page_title: Supermarine
section_title: Founding
hierarchical_section_title: Supermarine / History / Founding
caption_attribution_description: English: Studio Portrait of subject released for publication to the press in 1916
context_page_description: Supermarine was a British aircraft manufacturer that produced the legendary Spitfire fighter plane for Britain during World War II, and a range of seaplanes and flying boats. The company had successes in the Schneider Trophy for seaplanes, with three wins in a row of 1927, 1929 and 1931.
  The company was founded in 1913 as Pemberton-Billing Ltd on the River Itchen close to Woolston, Southampton, on ground previously purchased by Noel Pemberton Billing to construct motor launches. It produced a couple of prototypes using quadruplane designs to shoot down zeppelins, the Supermarine P.B.29 and the Supermarine Nighthawk. The aircraft were fitted with the recoilless Davis gun and the Nighthawk had a separate powerplant to power a searchlight.
  Upon election as an MP in 1916 Pemberton-Billing sold the company to his factory manager and longtime associate Hubert Scott-Paine who renamed the company Supermarine Aviation Works Ltd. The company became famous for its successes in the Schneider Trophy for seaplanes, especially the three wins in a row of 1927, 1929 and 1931.
context_section_description: In 1909 Noel Pemberton Billing purchased a number of engineering workshops on 3,000 acres of land at South in Sussex which he intended to develop as an airfield. At the same time he built a number of unsuccessful aircraft of his own design. To promote the venture he founded his own magazine Aerocraft. Despite attracting some aircraft constructors the airfield venture failed within a year and about the same time he sold Aerocraft.
  In 1911 Billing purchased facilities to provide a base for a motor launch and yacht trading business at White's Yard off Elm Road (later renamed Hazel Road) on the Itchen river, upstream of Woolston. To manage the business Billing hired his friend Hubert Scott-Paine, whom he had first met while involved in property speculation in Shoreham. Billing, his wife and Scott-Paine lived on Billing's yacht Utopia.
  Under Scott-Paine's management the business was soon profitable, which allowing Billing (with the assistance of Scott-Paine) to design a series of flying boats with detachable propeller and wings so that with them removed it could be used as a motor launch.
  He submitted a patent application for his design in October 1913. After obtaining his aviator's certificate on 17 September 1913 following a £500 bet with Frederick Handley-Page that he could obtain it within 24 hour of commencing flight training, he decided to build his own aircraft.
  In partnership with Alfred Delves de Broughton, Billing established Pemberton-Billing Ltd on 27 June 1914 with capital of £20,000. Billing had 6,800 shares, Broughton 3,700 and works engineer Lorenz Hans Herkomer (1889–1922), 500. Herkomer's background was in electrical engineering and automobiles. Rumanian Carol Vasilesco was employed to prepare drawings and undertake the detailed design of airframes. On land at Oakbank Wharf on the river Itchen in Woolston, Southampton that Billing had previously purchased the company established a factory with Hubert Scott-Paine as work manager. Its registered telegraphic address, used for sending telegrams and cables to the company, was; Supermarine, Southampton.
caption: Studio portrait of Billing released for publication to the press in 1916
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