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About Denny Tank, Scottish Maritime Museum, Dumbarton

The 300 feet long test tank, which contains some 1.75million litres of water, is the last remaining part of the influential William Denny and Brothers shipyard, which reputedly built more vessels than any other Clyde shipbuilder over its 121 year history, including SS Sir Walter Scott. The yard also completed construction of the Cutty Sark, the last surviving tea clipper.

The world renowned Victorian shipbuilding company, which opened in 1844, is also famed for developing the Denny Helicopter, Denny Hovercraft and Denny-Brown stabilisers, which were designed to reduce ship rolling and fitted on vessels across the world including the QE2.

Following World War Two, William Denny and Brothers also diversified into roll on, roll off ferries. The yard closed in 1963 as the shipbuilding industry went into decline and opened in September 1983 as part of the Scottish Maritime Museum.

The Denny Tank, which is part of the wider Scottish Maritime Museum, offers a fascinating insight into Scottish shipbuilding, naval science and engineering but very much from the perspective of the people behind the inventions.

For local visitors, the Denny Tank is a great place to discover all about this influential shipbuilding family which employed as many as 1,800 people in the yard’s heyday and see some great old photographs showing Dumbarton over the years.