buyout and by the December, Upholder had been launched. A condition of the buyout was that the company should also take ownership of the other North West coast shipyard - Cammell Laird at Birkenhead, a famous yard of long standing which had suffered in recent years from prolonged industrial action and had little ongoing work and no orders in hand. As Cammell Laird had enjoyed a proven track record as an experienced submarine builder from 1916 to 1971, the build contracts for the remaining three ordered boats of the Upholder Class - SSK02 Unseen, SSK03 Ursula and SSK04 Unicorn - were all transferred by VSEL to their Cammell Laird yard with Barrow providing lead yard services and key personnel as necessary.
Surplus to UK Requirements
By the time the last boat HMS Unicorn had commissioned in
