Miss Britain III
Encyclopedia
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:...
, a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
aircraft and boat designer.
During 1932 Hubert Scott-Paine, owner of the British Power Boat Company
British Power Boat Company
The British Power Boat Company was a British manufacturer of motor boats, particularly racing boats and later military patrol boats.It was formed on 30 September 1927 when Hubert Scott-Paine bought and renamed the Hythe Shipyard with the intention of transforming it into one of the most modern mass...
and already a noted power boat racer, asked Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce Limited
Rolls-Royce Limited was a renowned British car and, from 1914 on, aero-engine manufacturing company founded by Charles Stewart Rolls and Henry Royce on 15 March 1906 as the result of a partnership formed in 1904....
for a (2,500 hp) Rolls-Royce 'R' engine
Rolls-Royce R
The Rolls-Royce R was a British aero engine designed and built specifically for air racing purposes by Rolls-Royce Limited. Nineteen R engines were assembled in a limited production run between 1929 and 1931...
which had powered the winning Supermarine S6B entrant in the 1931 Schneider Trophy
Schneider Trophy
The Coupe d'Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider was a prize competition for seaplanes. Announced by Jacques Schneider, a financier, balloonist and aircraft enthusiast, in 1911, it offered a prize of roughly £1,000. The race was held eleven times between 1913 and 1931...
challenge. He was planning a single-engined challenge to Garfield 'Gar' Wood who held the Harmsworth Trophy with his Miss America X speedboat, a monster of 38 ft (11.6 m) with 4 engines totalling 7,800 horsepower
Horsepower
Horsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...
. No engine was then available so there the matter rested.
In February 1933, with the success of his Power-Napier engine to which he had exclusive rights, Scott-Paine issued his challenge for the Harmsworth Trophy. Within a period of less than ten weeks he had designed and built Miss Britain III in conditions of great secrecy at his 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...
workshops. The result was revolutionary, with stringers of metal-reinforced wood and aluminium cladding, a single 1350 hp Napier 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...
VIID engine, and a length of only 24 in 6 in (7.47 m) The attention to detail is evident in the thousands of duralumin countersunk screws with the slots all in line with the water or air flow. George Selman, one of the country's leading propellor experts, designed a new propellor after the existing designs proved unsatisfactory. Testing was carried out in great secrecy on Southampton Water
Southampton Water
Southampton Water is a tidal estuary north of the Solent and the Isle of Wight in England. The city of Southampton lies at its most northerly point. Along its salt marsh-fringed western shores lie the New Forest villages of Hythe and "the waterside", Dibden Bay, and the Esso oil refinery at Fawley...
in the early dawn.
St. Clair River
The St. Clair River is a river in central North America which drains Lake Huron into Lake St Clair, forming part of the international boundary between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Michigan...
at Algonac, Michigan
Algonac, Michigan
Algonac is a city in St. Clair County of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,613 at the 2000 census.Algonac is located at the southern end of the St. Clair River, just before it splits into a large delta region known as the St. Clair Flats. The St. Clair River drains Lake Huron into...
on 4 September. The David and Goliath contest was very closely fought but Gar Wood managed to win by a small margin - average speed 86.937 mi/h against 85.789. Scott-Paine returned to Britain to a hero's welcome.
Following a fire on board which was quickly put out and the boat repaired, a record breaking attempt was made on 16 November 1933 on Southampton Water. Scott-Paine and Gordon Thomas became the first men to travel at over 100 mi/h in a single-engined boat, and this record remained for 50 years.
Miss Britain III was taken to Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
in 1934 where Scott-Paine won both the Prince of Piedmont's Cup and the Count Volpi Trophy, setting a world record for a single-engined boat of 110.1 mi/h in salt water.
In 1951 Scott-Paine presented Miss Britain III to the National Maritime Museum
National Maritime Museum
The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England is the leading maritime museum of the United Kingdom and may be the largest museum of its kind in the world. The historic buildings forming part of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site, it also incorporates the Royal Observatory, Greenwich,...
where it remains on view.