such a firm hold of him that he set to work and built a model boat, fixed the apparatus on to it, and gave it a trial at Rossall Baths, but it only proved partially successful. He was taken ill and instead of submitting the idea to the proper authorities he let it slide.
The Paravanes invented by Lieut. Burney were towed in pairs, one on either side, from a point as low down as possible on the ship's bows, in such a way that they were not in the ship’s wake, but stood out obliquely away from the hull. When a minemooring cable was encountered it was forcibly deflected from the ship and along the whole length of the towing rope until it came to the Paravane itself. Here it encountered scissors or shear blades which, although it was made of steel 1½in. in diameter, cut it as easily as a pair of scissors cuts a piece of string. These blades, which were only 10½in. long, with a section about 1½in. wide by ½in. thick, had to be made of exceedingly fine and strong steel, and after long and extensive tests by the Admiralty the “Triumph Superb” high-speed steel manufactured by Messrs. J. J. Saville and Company (Limited), of Sheffield, was exclusively adapted for them. The whole efficacy of the Paravanes, so far as mines were concerned, depended on these cutter-blades, for if through becoming blunt or breaking they failed to cut the cable the mine would remain submerged and dangerous, whereas if it was released and rose to the surface it could be immediately detected and destroyed.' [3]
1922 Saville & Co were producing 'Rustless Iron'.
By 1927 the business was controlled by the Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA).
1929 Merged with William Jessop and Sons to become Jessop-Saville. However, J. J. Saville and Co continued to be used as a brand name.
1937 Steel and file manufacturers. [4]
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ The Engineer 1909
- ↑ Bradshaw’s Railway Manual 1911
- ↑ Blackpool Times - Saturday 8 March 1919
- ↑ 1937 The Aeroplane Directory of the Aviation and Allied Industries