Editing Supermarine (section)

====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.<ref name=Dispersal>{{cite web |title= The Dispersal (1940–1941) | date= 7 September 2017 | publisher= The Supermariners |url= https://supermariners.wordpress.com/stories/the-dispersal-1940-1941/ |access-date= 26 March 2018 }}</ref>

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.{{sfn|Walpole|2004|p=18}}<ref name=Howman77>{{cite book |last1=Howman |first1=Karl|last2=Cetintas |first2=Ethan|last3=Clarke |first3=Gavin |date=2020 |title=Secret Spitfires: Britain's Hidden Civilian Army  |publisher=The History Press |page=77 |isbn=978-0-7509-9199-5}}</ref>

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.{{sfn|McKinstry|2007|p=250}} Eventually there were 250 sub-contractors supplying 60{{sfn|McKinstry|2007|pp=253{{ndash}}255}} 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).<ref name=Aeroflight/> An additional area around Winchester and Chandler's Ford was linked to the main design base at Hursley Park.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

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.{{sfn|McKinstry|2007|p=253}}
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.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

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.{{sfn|McKinstry|2007|p=253}}

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.<ref name="Dispersal" /><ref>{{cite web |title= Supermarine dispersal sites in and around Southampton | publisher= airfieldresearchgroup.org.uk |url= https://www.airfieldresearchgroup.org.uk/forum/general-discussion/14413-supermarine-dispersal-sites-in-and-around-southampton |access-date= 4 April 2018 }}</ref>

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, Wiltshire|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.{{sfn|McKinstry|2007|p=253}} 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.<ref>{{cite web |title= Discovering the history of Trowbridge Spitfires and RAF Melksham. What role did your town play during World War Two? |publisher= Forces War Records |date= 25 February 2016 |url= https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/blog/2016/02/25/discovering-the-history-of-trowbridge-spitfires-and-raf-melksham-what-role-did-your-town-play-during-world-war-two |access-date= 4 April 2018 }}</ref>

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.{{sfn|Walpole|2004|p=17}} 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.{{sfn|McKinstry|2007|p=253}}

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.{{cn|date=May 2025}}