Donald Malcolm Campbell, was a British speed record breaker who broke eight absolute world speed records on water and on land in the 1950s and 1960s. He remains the only person to set both world land and water speed records in the same year (1964). He died during a water speed record attempt at Coniston Water in the Lake District, England.
Offshore powerboat racing is a type of racing by ocean-going powerboats, typically point-to-point racing.
Major Sir Malcolm Campbell was a British racing motorist and motoring journalist. He gained the world speed record on land and on water at various times, using vehicles called Blue Bird, including a 1921 Grand Prix Sunbeam. His son, Donald Campbell, carried on the family tradition by holding both land speed and water speed records.
Coniston Water in the English county of Cumbria is the third-largest lake in the Lake District by volume, and the fifth-largest by area. It is five miles long by half a mile wide, has a maximum depth of 184 feet (56 m), and covers an area of 1.89 square miles (4.9 km2). The lake has an elevation of 143 feet (44 m) above sea level. It drains to the sea via the River Crake.
A hydroplane is a fast motorboat, where the hull shape is such that at speed, the weight of the boat is supported by planing forces, rather than simple buoyancy.
Hydroplane racing is a sport involving racing hydroplanes on lakes and rivers. It is a popular spectator sport in several countries.
A motorboat, speedboat or powerboat is a boat that is exclusively powered by an engine.
The world unlimited Water Speed Record is the officially recognised fastest speed achieved by a water-borne vehicle, irrespective of propulsion method. The current unlimited record is 511.11 km/h (317.59 mph), achieved by Australian Ken Warby in the Spirit of Australia in 1978.
The Rolls-Royce R is a British aero engine that was designed and built specifically for air racing purposes by Rolls-Royce Limited. Nineteen R engines were assembled in a limited production run between 1929 and 1931. Developed from the Rolls-Royce Buzzard, it was a 37-litre capacity, supercharged V-12 capable of producing just under 2,800 horsepower (2,090 kW), and weighed 1,640 pounds (770 kg). Intensive factory testing revealed mechanical failures which were remedied by redesigning the components, greatly improving reliability.
The Napier-Campbell Blue Bird was a land speed record car driven by Malcolm Campbell. Its designer was C. Amherst Villiers and Campbell's regular mechanic Leo Villa supervised its construction.
The Campbell-Railton Blue Bird was Sir Malcolm Campbell's final land speed record car.
Leopoldo Alfonso "Leo" Villa was the long-serving mechanic of Sir Malcolm Campbell and Donald Campbell. He was born in London, of Italian and Scottish parents.
Bluebird of Chelsea, formerly Blue Bird, is a motor yacht originally built for Sir Malcolm Campbell.
Miss England III was the last of a series of speedboats used by Henry Segrave and Kaye Don to contest world water speed records in the 1920s and 1930s. She was the first craft in the Lloyds Unlimited Group of high-performance speedboats created to make attempts on the water speed record, and consequently wore the registration 'K1' with the corresponding 'infinity' symbol.
Bluebird K7 is a jet engined hydroplane which Britain's Donald Campbell set seven world water speed records between 1955 and 1967. K7 was the first successful jet-powered hydroplane, and was considered revolutionary when launched in January 1955. Campbell and K7 were responsible for adding almost 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) to the water speed record, taking it from existing mark of 178 miles per hour (286 km/h) to just over 276 miles per hour (444 km/h). Donald Campbell was killed in an accident with a much modified K7, on 4 January 1967, whilst making a bid for his eighth water speed record, with his aim to raise the record to over 300 miles per hour (480 km/h) on Coniston Water.
Mr Whoppit was the teddy bear mascot of Donald Campbell, the land and water speed record holder. Writing in his 2011 book, Donald Campbell: The Man Behind The Mask, journalist David Tremayne described Whoppit as Campbell's "magic talisman".
Blue Bird K3 is a hydroplane powerboat commissioned in 1937 by Sir Malcolm Campbell, to rival the Americans' efforts in the fight for the world water speed record. She set three world water speed records, first on Lake Maggiore in September 1937, then later twice raising her own record.
Peter Du Cane (1901–1984) was a Royal Navy commander and managing director of the engineering company Vospers. He assisted in the development of the Blue Bird II amongst other boats.
Stanley St. Claire Sayres was a hydroplane racer who broke the world water speed record with his "Slo-mo-shun IV" boat.
