The Schneider Trophy

The Schneider Trophy (or prize or cup) for seaplanes was announced by Jacques Schneider, a financier, balloonist and aircraft enthusiast, in 1911 with a prize of roughly £1,000. The race was held eleven times between 1913 and 1931. It was meant to encourage technical advances in civil aviation but became a contest for pure speed with laps over a triangular course (initially 280 km, later 350 km). The races were very popular and some of them attracted crowds of over 200,000 spectators. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 577 pixelsFull resolution (1877 × 1354 pixel, file size: 404 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 577 pixelsFull resolution (1877 × 1354 pixel, file size: 404 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... A DeHavilland Single Otter floatplane in Harbour Air livery. ...

The official name of the prize, in French, was "Coupe d'Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider". If an aero club won three races in five years they would retain the cup and the winning pilot would receive 75,000 francs. Each race was hosted by the previous winning country. The races were supervised by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale and the Aero Club in the hosting country. Each club could enter up to three competitors with an equal number of alternates. Fédération Aéronautique Internationale The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) is a standard setting and record-keeping body for aeronautics and astronautics. ...

Schneider Trophy, 1929, cover of the programme for the amphibious airplane races held on the Solent

After 1921, an additional requirement was added: the winning seaplane had to remain moored to a buoy for six hours without human intervention. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

The trophy was first competed for on April 16, 1913, at Monaco and won by a French Deperdussin at an average speed of 45.75 mph (about 73 km/h). is the 106th day of the year (107th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... “SPAD” redirects here. ...

The British won in 1914 with a Sopwith Tabloid at 86.6 mph (about 139 km/h). The Sopwith Tabloid was a biplane sports aircraft, one of the first to be built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. ...

The competition resumed in 1919 at Bournemouth where in foggy conditions the Italian team won. They were later disqualified and the race was voided. , Bournemouth is a large town and tourist resort, situated on the south coast of England. ... Golden Gate Bridge in Fog Evening fog obscures Londons Tower Bridge from passers by. ...

In 1920 and 1921 at Venice the Italians won - in 1920 no other nation entered and in 1921 the only non-Italian entry did not start. For other uses, see Venice (disambiguation). ...

In 1922 in Naples the British and French competed with the Italians and the British private entry (Supermarine Sea Lion II) won. For other uses see, Naples (disambiguation) and Napoli (disambiguation) Location of the city of Naples (red dot) within Italy. ...

The 1923 trophy, contested at Cowes, went to the Americans with a sleek, liquid-cooled engined craft designed by Glenn Curtiss. This article is about the town on the Isle of Wight. ... Glenn H. Curtiss at the Grande Semaine dAviation in France in 1909 Glenn Hammond Curtiss (May 21, 1878 – July 23, 1930) was an aviation pioneer and founder of the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company, now part of Curtiss-Wright Corporation. ...

In 1924 there was no competition as no other nation turned out to face the Americans - the Italians and the French withdrew and both British craft crashed in pre-race trials.

In 1925 at Chesapeake Bay the Americans won again, the British challenger (R.J. Mitchell's Supermarine S4) and the Italians soundly beaten by pilot Jimmy Doolittle. The Chesapeake Bay - Landsat photo The Chesapeake Bay where the Susquehanna River empties into it. ... Reginald Joseph Mitchell (20 May 1895-11 June 1937) was an aeronautical engineer, most notable for his design of the Supermarine Spitfire. ... Supermarine was a British aircraft manufacturer that become famous for producing a range of sea planes and the legendary Supermarine Spitfire fighter. ... General James Harold Jimmy Doolittle, Sc. ...

Jacques Schneider Trophy, 1929 Programme for the races held in the Solent with the competitor countries and history

In 1926 the Italians returned with a Macchi M.39 and won against the Americans with a 246 mph (about 394 km/h) run. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The Macchi M.39 was a racing seaplane designed and built by the Italian aircraft company Macchi Aeronautica in 1925-26. ...

In 1927 for Venice there was a strong British entry with government backing and RAF pilots (the High Speed Flight) for Mitchell, Gloster and Shorts. Supermarine's Mitchell designed S.5s came first and second. 1927 was the last annual competition, the event then moving onto a biannual schedule to allow for more development time. “RAF” redirects here. ... The Gloster Aircraft Company was formed at Brockworth ( Gloucester ) in 1915 as the Gloucestershire Aircraft Company. ... Short Brothers plc is a British aerospace company, abbreviated Shorts and is now based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK. Founded in 1908, Shorts was the first true aviation company in the world, and was a manufacturer of flying boats during the 1920s and 1930s and throughout the Second World War. ...

In 1929, at Cowes, Supermarine won again in the S.6 with a new Rolls-Royce engine with an average speed of 328.63 mph (about 526 km/h). Supermarine was a British aircraft manufacturer that become famous for producing a range of sea planes and the legendary Supermarine Spitfire fighter. ... Rolls-Royce plc is a British aircraft engine maker; the second-largest in the world, behind General Electric Aviation. ...

In 1931 the British government withdrew support but a private donation of £100,000 from Lucy, Lady Houston allowed Supermarine to compete and win on September 13 against only British opposition with reportedly half a million spectators lining the beachfronts. The Italian, French, and German entrants failed to ready their aircraft in time for the competition. The remaining British team set both a new world speed record (379 mph, about 606 km/h) and won the trophy outright with a third straight win. Lucy, Lady Houston, DBE (April 8, 1857 — December 29, 1936), born Fanny Lucy Radmall, was an English benefactor, philanthropist, adventuress and patriot. ... is the 256th day of the year (257th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

The following days saw the winning Supermarine S.6b further break the world speed record twice, making it the first craft to break the 400 mph barrier on September 29 at an average speed of 407.5 mph. is the 272nd day of the year (273rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Development of the other entrants did not cease there. The proposed Italian entrant (the Macchi M.C.72) which pulled out of the contest due to engine problems later went on set two new world speed records. In April of 1933 it set a record with a speed of 424 mph. Then, a year and a half later, it broke 700 km/h with an average speed of 709 km/h (440.681 mph) in October 1934. Both times the plane was piloted by Francesco Agello. This last speed of 709 km/h remains (as of 2006) the fastest speed ever attained by a piston-engine seaplane. Macchi M.C.72. ... Francesco Agello (27 December 1902 - 26 November 1942) was an Italian test pilot. ...

The race was very significant in advancing aeroplane design, particularly in the fields of aerodynamics and engine design, and would show its results in the best fighters of WW2. The streamlined shape and the low drag, liquid-cooled engine that was pioneered by Schneider Trophy designs are obvious in the British Supermarine Spitfire, the American P-51 Mustang and the Italian Macchi C.202 Folgore. “SPAD” redirects here. ... The Sopwith Tabloid was a biplane sports aircraft, one of the first to be built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. ... The SIAI S.12 was an Italian 1910s reconnaissance flying-boat and later Schneider Trophy racer. ... This view from space in July 1996 shows portions of each of the Seven Cities of Hampton Roads which generally surround the harbor area of Hampton Roads, which framed by the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel visible to the east (right), the Virginia Peninsula subregion to the north (top), and the... The Macchi M.39 was a racing seaplane designed and built by the Italian aircraft company Macchi Aeronautica in 1925-26. ... Calshot Spit is a one mile long, sand and shingle bank located on the southern bank of the open end of Southampton Water on the south coast of England. ... The Supermarine S.6B was a racing seaplane developed by Reginald Mitchell for the Supermarine company in order to win the Schneider Trophy in 1931. ... The Supermarine S.6B was a racing seaplane developed by Reginald Mitchell for the Supermarine company in order to win the Schneider Trophy in 1931. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... The Supermarine Spitfire was an iconic British single-seat fighter, which was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries during the Second World War, and into the 1950s. ... The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range single-seat fighter aircraft that entered service with Allied air forces in the middle years of World War II. The P-51 became one of the conflicts most successful and recognizable aircraft. ... The Macchi C.202 Folgore was a World War II fighter aircraft built by the Macchi company, a development of their earlier C.200 Saetta mounting a more powerful German designed Daimler-Benz DB 601 engine. ...

By contrast, during the later years of actual conflict, new high power radial engines powered such aircraft as the American P-47 Thunderbolt, F6F Hellcat, and F4U Corsair. These aircraft, in spite of the larger frontal area required by the radial engine type could offer performance comparable or even better than some liquid cooled engines. The American Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, also known as Jug, was the largest single-engined fighter of its day. ... Grumman F6F-3 Hellcats on 1 January 1943 F6F-5 ready in catapult on USS Randolph Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat on the flight deck of USS Yorktown (CV-10) prior to take off, having its wings extended Grumman F6F-3 Hellcats in tricolor scheme on the flight deck The Grumman... The Chance Vought F4U Corsair was an American fighter aircraft that saw service in World War II and the Korean War (and in isolated local conflicts). ...

Thus to some extent, as the practical speed limits of propellor aircraft were reached, brute force could prove as important as streamlining.

Schneider Trophy Alumni

Reginald Mitchell, the designer of the winning Supermarine Schneider Trophy entrants also designed the Supermarine Spitfire. Reginald Joseph Mitchell CBE (20 May 1895-11 June 1937) was an aeronautical engineer, most notable for his design of the Supermarine Spitfire. ...

Mario Castoldi, the designer of the 1926 winner, the Macchi M.39. Also designed other contestants such as the M.52, the M.52R, the M.67, and the M.C.72. After the M.C.72 Castoldi designed some of the Italian fighters which flew during World War II, such as the MC.202. Mario Castoldi (February 26, 1888 - May 31, 1968) was an Italian aircraft engineer and designer. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... The Macchi C.202 Folgore (Italian: Lightning) was a World War II Italian fighter aircraft built by Macchi Aeronautica. ...

James Doolittle, winning pilot of the 1925 race was accomplished in many other areas. He was the first pilot to do an outside loop. He also was the first pilot to perform a successful instrument flight with zero visibility. Doolittle also led the famous 'Doolittle Raid', a bombing attack on several Japanese targets in April of 1942. General James Harold Jimmy Doolittle, Sc. ... The UK Utterly Butterly display team perform an aerobatic manoeuver with their Boeing Stearmans, at an air display in England. ... Combatants  United States  Japan Commanders James H. Doolittle Hideki Tojo Strength 16 B-25 Mitchells Unknown number of troops and homeland defense Casualties 3 dead, 8 POWs (4 died in captivity); 5 interned in USSR all 16 B-25s About 50 dead, 400 injured Lt. ...

The trophy has been entrusted to the Royal Aero Club and can be viewed along with the winning Supermarine S.6B floatplane along side at the London Science Museum Flight exhibition hall. The Royal Aero Club is the national co-ordinating body for Air Sport in the United Kingdom. ... The Supermarine S.6B was a racing seaplane developed by Reginald Mitchell for the Supermarine company in order to win the Schneider Trophy in 1931. ... Science Museum The Science Museum on Exhibition Road, Kensington, London, is part of the National Museum of Science and Industry. ...

Sources

• Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation (1989) has an extensive article on the Schneider Trophy, see pages 794 to 797.
• Schneider Trophy web site
• Royal Air Force official web page on the Schneider Trophy

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Schneider Trophy