| Pemberton-Billing P.B.1 | |
|---|---|
The P.B. 1 on display at theOlympia Exhibition, London in March 1914 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Single-seatflying boat |
| National origin | United Kingdom |
| Manufacturer | Pemberton-Billing Limited |
| Designer | |
| Status | dismantled |
| Number built | 1 |
| History | |
| First flight | 1914 (although it may never have flown) |
ThePemberton-Billing P.B.1,[nb 1] sometimes known as theSupermarine, was a 1910s British single-seat flying-boat built byPemberton-Billing Limited, which later became the Supermarine Aviation Works. Only one P.B.1 was built, and it never flew any distance further than a hop.
The P.B.1 was a single-seat open cockpit biplane powered by a 50 hp (36 kW) Gnome rotary engine driving a three-bladedpusher propeller,[3] which was mounted in atractor configuration nacelle between the upper wings and the fuselage. It had a single-step hull designed by thenaval architectLinton Hope, with aspruce skin over amahogany structure, and covered with waterproof fabric. It had two-bay wings constructed of spruce andAsh, withailerons on the upper wing and floats under the lower wingtips. The pilot sat in a cockpit aft of the wing trailing edge.[4][5]
Described as "a boat that will fly, [instead of] an aeroplane that will float",[3] only one P.B.1 was built;[3] the prototype was displayed at the Olympia Aero Show in March 1914.[3] It was rebuilt during April 1914, with the pilot's cockpit moved forward to the nose of the aircraft, and the Gnome engine mounted on top of the fuselage, driving two 3-bladedpusher propellers via chain drives. Following the modifications, the P.B.1 entered testing, but failed to achieve flight during testing onSouthampton Water on 30 May 1914.[6]Noel Pemberton Billing, the head of Pemberton-Billing Limited and designer of the PB.1, claimed that the aircraft made a short hop during June,[6] but other sources state that the PB.1 never flew.[7][8]
Following the conclusion of the attempted flight testing, the P.B.1 was dismantled on 28 July 1914, with its engine being used in thePemberton-Billing P.B.9 single seat scout aircraft.[1]
Data from British Flying Boats[9]
General characteristics
Performance
Related lists
