List of Bluebird record-breaking vehicles
Encyclopedia
Blue Bird or Bluebird is the name of various cars and boats used by Sir Malcolm Campbell
, his son Donald
and other family members to set land
and water speed record
s.
, and the vehicles were painted a shade of pale blue.
Malcolm Campbell had a succession of Darracq
racing cars in the 1920s, which in the fashion of the day he had named 'Flapper
I' , 'Flapper II' and 'Flapper III' . It was 'Flapper III' which he re-named after seeing the play, famously and impetuously knocking up a paint shop owner at night, so as to purchase blue paint before racing at Brooklands
the following day.
In 1925, he also raced an Itala at Brooklands with the name 'The Blue Bird' painted on the bonnet.
The hydroplane K4
began life as Malcolm's "Blue Bird", but when Donald decided to use her in 1949, after his father's death, he re-named her "Bluebird".
, has contested the world electric powered land speed record. He will also be the test driver for the British Steam Car which will be attempting to break the steam-powered land speed record. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/7977072.stm He is also the driver for Project Runningblade, an attempt to break the world land speed record for a lawnmower. http://www.projectrunningblade.co.uk/
Malcolm Campbell
Sir Malcolm Campbell was an English racing motorist and motoring journalist. He gained the world speed record on land and on water at various times during the 1920s and 1930s using vehicles called Blue Bird...
, his son Donald
Donald Campbell
Donald Malcolm Campbell, CBE was a British speed record breaker who broke eight world speed records in the 1950s and 1960s...
and other family members to set land
Land speed record
The land speed record is the highest speed achieved by a wheeled vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C flying start regulations are used, officiated by regional or national organizations under the auspices of the Fédération...
and water speed record
Water speed record
The World Unlimited water speed record is the officially recognised fastest speed achieved by a water-borne vehicle. The current record of 511 km/h was achieved in 1978....
s.
Origins of the name
The name Blue Bird was originally inspired by the play of that name by Maurice MaeterlinckMaurice Maeterlinck
Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck, also called Comte Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who wrote in French. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911. The main themes in his work are death and the meaning of life...
, and the vehicles were painted a shade of pale blue.
Malcolm Campbell had a succession of Darracq
Darracq
Automobiles Darracq S.A. was a French motor vehicle manufacturing company founded in 1896 by Alexandre Darracq.Using part of the substantial profit he had made from selling his Gladiator bicycle factory, Alexandre Darracq began operating from a plant in the Parisian suburb of Suresnes...
racing cars in the 1920s, which in the fashion of the day he had named 'Flapper
Flapper
Flapper in the 1920s was a term applied to a "new breed" of young Western women who wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptable behavior...
I' , 'Flapper II' and 'Flapper III' . It was 'Flapper III' which he re-named after seeing the play, famously and impetuously knocking up a paint shop owner at night, so as to purchase blue paint before racing at Brooklands
Brooklands
Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England. It opened in 1907, and was the world's first purpose-built motorsport venue, as well as one of Britain's first airfields...
the following day.
In 1925, he also raced an Itala at Brooklands with the name 'The Blue Bird' painted on the bonnet.
Bluebird or Blue Bird?
Malcolm Campbell named them "Blue Bird", Donald "Bluebird".The hydroplane K4
Bluebird K4
Blue Bird K4 was a powerboat commissioned in 1939 by Sir Malcolm Campbell, to rival the Americans' efforts in the fight for the world water speed record....
began life as Malcolm's "Blue Bird", but when Donald decided to use her in 1949, after his father's death, he re-named her "Bluebird".
Cars
Sir Malcolm Campbell
- Sunbeam 350HP: 1923 (renamed after Campbell's purchase)
- Napier-Campbell Blue Bird: 1927-1928
- Campbell-Napier-Railton Blue Bird: 1931-1932
- Campbell-Railton Blue Bird: 1933-1935
Don Wales
Don Wales, grandson of Malcolm Campbell and nephew of Donald CampbellDonald Campbell
Donald Malcolm Campbell, CBE was a British speed record breaker who broke eight world speed records in the 1950s and 1960s...
, has contested the world electric powered land speed record. He will also be the test driver for the British Steam Car which will be attempting to break the steam-powered land speed record. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/7977072.stm He is also the driver for Project Runningblade, an attempt to break the world land speed record for a lawnmower. http://www.projectrunningblade.co.uk/
- Bluebird Electric 2
Donald Campbell
- Bluebird K4Bluebird K4Blue Bird K4 was a powerboat commissioned in 1939 by Sir Malcolm Campbell, to rival the Americans' efforts in the fight for the world water speed record....
: re-named in 1949, destroyed in 1951 - Bluebird K7Bluebird K7Bluebird K7 was a turbo jet-engined hydroplane with which the United Kingdom's Donald Campbell set seven world water speed records during the 1950s and 1960s. Campbell lost his life in K7 on January 4, 1967 whilst making a bid to raise the speed record to over on Coniston Water.-Design:Donald...
: 1955 - 1967
Gina Campbell
Gina Campbell, daughter of Donald Campbell, has contested the women's world water speed record.- Agfa Bluebird
External links
- Bluebird Electric
- Bluebird Project
- "Race For Higher Speed On Land and in Air" Popular Mechanics, March 1933