Race for the sky......
Britain's quest for the Schneider trophy
Flying's most famous prize was first contested in France in 1913 and passed into British ownership for keeps in 1931. This is the fascinating story of how it was all made possible by a brilliant young designer and an eccentric widow.
It was over the River Solent on 13 September 1931 that Flight Lieutenant John Boothman flew a Supermarine S6b at an average speed of 340mph around a triangular course to win the trophy for the third straight time. It brought the curtain down on a contest that had been conceived at a banquet in Paris 19 years earlier and had held the aviation world in thrall.
But Britain's triumph nearly didn't happen. The trophy, which now resides permanently in the Science Museum in London, was won only because of the brilliance of a young aircraft designer and the patriotism and financial muscle of an eccentric widow.
Air racing was born six years after four lifeguards and a boy witnessed Orville Wright, with the assistance of his brother, Wilbur, fly 39 metres in 12 seconds along the beach at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on 17 December 1903 and less than two months after Louis Bleriot had flown across the Channel in 1909. Reims hosted the world's first air races, sponsored by Gordon Bennett, the American publisher of the New York Herald and the Paris Herald. The main event was won by Bennett's compatriot, Glenn Curtiss, who was pronounced 'the champion aviator of the world'.
The Wright brothers had declined to compete in Reims, but on a visit to Le Mans to demonstrate their aircraft a year earlier Wilbur Wright had met Jacques Schneider, France's under minister for air. Already a keen balloonist, Schneider became obsessed with powered flight and the possibilities of commercial aviation. Schneider believed that, since most of the world's major cities were built on coasts or major rivers, float planes would be the way ahead.
The son of a wealthy armaments dealer, Schneider was not short of a centime or two and in 1912 he commissioned La Coupe Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider to find the fastest seaplane, with 75,000 francs for the winner. He also decreed that the competition would be wound up when one country won his trophy three times in a row.
It was over the River Solent on 13 September 1931 that Flight Lieutenant John Boothman flew a Supermarine S6b at an average speed of 340mph around a triangular course to win the trophy for the third straight time. It brought the curtain down on a contest that had been conceived at a banquet in Paris 19 years earlier and had held the aviation world in thrall.
But Britain's triumph nearly didn't happen. The trophy, which now resides permanently in the Science Museum in London, was won only because of the brilliance of a young aircraft designer and the patriotism and financial muscle of an eccentric widow.
Air racing was born six years after four lifeguards and a boy witnessed Orville Wright, with the assistance of his brother, Wilbur, fly 39 metres in 12 seconds along the beach at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on 17 December 1903 and less than two months after Louis Bleriot had flown across the Channel in 1909. Reims hosted the world's first air races, sponsored by Gordon Bennett, the American publisher of the New York Herald and the Paris Herald. The main event was won by Bennett's compatriot, Glenn Curtiss, who was pronounced 'the champion aviator of the world'.
The Wright brothers had declined to compete in Reims, but on a visit to Le Mans to demonstrate their aircraft a year earlier Wilbur Wright had met Jacques Schneider, France's under minister for air. Already a keen balloonist, Schneider became obsessed with powered flight and the possibilities of commercial aviation. Schneider believed that, since most of the world's major cities were built on coasts or major rivers, float planes would be the way ahead.
The son of a wealthy armaments dealer, Schneider was not short of a centime or two and in 1912 he commissioned La Coupe Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider to find the fastest seaplane, with 75,000 francs for the winner. He also decreed that the competition would be wound up when one country won his trophy three times in a row.
The first Schneider Trophy, held in Monaco in April 1913, attracted three entries from France and one from America. France's Maurice Prevost won, but only after some controversy. Prevost landed on the Mediterranean and taxied across the line, which broke the rule that only the first half of the first lap was to be completed 'in contact with the water'. Roland Garros, after whom the French Open tennis venue would be named because of his flying feats, saw the opportunity to make up for mechanical failure earlier on and took off again. Prevost responded with another go of his own and won at an average speed of 45.75mph.
Britain's first assault on the trophy in Monaco in 1914 saw them join Germany, Switzerland and the US in trying to relieve France of the title. The British entry made an inauspicious start, the Sopwith Tabloid biplane turning over and sinking as soon as it got on the water. Luckily, Pilot C Howard Pixton was thrown clear and the plane recovered. After hasty repairs, the Tabloid went back into action and broke the opposition monoplanes of Prevost and Garros with a winning speed of 86.6mph.
Bournemouth was chosen as the venue for the return of the Schneider Trophy after the First World War. In September 1919, huge crowds gathered along the course, but after planes from France and Italy got lost in fog, the event was cancelled. This enraged the Italians, who, despite the weather, completed the course in the fastest time - faster than their plane's known top speed. As a result, Italy was chosen as host for the following year.
Venice in 1920 and 1921 were non-events. Because of the economic climate, no one showed up to take on the Italians in 1920, and the following year the lone challenger from France failed to get airborne. This was immaterial to the Italians, who revelled in Luigi Bologna's victory at nearly 106mph in 1920, a speed raised by 12mph the next year by Giovanni de Briganti in a Macchi. Italy were now within one win of keeping the trophy.
In 1922 the event moved to Naples, where the Italians finally had some opposition. France sent two entries and Britain returned with a Supermarine Sea Lion designed by RJ Mitchell. A brilliant aeronautical engineer, Mitchell was 24 when made chief designer at major aircraft manufacturers Supermarine in Southampton in 1919. His work with seaplanes was not only vital to Britain's Schneider Trophy success, but also to the country as a whole. What he learnt from designing high-speed aircraft for racing he incorporated into his most famous design, the Supermarine Spitfire. Mitchell's Sea Lion triumphed in Naples, 145mph being coaxed out of it by pilot Henry Biard.
Britain's first assault on the trophy in Monaco in 1914 saw them join Germany, Switzerland and the US in trying to relieve France of the title. The British entry made an inauspicious start, the Sopwith Tabloid biplane turning over and sinking as soon as it got on the water. Luckily, Pilot C Howard Pixton was thrown clear and the plane recovered. After hasty repairs, the Tabloid went back into action and broke the opposition monoplanes of Prevost and Garros with a winning speed of 86.6mph.
Bournemouth was chosen as the venue for the return of the Schneider Trophy after the First World War. In September 1919, huge crowds gathered along the course, but after planes from France and Italy got lost in fog, the event was cancelled. This enraged the Italians, who, despite the weather, completed the course in the fastest time - faster than their plane's known top speed. As a result, Italy was chosen as host for the following year.
Venice in 1920 and 1921 were non-events. Because of the economic climate, no one showed up to take on the Italians in 1920, and the following year the lone challenger from France failed to get airborne. This was immaterial to the Italians, who revelled in Luigi Bologna's victory at nearly 106mph in 1920, a speed raised by 12mph the next year by Giovanni de Briganti in a Macchi. Italy were now within one win of keeping the trophy.
In 1922 the event moved to Naples, where the Italians finally had some opposition. France sent two entries and Britain returned with a Supermarine Sea Lion designed by RJ Mitchell. A brilliant aeronautical engineer, Mitchell was 24 when made chief designer at major aircraft manufacturers Supermarine in Southampton in 1919. His work with seaplanes was not only vital to Britain's Schneider Trophy success, but also to the country as a whole. What he learnt from designing high-speed aircraft for racing he incorporated into his most famous design, the Supermarine Spitfire. Mitchell's Sea Lion triumphed in Naples, 145mph being coaxed out of it by pilot Henry Biard.
The Americans sent Navy and Army entries to Cowes in 1923. It was estimated that more than one million people saw the US Navy's Lieutenant David Rittenhouse speed to victory at 177mph, with Britain in third behind the other US plane. The Americans sportingly postponed the next challenge for a year to let the opposition prepare their planes. They still retained the trophy, though, when 1st Lt James Doolittle won the title. Now America were only one win from permanent possession of the Schneider Trophy, but they lost out to Italy in 1926 in Norfolk, Virginia. The Italians enjoyed the considerable backing of Mussolini's government and Major Mario Bernardi clocked 248mph in his Mario Castoldi-designed Macchi to clinch victory.
The Schneider Trophy now developed into a duel between Castoldi and Mitchell. In Venice in 1927, Flt Lt Sidney Webster reclaimed the trophy for Britain in a Mitchell-designed Supermarine S5, averaging more than 280mph. This was an RAF enterprise with government backing. Shortly before the contest, the RAF formed the High Speed Flight with Air Ministry blessing in order to prepare for the race. A crowd of around 200,000 lined Venice's Lido to see Webster's win.
It was decided in 1928, shortly after Schneider's death, that the race should be held every two years so that teams could prepare properly. When the 1929 encounter came around there was huge anticipation. The extra year had given Mitchell the opportunity to engage the services of Henry Royce to build a more powerful engine. Castoldi's Macchis had proved fast but fragile in testing and the Italians feared the worst. General Italo Balbo, who led the Italian team, asked the Royal Aero Club for more time to prepare but was refused. On race day, more than a million people lined the Solent as Flt Lt Henry Waghorn topped 328mph over the 217-mile course to claim another victory for Britain and Supermarine.
The Schneider Trophy had become a source of huge national pride. Mussolini was deeply depressed by Italy's poor showing and threw even more resources at Castoldi and his Fiat-engined Macchi planes. The British government did just the opposite and withdrew funding for 1931. Into the breach stepped Lady Lucy Houston with a gift of £100,000 to the High Speed Flight. Lady Houston had been a chorus girl. Aged 16, she eloped to Paris with a wealthy brewer called Frederick Gretton, who left her £6,000 a year for life when he died. After her first marriage ended in divorce, she became an active suffragette during her second marriage to Lord Byron, a descendant of the poet. Widowed, she married the shipping magnate Sir Robert Houston. He died in 1926, leaving her £5.5 million.
Neither the French nor the Italians, blighted by more accidents - one of them fatal, turned up in 1931. But that did not stop the race going ahead. Britain won unopposed, with John Boothman flying the Supermarine S6b to victory. Later in the month George Stainforth took the plane with its Rolls Royce engine through the 400mph barrier.
The Schneider Trophy in its original guise lasted 19 years, but never really achieved its aim of helping develop commercial air travel. It did, however, provide the platform for the most successful fighter of the Second World War, although Mitchell never saw his Rolls Royce Merlin-powered Spitfire in action. He died of cancer in 1937, aged 42. Lady Houston had died the year before, having become so depressed about the abdication crisis that she gave up eating and suffered a heart attack.
Britain had won the race for the sky in glorious fashion and had placed the float plane firmly in the hearts of the people.