Pemberton Billing Limited
The spirit of adventure was at the very heart of the company formed by publisher, lawyer, property developer and inventor Noel Pemberton Billing.

Another attempt to produce a viable design was the P.B.9 which, although the only example was eventually sold to the Royal Naval Air Service, was actually built in just 7 days, earning it the nickname the ‘Seven Day Bus’.

Pemberton-Billing Limited created the name ‘Supermarine’ which he used as the companies telegraphic address, this being reputed to have been chosen by Mr Pemberton-Billing as the opposite of ‘submarine’. The company eventually saw a small amount of success with the P.B.25, a single-seat scout aircraft of which 20 were built during 1915.
Mr Pemberton-Billing meanwhile, had lost interest in aviation in favour of a political life having been elected a Member of Parliament in 1916. During his parliamentary career, Pemberton-Billing was very vocal in his opposition to the activities of the Royal Aircraft Factory, Farnborough whom he considered was a waste of money as it was 'tinkering with science', rather than preparing to face the so-called 'Fokker scourge'.
He eventually sold the company to his factory manager, Hubert Scott-Paine during 1916 who renamed it as The Supermarine Aviation Works Limited.
Genealogy
1913 | Pemberton-Billing Limited |
1916 | Supermarine Aviation Works Limited |
1928 | Vickers Aviation Limited |
1928 | Vickers-Armstrongs Limited |
1954 | Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft) Limited |
1960 | British Aircraft Corporation |
1973 | British Aerospace |
1999 | BAE Systems |
Aircraft
1914 | P.B.1 | 1915 | P.B.25 |
1914 | P.B.9 | 1916 | P.B.29 |
1915 | P.B.23 |