British Power Boat Company
Encyclopedia
It was formed on 30 September 1927 when Hubert Scott-Paine
Hubert Scott-Paine
Hubert Scott-Paine was a British aircraft and boat designer, record-breaking power boat racer, entrepreneur, inventor, and sponsor of the winning entry in the 1922 Schneider Trophy.-Early life:...
bought and renamed the Hythe
Hythe, Hampshire
Hythe is a village near Southampton, Hampshire, England. It is located by the shore of Southampton Water, and has a ferry service connecting it to Southampton...
Shipyard with the intention of transforming it into one of the most modern mass production boat building yards in the country. Together with his chief designer, Fred Cooper, the company produced many racing boats which won numerous awards around Europe, including Miss England II
Miss England II
Miss England II was the name of the second of a series of speedboats used by Henry Segrave and Kaye Don to contest world water speed records in the 1920s and 1930s.- Design and construction :...
and Miss Britain III
Miss Britain III
Miss Britain III is a racing power boat designed and built by Hubert Scott-Paine, a British aircraft and boat designer.During 1932 Hubert Scott-Paine, owner of the British Power Boat Company and already a noted power boat racer, asked Rolls-Royce for a Rolls-Royce 'R' engine which had powered the...
.
From 1930 the British Power Boat Company supplied seaplane tender
Seaplane tender
A seaplane tender is a ship that provides facilities for operating seaplanes. These ships were the first aircraft carriers and appeared just before the First World War.-History:...
s to the Air Ministry
Air Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964...
, commencing with RAF200, a 37-footer. The trials of this and other boats was carried out by T E Shaw
T. E. Lawrence
Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence, CB, DSO , known professionally as T. E. Lawrence, was a British Army officer renowned especially for his liaison role during the Arab Revolt against Ottoman Turkish rule of 1916–18...
on behalf of the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
, and he and Scott-Paine worked together over the next few years.
The company marketed its own modified Napier Sea Lion
Napier Lion
The Napier Lion was a 12-cylinder broad arrow configuration aircraft engine built by Napier & Son starting in 1917, and ending in the 1930s. A number of advanced features made it the most powerful engine of its day, and kept it in production long after contemporary designs had stopped production...
engines under the name "Power" Marine Engines.
On 3 August 1931 the factory burnt to the ground, but was rapidly rebuilt as the most modern and efficient boatyard in Britain. Motor Torpedo Boat
Motor Torpedo Boat
Motor Torpedo Boat was the name given to fast torpedo boats by the Royal Navy, and the Royal Canadian Navy.The capitalised term is generally used for the Royal Navy boats and abbreviated to "MTB"...
s with a hard chine
Chine (boating)
A chine in boating refers to a sharp angle in the hull, as compared to the rounded bottoms of most traditional boat hulls. The term hard chine indicates an angle with little rounding, where a soft chine would be more rounded, but still involve the meeting of distinct planes. Chine log...
were designed, built, and increasingly sold to the British Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
. Armoured target boats were also built for the RAF, proving very successful and cost-effective, together with tenders for Imperial Airways
Imperial Airways
Imperial Airways was the early British commercial long range air transport company, operating from 1924 to 1939 and serving parts of Europe but especially the Empire routes to South Africa, India and the Far East...
flying boat
Flying boat
A flying boat is a fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a float plane as it uses a purpose-designed fuselage which can float, granting the aircraft buoyancy. Flying boats may be stabilized by under-wing floats or by wing-like projections from the fuselage...
s, and admiral's barges.
In 1939, due to the difficulties in obtaining British engines, Scott-Paine took PT-9 to the US to enable Elco
Electric Launch Company
The Electric Launch Company, later renamed Elco Motor Yachts, is a United States boat building and electric motor company that has operated from 1893 until present . It was originally run by Henry R. Sutphen in 1895...
to mass-produce PT boats using Packard
Packard
Packard was an American luxury-type automobile marque built by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, and later by the Studebaker-Packard Corporation of South Bend, Indiana...
motors.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the British Power Boat Company built large numbers of Motor Torpedo Boat
Motor Torpedo Boat
Motor Torpedo Boat was the name given to fast torpedo boats by the Royal Navy, and the Royal Canadian Navy.The capitalised term is generally used for the Royal Navy boats and abbreviated to "MTB"...
s, High Speed Motor Launch
British Power Boat Company Type Two 63 ft HSL
The 63 foot long Type 2 High Speed Launch, known as the Whaleback from the distinctive curve to its deck, was a high speed launch class ship used in air-sea rescue to save Allied aircrew from the sea after they were shot down during the Second World War....
es, and Motor Gun Boat
Motor Gun Boat
Motor Gun Boat was a Royal Navy term for a small military vessel of the Second World War. They were physically similar to the Motor Torpedo Boats but equipped with a mix of guns instead of torpedoes. Their small size and high speed made them difficult targets for E-boats or torpedo bombers, but...
s (previously known as Motor Anti-Submarine Boats), being credited with saving the lives of over 13,000 service personnel.
All unfinished contracts were cancelled at the cessation of hostilities and the British Power Boat Company closed in 1946.
See also
- Fairmile MarineFairmile MarineFairmile Marine was a British boat building company founded in 1939 by the car manufacturer Noel Macklin.Macklin used the garage at his home at Cobham Fairmile in Surrey for manufacturing assembly which is why the boats he designed came to be called Fairmiles....
- VospersVosper & CompanyVosper & Company, often referred to simply as Vospers, was a British shipbuilding company based in Portsmouth, England.-History:The Company was established in 1871 by Herbert Edward Vosper, concentrating on ship repair and refitting work....
- Electric Launch CompanyElectric Launch CompanyThe Electric Launch Company, later renamed Elco Motor Yachts, is a United States boat building and electric motor company that has operated from 1893 until present . It was originally run by Henry R. Sutphen in 1895...
- British Coastal Forces of World War II