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Cranston Fine Arts  Aviation Art Inter War Period  Schneider Trophy |
[UP] - Aircraft - Schneider Trophy - Inter War Aviation Print List |
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Jimmys Record by Stan Stokes. Following WW I the United States sharply curtailed its military budget, which slowed the progress in aviation quite a bit. However, one bright spot was the series of international race competitions, which lead to improved aircraft designs, and more powerful and reliable aviation engines. The greatest catalyst behind the technical improvements to in-line, water-cooled engines between the wars was the Schneider Trophy races. The 1925 Schneider Trophy contest was scheduled for Baltimore, Maryland in October. The United States Army and the Navy agreed to work together for the 1925 race and commissioned the construction of three Curtiss R3C-2 racers. The Curtiss racers would utilize the proven wood and plywood-skin construction with an upgraded engine capable of generating more than 600-HP. A new drop-forged, duraluminum Reed propeller was utilized, as were a slight change in pontoon design. On September 11, 1925 the new design was rolled out for its maiden test flight. Lt. Jimmy Doolittle of the Army lost the toss to Navy Lt. Al Williams, so Williams took the new bird off for its first flight. The site for the Schneider Cup was a 31 mile triangular course laid out over the Chesapeake Bay and an inlet to Baltimore Harbor. The course would be flown seven times necessitating a total of twenty-one pylon turns. The site had been built by the Baltimore Flying Club from scratch. The weather on October 24 turned awful with 60-MPH gusts. The decision was made to postpone the race until Monday the 26th. The weather was moderate on the 26th with 2-3 waves on the Bay. By noon the water had calmed, the winds had died down and the morning haze had burned off. It was perfect for racing. A Naval Air Pageant proceeded the race, and a TC-5 Navy Airship soared into position near the start/finish line. At 2:30 PM Lt. Doolittle left the hangar ramp and taxied to the start line. Giving the Curtiss full throttle Jimmy took off after a short run, and climbed quickly to about 300 feet. The other contestants followed at five minute intervals. From the beginning it appeared that Doolittle would be a runaway winner. Beating the previous record average race speed by a whopping 54-MPH, Doolittle would complete the course with an average speed of 230-MPH. The following day Doolittle would set a new world record for sea planes with 246-MPH over a straight course. The British and Italian teams took their defeat bitterly. Jimmy Doolittle, who lost only one race that he entered during his racing career, would go on to aviation greatness, leading the famous B-25 raid on Tokyo, and as C.O. of the Eighth Air Force. |
Schneider Trophy Race, 1931 by Ivan Berryman. Flt Lt John Boothman completes a victory run over the packed pier at Ryde, Isle of Wight as he wins the Schneider Trophy in Supermarine S6B, S1595 at a speed of 340mph. Later the same day, its sister aircraft S1596 broke the world air speed record at 379 mph, flown by Flt. Lt Stainforth. |
A Moment of Triumph by Gerald Coulson. On the afternoon of Sunday, 13th September 1931, Flt. Lt J N Bootham, RAF, in a Southampton-built S6B seaplane, tore through the skies over the Solent to average 340.08mph round a 217-mile course. This fly-over was sufficient for Great Britain to gain the Schneider Trophy outright since it meant that the event had been won on three consecutive occasions. That it nearly didn't happen is part of the history of British Aviation, only timely sponsorship saving the whole Supermarine programme. So ended an era in aviation history which, with hindsight, proved so important for the free world as it was from this remarkably-advanced design of airframe and engine that R J Mitchells most famous aircraft of all time, the Spitfire, was developed. Without the advances brought on by the development of the Supermarine racing seaplanes, it is doubtful that the technology required for the Spitfire would have been so readily available. The Merlin and Griffon engines from Rolls Royce were also part of this programme. These were to be the mainstay of the British Aircraft Industry during World War II and become a legend in their own right. A replica of the aircraft which went on to set world air speed records can be seen in the Southampton Hall of Aviation, together with the legendary Spitfire. The Schneider Trophy was won outright by Great Britain on September 13th 1931. Flight Lieutenant J N Boothman flying S6B S1595, completed the seven laps at an average speed of 340.08mph. Fg Off Leonard Snaith and Flt Lt Freddy Long were the first and second reserve pilots of the 1931 GB Schneider Trophy team, behind J N Boothman. |
Tribute to David Rittenhouse by Ivan Berryman. The Schneider Trophy is one of the best known air races in history, but excluding a modern revival, there were only 12 of the events held between 1913 and 1931 when Britain won the trophy outright. This painting shows the first of two American winners of the prestigeous competition - Lt. David Rittenhouse of the US Navy - taking off in his Curtiss CR-3 Racer from the Solent on 27th September 1923. With an average speed of 177mph, he was the first competitor to exceed 150mph. When the competition was next held just two years later, the winning average speed was now more than 230mph and the winner was the only other American to win the trophy - one James Doolittle, who went on to become a famous wartime General. |
Supermarine S6.B - Schneider Trophy by Ivan Berryman. The Supermarine S6.B, the forerunner to the Spitfire which would become so famous during World War Two, won the Schneider Trophy outright in 1931. |
Supermarine S6.B at Calshot, 1931 by Ivan Berryman. A Supermarine S6.B runs up its engine in preparation for the Schneider Trophy race. The aircraft would go on to win the trophy outright. |
Supermarine S6.B Engine Change by Ivan Berryman. The Supermarine S6.B was the aircraft famed for winning the Schneider Trophy outright in 1931. Here, the Rolls Royce R engine is being lowered into the body of the aircraft. The engine cover on the aircraft was so large that when it was removed, there was very little left except a void where the engine would be. |
Schneider Trophy Winner by Michael Turner. Flt.Lt. John Boothman takes off from Calshot in his Supermarine S6B to win the 1931 Schneider Trophy. |
The Schneider Trophy 1923 by Kenneth McDonough. Lt David Rittenhouse USN leading Lt Rutledge Irvine USN in a Curtiss CR-3 to win the 1923 Schneider Trophy race held at Cowes, Isle of Wight, England on September 27th. |
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