the
Schneider Trophy
The Schneider prize
for seaplanes was first announced by Jaques Schneider, the
French Under-Secretary for Air, in 1911, with a prize of the
then huge amount of 1,000 pounds. It was meant to encourage
progress in civil aviation but became a contest primarily
about speed.
In the twenties it
was a spur to aircraft development and in the end was seen
as a test of nation's strengths in aviation technology. It
was largely due to the Schneider trophy that aircraft speeds
rose from 150 mph at the end of the First World War, to over
400 mph in 1931. The race gave birth to the Spitfire and the
Italian Macchi fighters and established the low drag liquid
cooled engine as the fast fighter designers principal choice
for power. A fashion that only died with the success of the
German FW 190 and the American Corsair and Thunderbolt.
Britain won the
trophy in 1914. After the war the first contest, in 1919,
was declared void by the judges. In 1920 and 1921 the
contest was won by the Italians. The rules said that any
nation that won the trophy three years in succession could
keep it. So it was a close run thing when the Britain's
Supermarine SeaLion snatched victory by tactical flying in
the 1922 race with a speed of 145mph.
The next year saw a
technical revolution in the shape of the American Curtiss
floatplanes with their in-line liquid cooled engines. The
Curtiss won with a speed of 177mph. Mr C.R. Fairey of the
Fairey Aircraft Company was so impressed with the new
engines, he purchased some and fitted them to a new light
bomber, the Fairey Fox. The Fox was so fast that no
RAF fighter
could catch it. An example of how the race was prompting
aircraft development.
The
1924 contest was declared void since no other nation turned
up to challenge the Americans. In 1925 R.J. Mitchell`s
Supermarine S4 was entered but crashed before the race, the
pilot was saved. The Americans won in an aircraft piloted by
James Doolittle, who later went on to win fame with his
audacious raid on Tokyo during WW2. The winning speed was
232mph.
The Italians came
back forcefully in 1926 with their new sleek Macchi M39
winning at 246mph. The British were not ready to compete
that year. In 1927 Mitchell`s new aircraft, the S5, was
ready, in fact the British aircraft industry was there in
strength with entries from the Gloster and Shorts companies
as well. The effort was only made possible by the backing of
the British Government, which also allowed the R.A.F. to
participate in the form of serving pilots in the "high speed
flight". Two S5s took first and second place and the winning
speed was 281 mph.
After that all
nations agreed that a two year gap was needed between races.
Aircraft and engines were getting more complex and two years
was needed to introduce innovations. So the next contest was
held in 1929. However there was a crash of an S5 in which
Flt Lt Kinkead of the High Speed Flight was Killed in 1928.
In 1929 Supermarine
had the new S6 ready. This was powered by a new engine from
Rolls-Royce called the "R" that was capable of producing the
then staggering power of 1,900 horsepower. The Italians were
determined to win the trophy that year, they had an engine
of similar power but it weighed a lot more than the
Rolls-Royce creation. The Supermarine won with a speed of
328 mph. However, not long afterwards, the British
Government withdrew financial support and the British
prospect for 1931 looked bleak.
Schneider Trophy winner 1929,
F/O HR Waghorn, Supermarine S6
The extreme patriot,
Lady Houston stepped in however and gave 100,000 pounds
towards the costs. The R engine was boosted to 2,000
horsepower. Come the day of the race the Supermarine S6B was
the only entry. It clocked up 340 mph to win, and one run
was clocked at 379 mph, a new World speed record. It did not
last for long however since the S6B broke it again two weeks
later, raising it to a staggering 407 mph.
The Schneider trophy
was therefore won outright by Britain. In the process many
steps forward in aviation had taken place. |