The first aircraft built by the new company was the Pemberton-Billing P.B.1 a single-seat open cockpit biplane flying boat. Following modifications, the P.B.1 entered testing, but failed to achieve flight. Billing, who had designed the aircraft, claimed he "wanted a boat which would fly rather than an aircraft that would float". Though no proof can be found, Billing claimed that the aircraft made a short hop but other sources state that the PB.1 never flew. The sole P.B.1 was subsequently dismantled and no other examples were constructed.
Another early design was the P.B.7, a flying lifeboat with detachable wings.
The next significant design was the P.B.9 that used a set of wings which had been obtained from Radley-England. One example was built and while it flew it was felt that production was not worth pursuing. With no orders coming in, Billing had to sell one of his yachts and lease out part of the facilities to Tom Sopwith who used it for assembly and then testing of his Bat Boat.
At the time of receiving its first order for the Spitfire the company did not have the management skills, organisation tools and physical space as this one order was more than double the total number of aircraft they had built in the previous 20 years. As a result, much of the work had to be sub-contracted to other firms, which led to chaos with drawings and the delivery of parts. To compound the problem skilled sheet-metal workers were in short supply. Supermarine had contracted to deliver the first Spitfire in September 1937, but by early 1938 not a single plane had left the factory.
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Upon receipt of the order Supermarine commenced fitting out its Woolston Works for production of the new fighter. With the orders for the Spitfire as well as for the Stranraer and Walrus, the company built a new factory to the designs of the noted 1930's modernist architect Oliver Percy Bernard. The new factory was known as the Itchen Works and was built on land reclaimed from the Itchen, just upstream from the Woolston Works. Opened in 1939, it was originally intended that it would be used to build the Walrus and Sea Otter, but because of its importance it was soon being used to construct Spitfire fuselages.
In 1938 with Walrus production having peaked the previous year the facility at Hythe was closed.
While it was intended that outside sub-contractors would be employed in manufacturing many major components, Vickers-Armstrongs was initially reluctant to see companies from outside of the group involved and so was slow in releasing the necessary sub-components and drawings. As delays mounted the Air Ministry proposed that Supermarine would only complete the initial order and then once the Hawker Typhoon was ready for service in 1941 switch over to making Bristol Beaufighters. Supermarine was able to convince the Air Ministry that the problems would be overcome, which allayed the concerns sufficient for them to receive another order for 200 Spitfires on 24 March 1938. Supermarine was to subsequently organise over 200 sub-contractors to produce components for the Spitfire, with 27 of them producing fully assembled major components, four building the main section of the wing, four building wing tips and another five building flaps. The major components were then taken on trucks to Eastleigh Aerodrome where fitting of the engines, final assembly and flight testing was undertaken before being distributed to operational RAF bases.
Due to the production delays, the first RAF unit, No. 19 Squadron at RAF Duxford, did not start receiving Spitfire Mk Is until 4 August 1938.
Even then, production was slow to build up, and only 49 Spitfires had reached the RAF by 1 January 1939. By 3 September 1939 a total of 306 Spitfire Mk Is had been delivered to the RAF.
Complete dispersal of production
By this time the new factory at Castle Bromwich was producing Spitfires, but with a desperate need for more aircraft Lord Beaverbrook, the Minister of Aircraft Production (MAP), visited Southampton and immediately ordered a complete dispersal of Supermarine's facilities. The top floor of the Polygon Hotel in the centre of Southampton was immediately requisitioned by the MAP for the use of Supermarine's production team.
Work immediately began by the production team under the leadership of the company's works engineer, Leonard G. Gooch on a dispersal programme. Gooch's impressive efforts meant that by December 1940 he formally replaced Pratt as Works Manager. The replacement of Pratt is also believed to have been partially orchestrated by Beaverbrook in retaliation for Pratt's refusal prior to the air raids to allow staff from the MAP into the Supermarine factories without the proper credentials. Pratt, overworked and suffering from depression, committed suicide soon afterwards.
During 26 September air raid at least one bomb had passed through the drawing office, out of the window and into the mud on the river bank below; another went straight through the floor without exploding. As a result, the majority of the design material and drawings survived. The design team were quickly moved to temporary accommodation in old World War I army huts, being used by the University College in Highfield. One of the huts was then destroyed by an incendiary bomb prompting a further move beginning 7 December 1940 when all of the company's design, production and administration was moved to a new permanent home at Hursley House. Located close to Winchester, this large stately house was requisitioned by the Ministry of Aircraft Production from the Dowager Lady Mary Cooper, who remained in residence until June 1942.
It was decided that new dispersed facilities should stay within 50 miles of Southampton so that control and communication could be maintained. By mid November 1940, 35 workshops were up and running. Eventually there were 250 sub-contractors supplying 60 workshops in Hampshire, Wiltshire and Berkshire, clustered around four production centres: Reading (with assembly at Aldermaston and Henley), Salisbury (with assembly at Chattis Hill and High Post), Southampton (with assembly at Eastleigh) and Trowbridge (with assembly at Keevil). An additional area around Winchester and Chandler's Ford was linked to the main design base at Hursley Park.
Each production centre had workshops able to make each part of the plane and an airfield at which final assembly and delivery could be performed. The smallest assembly centre was High Post where the assembly hangar was so small that only three Spitfires could be assembled at a time. Production was six a week.
Castle Bromwich concentrated on the standard models of Spitfires, including the Mk II, V, IX and XIV, as it was time-consuming to change its mass assembly production lines from one model to another. In contrast the dispersed production and small output from each individual production centre surrounding Southampton had the advantage of allowing flexibility and responsiveness without major disruption to the overall production. Each production centre tended to specialise on a particular model of Spitfire and so could much more quickly provide smaller numbers of specialised aircraft in response to a new threat or requirement of the RAF and Royal Navy.
The Southampton workforce increased from 2,880 at the start of the war to 3,660 in September 1940, dropped to 3,079 in December 1940 as a result of the air raid before increasing to 10,000 (half of them women) by the end of 1944.
When looking for suitable sites, preference was placed on buildings with wide concrete floors, uncluttered by pillars, with high ceilings and large access doors. While garages, vehicle showrooms and other workshops were capable of constructing sub-assemblies and even complete fuselages, bus depots with their extra height were valued for the making of wings. Many local garages and large store premises were requisitioned to provide the required facilities. Among the buildings requisitioned were Carey & Lambert's showroom at Austin House in Southampton, Chiswell's Garage, Elliott's furniture factory in Newbury, Hendy's Garage, off Pound Tree Road in the centre of Southampton, Hendy's Agricultural Equipment Showroom at Chandlers Ford, Lowthers Garage on Park Road in Shirley, Seward's Garage, on Winchester Road in Shirley, Shorts Garage, Southampton, Sunlight Laundry also on Winchester Road, and Vincent's Garage in Reading.
While most owners left with little complaint there were some who objected. The Hants and Dorset Bus Depot on Winchester Road in Southampton was already being used to store sandbags and pumps needed by the Fire Brigade in the event of an air raid. The deputy town clerk refused to move the pumps as he considered them to be more important. Eventually sufficient official pressure was brought to bear and the council moved the buses and pumps out, leaving Supermarine with the job of disposing of sandbags. The Mayor of Salisbury initially objected to the takeover of the city's bus depot until it was pointed out to him by MAP that as the local patron of the Spitfire Fund, it was no use collecting money if there was nowhere to build the aircraft. Near Trowbridge the owner of the Barnes steamroller factory on Church Street in Southwick thought his steamrollers were more important and appealed to his local MP. An arbitration panel ruled that Supermarine could have 75% of the factory; a wall was built to separate the two activities. Later a large purpose-built facility was built on Bradley Road in Trowbridge, where the main body and wing were made, and parts incorporated from other Trowbridge factories added, before being transported on trucks to Keevil Airfield. In a hangar at Keevil the Spitfire would be assembled, tested and then flown by an ATA (Air Transport Auxiliary) pilot to a frontline airfield.
Often there were also conflicts with other Ministries, who had already requisitioned sites needed by Supermarine, but the Ministry for Aircraft Production usually ruled supreme as the production of aircraft had the highest priority.
Production fell from 363 aircraft in the quarter before the raids to 177 and 179 respectively in the next two quarters. It took another nine months before it was back to 100 per month, as the programme both had to find suitable new facilities, sufficient skilled workers to replace those killed and wounded and also the additional numbers needed to increase production, while at the same time provide accommodation for them. There was a great reluctance of Southampton-based workers to move away to the new dispersal facilities. Once the existing skilled workers were relocated it took time to train new semi-skilled workers. Many were straight out of school or older men who had undergone the Government's basic engineering training. As the war progressed more woman entered the workforce and began to take on more senior roles. By the end of the war, 8,000 planes had been built in the dispersal factories around Southampton.
In addition to the Spitfires and Seafires made at Supermarine's dispersed Southampton factories and at Castle Bromwich, several companies were subcontracted to make entire Supermarine designs. The most significant were Westland Aircraft who were responsible for the manufacture of the majority of the Seafire, making over 2,000, while Cunliffe-Owen Aircraft at their shadow factory at Eastleigh from 1942 converted 118 Spitfires VBs into Seafires before constructing over 520 new Seafires.
Supermarine aircraft
Initially, the company had no system for naming projects with a structured system only coming into use just prior to the company being purchased by Vickers-Armstrongs. The new owners imposed the Vickers' system where once a new project was approved for further work a Type number was allocated. Vickers initially assigned a block of Type numbers from 178 to 190 to Supermarine.
Pemberton-Billing P.B.1 (1914)
Pemberton-Billing P.B.7
Pemberton-Billing P.B.9
Pemberton-Billing P.B.23 – A single-seater pusher biplane.
Pemberton-Billing P.B.25 (1915) – A revised version of the P.B.23.
Pemberton-Billing P.B.29
AD Flying Boat (1916)
AD Navyplane (1916)
Supermarine Nighthawk (1917) – Anti-Zeppelin fighter aircraft.
Supermarine Baby (1917) – Single-seater fighter flying boat.
Supermarine Sea Lion I (1919) – Schneider race flying boat.
Supermarine Sea Lion II and III (1922)
Supermarine Channel (1919) – Civil version of the AD Flying Boat.
Supermarine Scylla early (1920s)
Supermarine Sea Urchin early (1920s)
Supermarine Commercial Amphibian (1920)
Supermarine Sea King (1920) – Single-seater fighter flying boat.
Supermarine Seagull (1921) – Amphibian Fleet Spotter.
Supermarine Seal II (1921)
Supermarine Sea Eagle (1923) – Civil amphibian flying boat.
Supermarine Scarab (1924) – Military version of Sea Eagle.
Supermarine Sheldrake
Supermarine Swan (1924) – Experimental amphibian.
Supermarine Sparrow (1924) – Two-seater ultralight.
Supermarine Southampton (1925) – Flying boat.
Supermarine S.4 (1925) – Schneider Trophy race seaplane.
Supermarine S.5 (1927) – Schneider Trophy race seaplane.
Supermarine Nanok (1927)
Supermarine Solent (1927)
Supermarine Seamew (1928) – Twin-engined flying boat.
Supermarine S.6 (1929) – Schneider Trophy race seaplane.
Type 171 Southampton X (1928)
Supermarine Air Yacht (1931) – Six-passenger flying boat.
Supermarine Type 179 (1931) – Six-engine transport flying-boat.
Supermarine S6A – Refurbished S.6 with new floats.
Supermarine S.6B (1931) – Schneider Trophy race (first aircraft over 400 mph)
Supermarine Scapa (1932) – Flying boat.
Supermarine Seagull V – Amphibian fleet spotter.
Supermarine Stranraer (1932) – General-purpose flying boat.
Supermarine Walrus (1933) – Amphibian fleet spotter.
Supermarine Type 224 (1934) – Unsuccessful design for a fighter aircraft to Air Ministry specification F.7/30.
Supermarine Spitfire (1936) – Single-seat fighter.
Supermarine Seafire (1941) – Single-seater carrier-based fighter version of the Spitfire.
Supermarine Sea Otter (1938) – Flying boat.
Type 322 also S.24/37 (1939) – Naval Dive-Bomber prototype. Nicknamed 'Dumbo' this was an unsuccessful prototype wooden dive-bomber with variable incidence wing. Used as a design test-bed.
Supermarine Spiteful (1944) – Replacement for the Spitfire.
Supermarine Seafang (1946) – Naval development of Spiteful.
Supermarine Attacker (1946) – Jet fighter.
Supermarine Seagull ASR-1 (1948) – Air-sea rescue and reconnaissance.
Type 508 (1951) – Twin Nene engined fighter prototype with Attacker wings and a V-tail which initially had no undercarriage as it was designed to Naval specification for "mat" landings on aircraft carriers.
Type 510 (1948) – Prototype which had an Attacker fuselage fitted with swept wings and tail surfaces. It was the first fully swept wing aircraft to land on an aircraft carrier
Supermarine 521 (1950) – Modified Attacker fuselage as basis for Handley Page HP.88.
Type 535 (1950) – Swift predecessor with Nene engine.
Supermarine Swift (1951) – Jet fighter.
Type 525 (1954) – Similar to the Type 529 but with swept wings and conventional tail arrangement. Immediate predecessor of Scimitar.
Type 545 – Supersonic version of the Swift. Prototype built but cancelled before flown.
Supermarine Scimitar (1956) – Naval ground attack aircraft.
Designs and submissions only
Supermarine Type 178 00 (1929) – Sea Hawk three-engined civilian flying boat.
Supermarine Type 178 01 (1931) – Monoplane civilian mail carrier.
Supermarine Type 178 02 (1931) – Single-engine bomber and reconnaissance amphibian.
Supermarine Type 178 03 (1931) – Twin-engined air mail flying boat.
Supermarine Type 178 04 (1931) – Twin-engined Southampton flying boat.
Supermarine Type 178 05 (1931) – Twin-engined flying boat.
Supermarine Type 178 06 (1931) – Sea Hawk three-engined biplane flying boat.
Supermarine Type 178 07 (1931) – Southampton IV.
Supermarine Type 178 08 (1931) – Proposal to reduce landing speed of the S.6b.
Supermarine Type 178 09 (1931) – High performance day bomber.
Supermarine Type 178 10 (1931) – Single-seater day and night fighter.
Supermarine Type 178 11 (1932) – Three-engined monoplane flying boat. Known as the Military Air Yacht.
Supermarine Type 178 12 (1932) – Single-seater biplane day and night fighter. Modified from the Type 178 10.
Supermarine Type 178 14 (1932) – Single-seater monoplane day and night fighter. Modified from the Type 178 10.
Supermarine Type 180 (1929) – Four-engined civilian flying boat.
Supermarine Type 182 (1931) – General purpose civilian high-wing monoplane.
Supermarine Type 183 (1931) – General purpose civilian low-wing monoplane.
Supermarine Type 232 (1934) – Four-engined flying boat to Air Ministry specification R.2/33.
Supermarine Type 238 (1934) – Biplane flying boat to Air Ministry specification R.2/33.
Supermarine Type 239 (1934) – Four-engined flying boat to Air Ministry specification R.2/33.
Supermarine Type 240 (1934) – Twin-engined coastal reconnaissance landplane.
Supermarine Type 302 (1935) – Four-engine flying boat for Imperial Airways
Supermarine Type 305 (1935) – Two-seater day and night fighter with all four guns in a turret to Air Ministry specification F.9/35.
Supermarine Type 306 (1935) – Four-engined high wing monoplane flying boat.
Supermarine Type 307 (1935) – Seagull V with Pegasus VI engine.
Supermarine Type 308 (1935) – Long range flying boat to Air Ministry specification R.12/35.
Supermarine Type 310 (1935) – Long range flying boat.
Supermarine Type 312 (1936) – Single seat day and night fighter to Air Ministry specification F37/35.
Supermarine Type 313 (1936) – Single seat day and night fighter to Air Ministry specification F37/35.
Supermarine Type 314 (1936) – High performance flying boat to Air Ministry specification R.1/36.
Supermarine Type 315 (1936) – Walrus for Argentina.
Supermarine Type 316 (1937) – Four-engined heavy bomber to Air Ministry specification B12/36. Redesigned as 317.
Supermarine Type 317 (1937) – Four-engined heavy bomber with Hercules engines to Air Ministry specification B12/36. Abandoned after prototypes destroyed by German bombing attack.
Supermarine Type 318 (1937) – Four-engined heavy bomber with Merlin engines variant of Type 317 to Air Ministry specification B12/36. Design work cancelled at Air Ministry request
Supermarine Type 319 (1937) – Two-seater turret fighter, developed from F11/37
Supermarine Type 305 (1938) – Design submission for turret fighter to F.9/35 based on F.37/34 (Spitfire).
Supermarine Type 323 (1938) – Speed Spitfire.
Supermarine Type 324 (1938) – Twin Merlin engined, tricycle undercarriage fighter based on Spitfire wing and fuselage to Air Ministry specification F18/37.
Supermarine Type 325 (1938) – Twin-engined fighter to Air Ministry specification F18/37. Version of the Type 324 but with two pusher engines.
Supermarine Type 327 (1938) – High speed single-seater pusher fighter to Air Ministry specification F18/37.
Supermarine Type 328 (1939) – Flying boat to Air Ministry specification R.5/39.
Supermarine Type 333 (1939) – Two-seater fleet fighter to Air Ministry specification N9/39.
Supermarine Type 334 (1939) – Submission to Air Ministry specification S6/39.
Supermarine Type 391 (1944) – Submission to Air Ministry for a Roll-Royce Eagle powered carrier-borne fighter.
Supermarine Type 553 (1953) – Mach 2 research aircraft project to ER.134T.
Supermarine Type 559 (1955) – Submission for Operational Requirement F.155 for a high altitude supersonic fighter.
Supermarine Type 571 – Submission for GOR.339 TSR.2 requirement.
