GeeBee
Z
SEPTEMBER 7,
1931. Eight racing aircraft, some of the fastest land planes
in the world, were lined up for the start of the Thompson
trophy race at Cleveland, Ohio. The field consisted of
Lowell Bayles in a Gee Bee Model Z, Jimmy Doolittle in his
Laird "Super Solution", Jim Wedell in a Wedell-Williams
Special, Ben O. Howard in his Howard "Pete", Dale Jackson in
a Laird "Solution", Bill Ong in a Laird Speedwing, Ira Eaker
in a Lockheed Altair, and Bob Hall in a Gee Bee Model Y. The
Thompson was a ten lap race of 100 miles and was the climax
of the National air races.
As the
starter's flag dropped, all conversation was lost in the
roar of the eight powerful engines as the entries blasted
toward the first pylon one mile away. Doolittle was the
first pilot to make the turn but soon his "Super Solution"
began trailing black smoke from a broken piston. Gamely he
tried to hold his position. On the second lap, Bayles in his
Gee Bee Z, "City of Springfield", took the lead. Dale
Jackson had a narrow escape from tragedy as he brushed a
tree, but he continued to race. Bayles continued to extend
his lead. On the seventh lap. Doolittle was forced to
retire. Bayles roared across the finish line at an average
speed of 236.2 mph, culminating a week of triumphs for the
Gee Bee team. Bob Hall finished fourth in the Model Y at a
speed of 201 mph. The Gee Bees had nearly dominated the 1931
National air races and the Model Z had won every contest in
which it was entered. The Granville brothers, the guiding
spirits of the Gee Bees, returned to Springfield,
Massachusetts, at one of the high points of their careers,
unaware of the rocky road that lay before them in the years
to come.
Mention the
Gee Bee racers and most people recall only the many
accidents that befell these aircraft and their pilots. Over
the years, various articles have pictured these craft as
"killers", "the most dangerous aircraft ever built", etc.,
and the inaccurate impression has been given that the
Granville brothers were "backyard builders", simply adding
more and more horsepower to inherently unstable airframes.
Actually several competent engineers were always on their
staff, wind tunnel research was utilized and their
construction methods were always of the highest calibre.
Some crashes did occur through human error or on aircraft
that had passed from the influence of the Granvilles.
Unfortunately, it seemed that the Granvilles bore the brunt
of criticism for factors beyond their control. Irresponsible
members of the press equated the name "Gee Bee" with
spectacular crashes.
The children
of Wilfred and Belle Granville, Zantford (Granny), Robert.
Tom. Edward. SIark and sisters Pearl and Gladys, were
originally from Madison, New Hampshire. Granny, the oldest
child, was a self-taught automobile mechanic with an
eighth-grade education who had an affinity for anything
mechanical and thrived on hard work. When Granny was 17 he
moved to the Boston area where he took a job selling
Chevrolets. A year later he established an auto repair
business in Arlington where he sold Chevrolets and did
service work. At the age of 20, he appeared at the East
Boston airport where he exchanged his services as a mechanic
for flight instruction.
Leaning more
and more toward aviation, in 1922 Granny summoned his
brother, Tom, to run the auto repair business while he went
to work as a mechanic with the Boston Airport Corporation.
Deciding to go into business for himself. he established
Granville Brothers Aircraft and was joined shortly
thereafter by his three remaining brothers. Granny's
mechanical sense told him that he could improve upon the
designs of many of the craft on which he was working. He and
his brothers spent their spare time building a side-by-side
biplane powered by a 55 hp engine that they had bought for
$500. Known as the Model A, it had its first flight at 5:30
a.m. on May 3, 1929.
Searching
for adequate facilities to manufacture their biplane, the
Granvilles contacted the chamber of commerce of Springfield,
Massachusetts, on May 17, 1929, and on July 6 finalized
plans to locate at the airport there. Hoping to attract
backers to finance production of their Gee Bees, they
entered their first air meet at Springfield on July 10. Here
they met the four Tait brothers, James, Harry, Frank and
George, owners of Springfield's biggest ice cream and dairy
business, as well as developers of the Springfield airport.
George Tait handed Granny a check for $1,000 and told him to
come back after he had put "a real engine" in their plane.
Returning to Boston, they purchased an Armstrong Siddeley
"Genet" engine of 85 hp which greatly enhanced the
performance of their prototype. A few weeks later, Granville
Brothers was incorporated, building planes in an abandoned
dance pavilion formerly named the Venetian Gardens at the
Springfield airport
Among the
first workers on their staff were Albert Axtman, Austin
Savary and Harry Jones. A secretary was hired and three
college educated engineers were added to the rolls. These
were the "Three Bobs", Bob Hall, Bob Ayre, and Bob Dexter,
all of whom went on to successful careers in aviation.
Fitted with a Kinner K-5 engine, nine of the Model A's were
built and sold before the depression-plagued market dried
up.
Hard times
descended on the Granvilles. Ed and Mark rented an attic
room and lived on beans which they purchased by the case. In
the fall of 1929, few men had the money to purchase anything
as frivolous as a personal airplane and the new corporation
was on the verge of collapse when the All America Flying
Derby was organized and sponsored by American Cirrus
Engines, Inc. This was to be the longest air race held in
the world at the time-a 5,541-mile course that took the
contestants from Detroit to Texas, west to California, and
back to Detroit. All the entries were powered by one of the
engines manufactured by the sponsor, either the Cirrus or
Ensign engine. Eighteen entries competed in this event and
the Granvilles were among them. The engineering team,
spearheaded by Bob Hall, had produced the Model X, a trim
little low-wing monoplane finished in black and white,
powered by an American Cirrus engine supercharged by a Roots
blower (positive displacement) to develop 110 hp at 2100
rpm. The Model X was flown by Lowell Bayles, a quiet, slim
bachelor who was flying as copilot on the Fords the Tait's
owned and operated between Boston, Springfield and Albany
Bayles was
born in Mason, Illinois. He had studied to be a mining
engineer but, after taking some flying lessons, was bitten
hard by "the flying bug". He bought a war surplus Jenny and
joined the legion of barnstormers who were attempting to eke
out an existence by "hopping" passengers from the pastures
of America. In Leesburg, Florida, Bayles had met Roscoe
Brinton and, together, they had returned to
Springfield where both became involved in aviation
activities, later teaming to form Brinton-Bayles Flying
Service.
On July 21,
1930, the All America Derby began in Detroit. Ten of the
entries completed the course and Bayles finished second,
averaging 116.4 mph. The Gee Bee had demonstrated its
dependability, although at one point Bayles had landed in a
farmer's pasture and procured a piece of bailing wire to
make some quick engine repairs. Lee Gehlbach won this event
and later played a prominent role in the Gee Bee story,
flying the larger and more famous racers.
Bayles later
bought the Gee Bee X, NR49V, and used it for his personal
transportation. Unfortunately, it was lost when
Roscoe Brinton was forced to bail out of it during an
air show in New Hampshire. Always the showman, upon being
trucked back to the field, Brinton mounted the platform and
told the crowd, "You wouldn't get a show like that in the
National air races for what you paid here."
A total of
nine of these Sportsters were built with a number of
different powerplants. Eventually those with in-line engines
were referred to as Model D's, while those with radial
engines were called Model E's. The official CAA report on
the Menasco powered Sportster gave it the highest ratings in
every respect. During certification tests it took off in
nine seconds after a run of only 360 feet. Its rate of climb
was 1,100 feet per minute. Prices ranged from approximately
$4,800 to $5,500 depending on the powerplant selected.
Later in
1930, a larger version of this Sportster evolved, known as
the Senior Sportster and designated as the Model Y. Only two
of these were built and a number of power options were
available. The Model Y was a two-place ship that could be
converted to a "oneholer" by removing the front windshield
and placing a metal fairing over the front cockpit. Licensed
as NR11049 (or X11049), and NR718Y, they had a span of 30
feet and a length of 21 feet. Both were eventually lost in
crashes.
The
depression continued to plague the nation and Granville
brothers was not exempt from the difficult times. It was a
constant battle to keep their heads above water. In
mid-1931, Bob Hall, the chief engineer of the fledgling
corporation, mentioned the money to be made in racing
contests such as the Thompson race. Hall was convinced that
he could design a plane that could capture such a rich prize
and work was begun on this project in the middle of July.
Meanwhile, financial backing continued to be a problem. Hall
pounded the streets by day seeking backers and toiled by
night on the design and construction of the new racer.
Finally, with sufficient funds, they formed the Springfield
Air Racing Association with James Tait as president. One of
their chief backers was Lowell Bayles, who had invested $500
for the privilege of flying the Model Z, as the racer would
be designated. Actually the Granvilles had very little money
invested in this ship. In these difficult times practically
everything was furnished by the manufacturers. Tubing, dope,
fabric, wheels, tires, and instruments were donated for
advertising purposes.
On August
22, 1931, Bob Hall's 26th birthday, the black and yellow
Model Z was rolled out of its hangar. Shorter and stubbier
than earlier models, it was already taking on the classic
Gee Bee appearance. Only 15 feet 1 inch in length, it was
powered by a Pratt & Whitney Wasp Jr., supercharged to 535
hp at 2400 rpm. The engine was loaned to the Granville
brothers by Pratt & Whitney. Bob Hall demonstrated his
confidence in his design by flying the first test flights
despite his limited experience. Christened "City of
Springfield'', the Model Z was flown by Bob Hall to the
National air races at Cleveland where they would learn the
results of their labours.
On September
1, Lowell Bayles, flying without shoes to improve his feel
of the rudder. raced over the Shell qualifying course at an
average speed of 267.342 mph. On one run he attained an
unofficial world record speed of 286 mph while 100,000
spectators gasped in wide-eyed
wonder. The next day Bayles won the 50 mile Goodyear trophy
race at a relaxed speed of 205.001 mph. Bob Hall, in Model
Y, NR11049, had a close brush with death when he hit a water
tank and clipped a few feet off a wing tip while turning on
a pylon too close to the ground. This didn't phase him as he
switched to the Model Z on September 5 to win the General
Tire and Rubber trophy as Bayles rested for the upcoming
Thompson trophy contest.
On September
6, Hall and the Model Z gained another first place for the
Gee Bee team in a free-for-all race. Maude Tait, daughter of
James Tait, captured the Cleveland Pneumatic Aero Trophy for
Women in the Model Y at the speed of 187.57 mph, a closed
course record for women. All of this led up to Bayles'
triumph in the stellar attraction of the meet, the Thompson
trophy race. The Gee Bees had cleaned up at Cleveland and
shares in their venture that had originally sold for $100
were now worth five times that. The Granvilles returned to a
victory parade and banquet in Springfield with cash in their
pockets and a determination to go after the world's speed
record and to ready themselves for the 1932 campaign.
First, the
"City of Springfield" was fitted with a new 750 hp Wasp Sr.
R-1340 engine. Arrangements had been made with the
authorities at Detroit's Wayne County airport to set up the
speed course and Maude Tait would also make an attempt at
the women's record in the Model Y while at Detroit. On
November 6, Bayles took off from Springfield to fly to
Buffalo where an 8 foot 2 inch fixed pitch propeller was
installed at the Curtiss Reed plant. After the arrival at
Detroit, Bayles rnade three attempts at the speed record
that were aborted as engine troubles plagued the "City of
Springfield". On one trial run he had attained a speed of
314 mph and prospects of a record performance appeared good.
Only the average of four runs could be given record
consideration, so the speed mark continued to elude them.
Maude Tait was equally unsuccessful and returned to
Springfield for her marriage to Attorney James P.Moriarty.
On November
30, Bayles was ready for another assault on the record. This
time it was the failure of the timing cameras that stymied
Bayles despite the fact that he attained a speed of 284.5
mph on one of his runs.
On the
afternoon of December 1, 1931, Bayles again went after the
elusive speed record, making four runs over the F.A.I. 1.8
mile (3 km) course. The existing world's record was 278.4
mph and it was necessary to surpass this by 4.97 mph to
claim a record. For a while it appeared that he had achieved
284.7 mph, but a recheck on December 2 showed an average of
281.75, so once more the record slipped from their grasp.
On December
5, the 31 year old Bayles was ready again. Shortly after 1
p.m. he took off and climbed to 1,000 feet to start his dive
for the run which had to be made below 162 feet. Roaring
into the three-kilometer course at approximately 150 feet
above the ground, the Gee Bee was travelling at tremendous
speed when the plane suddenly pitched up sharply and the
outer half of the right wing folded back. The aircraft did
two and a half fantastically fast snap rolls and crashed in
a ball of flames. The wreckage was scattered over 600 feet
and the shy, slim Bayles was killed instantly. Ironically
Bayles was to have been married on December 13 to Miss
Gertrude St. Marie of Newton, Illinois. His death was a
terrible shock to all involved since he was like one of the
brothers and had exhibited great faith in the aircraft.
A motion
picture of the crash was examined frame by frame and the
final conclusion was that a loose gas cap had caused all the
trouble. Apparently it had vibrated loos,
crashed through the windshield and incapacitated
Bayles, at least breaking his goggles and possibly rendering
him unconscious. It was here that the sudden change of
attitude occurred. According to designer Hall, the plane was
sensitive longitudinally and the sudden change of pitch
caused the wing to fail. Pieces of the canopy, part of
Bayles' goggles and the gas cap found along the flight path
seemed to support these findings.
It must be
re-emphasized that the Granvilles
were not amateur experimenters who simply threw together a
succession of aircraft with bigger and bigger engines.
Granny always knew enough to attract highly skilled workers
to their organization and on their staff were such competent
aeronautical engineers as Bob Hall and Howell Miller.
Although construction methods were of the highest order it
seemed that the Gee Bees were often plagued by human errors,
material defects or careless maintenance that brought these
high-performance aircraft to grief.
It was only
a slight consolation when an exception was made to the
regulations to posthumously award the U.S. national land
plane speed record of 281.75 mph to Lowell Bayles on January
14, 1932, for his flights of December 1, 1931. Although an
air of gloom descended on the organization at their first
loss, plans went ahead for the 1932 campaign.
Engineer Bob
Hall had left the Granville camp at the end of November
1931. Russell Boardman, famed long-distance flyer, bought a
controlling interest in the Springfield Air Racing
Association and planned to pilot one of the two planes that
the Granvilles were planning for the 1932 races which would
be held at Cleveland from August 27 to September 5. For
these races the Granvilles, along with their new chief
engineer Howell W. Miller, built two planes, the R-1, begun
in May of 1932, wore racing Number 11, and the R-2 wore
Number 7. Number 11 was powered by an 800-hp Wasp Sr. T3D1,
while Number 7, designed for longer races such as the Bendix
transcontinental, had a larger gas tank and a 550-hp Wasp Jr.
Both had controllable pitch propellers, among the first used
in racing. Russell Boardman was chosen to fly Number 11, and
eventually Lee Gehlbach would pilot Number 7.
Boardman was
born near Middletown, Connecticut, on January 22. 1898, and
had purchased his first plane in 1921. For a while he took
over the Hyannis, Massachusetts, airport and had operated a
seaplane line from Boston to Hyannis. On July 28, 1931,
along with John Polando of Lynn, Massachusetts, he had flown
a Bellanca from Floyd Bennett field in New York to Istanbul,
Turkey, to establish a distance record of 5,011 miles. At
the Omaha air races in May of 1932, he won a free-for-all
race in the Gee Bee Model Y that Maude Tait had raced in
1931. The following day he demonstrated his versatility by
winning the Charles Holman acrobatic trophy.
Demonstrating the scientific nature of their research, the
Granvilles constructed a wind tunnel model of their barrel-fuselaged
racer and had it subjected to tests in the New York
University wind tunnel. A year later, on May 18, 1933,
Granny and his chief engineer, Howell W. Miller, presented a
paper to the Society of Automotive Engineers in New York
City describing the design and construction of their
now-famous racers. Obviously they felt that they had two
sound, viable contenders for the prizes offered in the
upcoming races.
On August
10, painter George Agnoli finished the fancy scalloped red
and white paint job on the R-1. On the 12th it was rolled
out of its hangar to sit gleaming in the sunshine. Final
adjustments postponed the first flight until the following
day. On August 13, shortly after nine o'clock, Russ Boardman
took off his coat, slipped on a parachute and flew the R-1
to the Bowles Agawam field across the Connecticut river. The
performance figures were exhilarating. The R-1 had hit 240
mph without half trying and Boardman felt confident that 300
mph was well within reach.
Robert and
Granny Granville were at Bowles when Boardman landed from
the first test flight. As they opened the door of the plane,
Boardman looked up at them, grinned and said, "You boys sure
build airplanes." His only complaint was that the ship
fishtailed during landing approach and apparently did not
have enough fin area. Work was immediately begun to rectify
that problem by adding two square feet of fin area and an
increase in rudder area to match the added fin.
On Tuesday,
August 16, Boardman was severely injured as he spun a Model
E Sportster into the trees on the Carew street side of the
Springfield airport as he was flying to Agawam to complete
the tests on the revamped R-1. With two weeks remaining
before the start of the races, neither aircraft had a pilot.
Applications flooded the Granvilles from every pilot in the
country who had any ambitions of appearing in the Cleveland
races. Finally, on August 22, Lee Gehlbach was chosen to fly
the R-2. He would ferry the R-2 to Burbank to fly the Bendix
race from there to Cleveland. Oil temperature problems were
already starting to show up which would plague the R-2 over
the next few weeks.
A stroke of
fate interjected a new name into the Gee Bee saga. At
Wichita, Kansas, Jimmy Doolittle was test flying his Laird
"Super Solution", which had been extensively modified for
the 1932 races. When he found that he couldn't get the
wheels down, he was forced to belly his aircraft in,
eliminating it from further competition, but emerging
unhurt. On August 27, when it was apparent that Russ
Boardman would be unable to compete in the National air
races, Granny made telephone arrangements with Doolittle for
him to fly the R-1. On August 28, Doolittle arrived at
Springfield. While everyone expected him to take a turn or
two around the field to familiarize himself with the new
aircraft, dubbed by the press as "The Flying Silo", he
simply climbed in, headed west and never altered his course.
Less than two hours later the Granvilles received a telegram
stating simply, "Landed in Cleveland O.K., Jim."
Lee Gehlbach
indicated his confidence in Number 7 when he told members of
the press, "Number 7 is the most wonderful handling ship
I've ever flown. Doolittle added his praise of Number 11 by
stating. She s got plenty of stuff. I gave her the gun for
just a few seconds and she hit 260 like a bullet without any
change for momentum and without diving for speed and she had
plenty of reserve miles in her when I shut her down.
Only four planes were entered in the Bendix race from
Burbank to Cleveland and Gehlbach had to be considered as
one of the pre-race favourites, but engine troubles plagued
him all across the country. Robert Granville recalls that
"The Gee Bee was throwing oil so badly that Gehlbach landed
in Illinois and removed the oil splattered canopy so that he
could see." He finished a disappointing fourth, an hour and
twenty minutes behind the winner, Jimmy Haizlip, who was
flying the Wedell-Williams Special No. 92.
Doolittle fared better in the Thompson trophy race. On
September 5, nursing a hay fever attack, he blazed around
the pylons at a winning speed of 252.686 mph. Among those
who witnessed his victory were his tu-o sons, ten year old
John and James Jr. Lee Gehlbach finished fifth, and Bob
Hall, the former Granville engineer, was sixth in the field
of eight in his Springfield "Bulldog" racer.
While at Cleveland, Doolittle set a world's land plane speed
mark over the regulation F.A.I. three
kilometre course that had been set up for a series of
speed dashes sponsored by the Shell Oil Co. On August 31,
the 35year-old Doolittle averaged 293.193 mph on four runs
over the speed course but this did not qualify as an
official record since he didn't have a barograph in the
plane to confirm that he was below the required 162 feet (50
meters) during his runs. He subsequently made four more runs
on September 1, averaging 282.672 mph, just .77 mph short of
that required to claim a new record. On his final run it
appeared to the horrified spectators that he was about to
brush some trees just north of the field. Later Jimmy said,
"I was nowhere near them. I must have been at least four
feet over them."
At the Eastern States Exposition in September of 1932,
Jimmy, in speaking of Z. D. Granville. said, "He builds a
most excellent airplane and it was the airplane that did the
job." Finally, in a letter dated September 7, 1932, and
addressed to Granville Brothers Aircraft. Doolittle
commented, "Just a note to tell you that the big Gee Bee
functioned perfectly in both the Thompson trophy race and
the Shell speed dashes. With sincere wishes for your
continued success, I am, as ever,
Jim.
Preparations were immediately started for the 1933 races.
Number 11 was fitted with a P& W Hornet and a rudder with
increased area. Number 7 had the Wasp Jr. replaced with a
new Wasp Sr. and the old engine cowl from the R-1. A new
wing with greater span and chord was installed as well as a
larger rudder, identical to the new R-1 rudder. AISO7 in
1933, work was begun on the design of a two place, long
range racer to be built for Jacqueline Cochran and designed
to compete for the $48,O00 purse offered in a
London-to-Melbourne race scheduled for 1934. This plane was
called the Q.E.D., from the Latin phrase, "quod erat
demonstradum", meaning that the solution of a given problem
has been demonstrated. However, it would be tragically
demonstrated that all the problems associated with high
speed flight had indeed not been solved.
The 1933 National air races were to be held in Los Angeles
from July 1 through July 4, with the finish of the
transcontinental Bendix race from New York as one of the
highlights. After being received at City Hall on June 6 by
Mayor O'Brien of New York, Boardman, now recovered from his
earlier injuries, and 22-year-old Russell Thaw, in the
re-engined R-1, and the modified R-2, left Floyd Bennett
field on the morning of July 1, 1933 along with Roscoe
Turner, Lee Gehlbach, Jim Wedeli and Amelia Earhart. Thaw
took off at 5:52 a.m. and Boardman followed, being the last
to depart. Thaw used almost the entire length of the field,
dragging his tail wheel as he struggled to get his heavily
laden plane into the air. Boardman, with a lighter load and
higher horsepower, made a perfect take-off and streaked
westward.
Boardman and Turner had announced that they would refuel in
Indianapolis while the others would let their fuel
consumption govern their landing places. Preliminary plans
called for Thaw to land at St. Louis and Amarillo, but his
high rate of fuel consumption caused him to land at
Indianapolis. Turner arrived at Indianapolis at 6:06 a.m.
and within ten minutes he was once more winging his way
westward. Thaw was the next to land. Contrary to many
published reports, he made a perfect landing. On all earlier
Gee Bees the Granvilles had manufactured their own shock
struts. Now their racers were equipped with a commercially
manufactured strut. In making a rapid 180-degree turn to get
back to the refuelling area, one of these struts collapsed
and the left wing tip was damaged near the outer aileron
hinge as it struck the runway.
Since it looked as if the damage could be readily repaired,
the plane was wheeled into a hangar and work was begun to
restore it to flying condition. Boardman was the next to
arrive and he chatted with Thaw as his plane was refuelled.
Then he took off with 200 gallons of fuel on board. At about
40 feet in the air, he lost control of Number 11, and it
flipped on its back and crashed, fatally injuring Boardman,
who died on the morning of the 3rd, leaving a wife and
four-year-old daughter, Jane. Thaw was so shaken that he
withdrew from the race at that point.
The other entries were also plagued with misfortune. Lee
Gehlbach, flying a Wedell-Williams racer, was forced to land
near New Bethel, Indiana, with a clogged fuel line, crashing
through a fence but emerging unhurt, and Amelia Earhart, in
a Lockheed Vega, was forced down in Kansas. Roscoe Turner
won the race in 11 hours and 30 minutes, picking up the
$5,050 first prize plus $1,000 for setting a new East to
West record. Wedell, who finished second, won $2,250.
It was a horrible blow for the Granville brothers. In a few
minutes they had lost both planes and one pilot. Robert
Granville recalls, "I guess it was the point where our luck
started to go bad."
Boardman's brother, Earle, also a pilot, was with him when
he died. On July 4, he flew Russ' body east to Hartford,
Connecticut, stopping to refuel at Syracuse, New York. On
July 6, 1933, Russell Boardman was laid to rest in the Miner
cemetery in Middletown, Connecticut, while six planes
circled overhead and dropped flowers. Among those present
was John Polando of Lynn Massachusetts, with whom Boardman
had made his long distance flight to Turkey.
Granny repaired Number 7, but within a few days Jim Haizlip
cart-wheeled it across the Bowles
Agawam field. Although he was uninjured, the plane was a
total loss. One more tragedy took place in 1933 that
reflected unfairly on the reputation of the Granvilles. On
September 4, 1933, the newest Model Y, NR718Y, originally
built for the E. L. Cord Corporation, but now owned by
Arthur Knapp of Jackson, Michigan, and being flown by
26-year-old Florence Klingensmith of Minneapolis in the
International air races at Chicago, crashed and was
destroyed. Originally powered by a 215-hp Lycoming R-680
engine, it now sported a 450-hp Wright J6-9 Whirlwind.
Miss Klingensmith was running with the leaders in the
seventh lap of the Phillips trophy free-for-all race when
the fabric on the right wing split between the first and
second ribs. Although Granny later insisted that this should
not have affected the integrity of the aircraft, she leveled
off and flew to the southeast for three miles before hitting
a tree at the corner of Glenview and Shermer Roads in
Glenview, Illinois.
She had evidently tried to bail out at the last minute for
her chute was deployed beside her, but she had been killed
instantly. Later, the remaining Model Y, NR11049. formerly
flown by Maude Tait, was lost when a propeller blade broke,
the engine tore loose from its mountings, and it spun into
the Atlantic Ocean after a take-off from
North Beach (now LaGuardia) field. Both of these planes had
passed from the influence of the Granvilles and had been
modified by their new owners, but the reputation of the Gee
Bees suffered unfairly from their loss.
During the fall of 1933, Z. D. Granville, Howell Sliller,
and Donald Delackner opened a consulting engineering office
in New York City in the hopes of continuing development of
certain commercial projects such as four, six and eight
place airplanes. As far as racers went, they were left with
the shattered remains of the R-1 and R-2. From the remains
of the R-1 and the R-2 the Granvilles built another racer,
christening the resultant plane "Intestinal Fortitude". It
was known as "International Supersportster" Model R-3. The
plan was for Roy Minor to fly it in the Chicago races of
1933.
After "Intestinal Fortitude" was assembled. Grannv planned
to fly to San Antonio to deliver a Sportster that he still
owned to a customer in that Texas City. En route. he planned
to visit Florida and the Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
Approaching a landing at Spartenburg. South Carolina, on
February 12, Granny suddenly noticed that there was
construction in progress and his only safe landing area was
blocked by two workers unav. are of his approach. As he
pulled up, his engine coughed and died and he spun in from
75 feet. The 35-year-old Granny died en route to the
hospital leaving a wife and two children.
Shortly after Zantford's death, the Gee Bee organization was
sold at a sheriffs sale. However, financial backing was
found to continue work on the big Q.E.D. Wesley Smith and
Jacqueline Cochran flew this plane in the MacPherson
Robertson London-Melbourne race and made it as far as
Bucharest, Romania. Here the aircraft was damaged in landing
when the flap system failed to operate properly. Earlier in
1934, Lee Gehlbach had flown the Q.E.D. in the 1934 Bendix
race. Plagued by cowl troubles, he arrived in Cleveland too
late to even place in the race. As if there were not enough
trouble, Roy Minor had stood the R-3, also known as the
R-1/R-2, up on her nose in a drainage ditch in Springfield
during some tests and that eliminated that aircraft from any
of the 1934 events.
With all its power, the R-3 had a tendency to float during
landing, causing Minor to overshoot on landing and touch
down at mid-field. Earlier a thunderstorm had drenched the
field and he found he could not stop on the wet grass. The
plane went up on its nose in the ditch, made one or two
revolutions on its prop and then leaped over the fence to
land upright on its gear in the adjoining street. Needless
to say, Minor was thoroughly disgusted as he climbed out of
the aircraft and tossed his helmet and goggles over the
fence to the Granvilles, who had raced to see what remained
of the aircraft. The resulting damage eliminated the ship
from all competition during that year.
The Granvilles hoped to attract some military business by
demonstrating the Q.E.D. throughout Europe. Although some
demonstrations were arranged, no orders were forthcoming.
Returning the ship to the United States, it suffered a
landing accident while on a demonstration flight for some
Chilean officials. Although no one was hurt, no orders
resulted from that event. Indeed, with a little luck at this
time and with the impending war, the Granvilles might have
taken their place among the prominent aircraft manufacturers
of the present era. But, unfortunately, whatever luck the
Granvilles had was almost invariably bad.
The 1935 Bendix race saw two Granville entries. The Q.E.D.
was flown by Royal Leonard and the composite R-3, renamed
the "Spirit of Right", was to be flown by 33 year old Cecil
Allen. Among Allen's backers were the Aero Educational
Research Organization of Pasadena and the Religious Patrons
Association. The R-3 had been modified by Allen. although
the Granvilles could no longer directly exert any control
upon its fate. Howell Miller had contacted Allen and offered
to aid in its reconstruction. When he was ignored. he did
stress to the new owner that in no case should the centre of
gravity be moved aft of 22 percent of the mean aerodynamic
chord.
The 1935 Bendix race was from the Union Air Terminal in
Burbank, California. to Cleveland. On August 30, Allen was
the last to take off. following Benny Howard, the eventual
winner, and Roscoe Turner, who was to finish second by only
23 seconds The "Spirit of Right" was decorated with the
cartoon character "Filaloola" bird that had adorned the
earlier successful Model Y, and the motto, "Over the Fence
and Out", and that's a succinct summation of its
performance.
Allen's plane, 22.5 feet in length with a 30 foot span, had
not performed well in tests and careened crazily at the
start of the Bendix. Staggering into the sky, Allen was only
two miles from the field when he lost control and crashed in
an open field. Allen had cut the ignition switch so there
was no fire, but the two witnesses who raced to the scene
found him dead in the cockpit. Allen had added some fuel
tanks and had test flown the aircraft with only the forward
tank filled. With the aft tank filled for this race, it was
later computed that the center of gravity was approximately
35-37 percent of the M.A.C. Again the Granville name was
defiled when, in fact, it should have been reported that
"they told him so". The Q.E.D. fared only slightly better,
making it as far as Wichita when engine trouble arose to
prevent the fans at Cleveland from getting a glimpse of the
Gee Bees in 1935.
The Granvilles were now just about finished in the field of
racing although Mark Granville and most of the workers at
the Granville plant built a new racer for Frank Hawks.
Sponsored by the Gruen Watch Company, it was called "Time
Flies" and was one of the most streamlined aircraft of all
time. A unique feature on "Time Flies" was that the pilot's
seat could be lowered about 12 inches in flight, allowing
the windshield to be retracted
flush with the fuselage.
The Q.E.D. was left alone to carry the memory of the
Granvilles to the leading air racing events that they had
once dominated. Lee Miles flew the Q.E.D. in the 1936
Thompson trophy race, averaging over 200 miles per hour for
the first 10 laps. Then engine trouble forced him to retire.
The jinx of the Q.E.D. continued.
By 1938, the Q.E.D. was in the possession of Charlie Babb, a
well known aircraft broker. After a complete overhaul of the
plane, George Armistead, one of Babb's pilots, was named to
fly it in the 1938 Bendix trophy race. Heading east
from Burbank, Armistead was over
Kingman, Arizona, when he noticed his oil pressure dropping
rapidly and the oil temperature climbing at an alarming
rate. Landing at Winslow, Arizona, he decided that there was
no use in attempting to resume the race.
Charlie Babb then sold the Q.E.D. to Francisco Serabia, the
president of TASCA, a Mexican airline. The plane was renamed
"Conquistador del Cielo and registered as XB-AKM. Serabia
called it the best plane I've ever flown". On May 24, 1939,
he flew the plane from Mexico City to New York, covering
2350 miles in just 10 hours and 47 minutes. On June 7,
Serabia vas ready to leave Bolling field in Washington.
D.C.. for the return flight to Mexico. As the plane roared
out over the Potomac river, the engine missed and faltered
and the plane plunged into the river. Serabia was trapped in
the cockpit and drowned in 15 feet of water. Later it was
determined that the cause of the accident was that a rag had
been left inside the cowl and had
been sucked into the carburettor air intake.
Later, the Q.E.D. was salvaged ``ith minimal damage. For a
time it sat at a Mexican Air Force Base at St. Lucia. (In
the 1960's. Alberto Sarabia, a cousin of Francisco Sarabia,
had the Conquistador del Cielo" restored to like new flying
condition. A round, domed museum to house the restored
aircraft was built in Ciudad Lerdo, Durango, Mexico and the
aircraft is presently enshrined in the middle of the room,
surrounded by floodlights that illuminate the aircraft night
and day. The museum is open to the public.) The surviving
Gee Bee Model A, N9OlK, is in the collection of the
Connecticut Aeronautical Historical Association at Bradley
Field in Windsor Locks.
What has become of the principals of this story? Edward
Granville worked for Pratt & Whitney in Connecticut for 40
years and retired in 1976 as Chief of Experimental
Construction. In 1977 Ed died at his home in Silver Lake,
N.H. Robert Granville was a foreman for Vought during World
War II, supervising the construction of Corsairs and
Kingfishers. In 1946 he moved to Maine where he purchased a
large farm near Skowhegan. Having sold most of the farm, he
and his wife, Eva, were living in North Cornwall, Maine,
when he passed away on 13 Nov. 1978.
Mark Granville was superintendent of the wind tunnel at
Pratt & Whitney when he died of a heart attack in Somers,
Connecticut, in the early 50's. Thomas Granville, who was a
welding foreman at Kaman Helicopters, died in May of 1974 of
heart trouble. Howell (Pete) Miller, the designer of the R-1
and R-2, is retired from Pratt & Whitney and lives in
Manchester, Connecticut. Robert Hall retired from Grumman
Aerospace Corporation as Vice President and now resides in
Hilton Head, South Carolina. Maude Tait Moriarty still lives
in Springfield, Massachusetts. Russell Thaw is reported to
be a postmaster in a small Connecticut town. While Granny's
wife, Alta, died in December of 1974, his son, Robert, works
for Pratt & Whitney in Hartford while his daughter, Norma,
is a medical doctor and blood specialist at a hospital in
Hartford, Connecticut.
The old Springfield field is no longer there, having been
turned into a shopping centre, but the birth of the
Granville aircraft at this site has not been forgotten. A
large mural in a restaurant depicts the landing of a Gee Bee
at the old airport and bears portraits of the five brothers.
One wonders how many busy shoppers in a nearby department
store pause to read a plaque erected in honour of the Gee
Bees and the Granville brothers. Indeed, the Gee Bee racers
will live forever in the memories of those who witnessed the
flights of these remarkable aircraft.
Gross
Weight 2280 lb Empty Weight 1400 lb Useful Load 880 lb Seats
1
Length
(overall) 15 ft 1 in Cowl Diameter 46 in Span 23 ft 6 in
Root Chord 50.4 in Rib Spacing 5.5 in Spar Spacing 25.5 in
Airfoil M-6 Incidence Angle 3 deg Dihedral Angle 4.5 deg
Wing
Area 75 sq ft Aileron Area 9.5 sq ft Stabilizer Area 8.4 sq
ft Elevator Area 6.9 sq ft Fin Area 2.2 sq ft Rudder Area
4.9 sq ft
Landing
Gear Travel 6 in Tires 23 inch Goodrich 6.5 x 10 Wheel Tread
71.75 in Wheel Fairing Width 10.5 in
High
Speed 270 mph Cruise Speed 230 mph Landing Speed 80 mph
Runway
Requirement 5000 ft @ SL
Range
900 sm
Powerplant P & W Wasp Jr (Supercharged) 535 hp @ 2400 rpm
Fuel 103 gal Oil 11 gal
Production 1 First Flight 8-22-1931
Construction
- Chrome
Moly steel tube fuselage. - Covered with fabric
Flight Controls Rudder - Cable Actuated Ailerons -
Torque tube actuated Elevator - Push pull tube and double
cables
Notes: - Winner of 1931 Thompson Trophy at 236.24 mph -
Qualification speed for 1931 Thompson (level flight, 1 pass
each way, averaged) 267.342 mph - Larger 750 hp Wasp Sr, new
prop and cowl were installed after the Thompson. - Destroyed
on a speed course, December 1931, Detroit, MI Zantford
Granville attributed the accident to a fuel cap coming
loose, passing through the windscreen and striking the
pilot. |