| Donald Campbell | |
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| Born | Donald Malcolm Campbell 23 March 1921 Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, England |
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| Died | 4 January 1967 (aged 45) Coniston Water, Cumbria, England |
| Cause of death | High speed crash |
| Burial place | Parish Cemetery, Hawkshead Old Road, Coniston |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Speed record holder |
| Spouse | Daphne Harvey (1945-) Dorothy McKegg (1952-) Tonia Bern (1958-1967) |
| Children | Georgina (Gina) (1946-) |
| Parents | Malcolm Campbell Dorothy Evelyn Whittall |
Donald Malcolm Campbell, CBE (23 March 1921 – 4 January 1967) was a British car and motorboat racer who broke eight world speed records in the 1950s and 60s. Events 1174 - Jocelin, Abbot of Melrose, is elected Bishop of Glasgow. Year 1921 ( MCMXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1921 calendar of the Gregorian calendar Kingston upon Thames is the principal settlement of the Royal Borough Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Events 46 BC - Titus Labienus defeats Julius Caesar in the Battle of Ruspina. Year 1967 ( MCMLXVII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. Coniston Water (usually simply called Coniston locally in Cumbria, England is the third largest lake in the English Lake District. Boundaries and divisions Cumbria is neighboured by Northumberland, County Durham, North Yorkshire, Lancashire, and the Lieutenancy England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Sir Malcolm Campbell ( 11 March 1885 &ndash 31 December 1948) was an English racing motorist and motoring journalist The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British Order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. Events 1174 - Jocelin, Abbot of Melrose, is elected Bishop of Glasgow. Year 1921 ( MCMXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1921 calendar of the Gregorian calendar Events 46 BC - Titus Labienus defeats Julius Caesar in the Battle of Ruspina. Year 1967 ( MCMLXVII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located A motorboat is a vessel propelled by an Internal combustion engine driving a jet pump or a Propeller. He remains the only person to set both land and water speed records in the same year (1964).
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Family and personal life
Donald Campbell was born in Horley, Surrey, the son of Sir Malcolm Campbell, holder of 13 world speed records in the 1920s and 30s in the famous Bluebird cars and boats, and his second wife, Dorothy Evelyn née Whittall. Horley is a town in Surrey, England, situated south of the twin towns of Reigate and Redhill, and north of Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. Sir Malcolm Campbell ( 11 March 1885 &ndash 31 December 1948) was an English racing motorist and motoring journalist [1] He attended Uppingham School. Uppingham School is a co-educational Independent school situated in the small town of Uppingham in Rutland, England. At the outbreak of World War II he volunteered for the Royal Air Force, but was unable to serve because of a childhood illness. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including He joined Briggs Motor Bodies Ltd in West Thurrock, where he became a maintenance engineer. West Thurrock is an area of Thurrock, Essex, England, located 17 Following his father's death in 1948 and aided by Malcolm's chief engineer, Leo Villa, the younger Campbell strove to set speed records on land and water. Leo Villa ( November 30 1899 &ndash January 18 1979) was the long-serving mechanic of Sir Malcolm Campbell and Donald Campbell The land speed record is the fastest speed achieved by any wheeled vehicle on land as opposed to one on water or in the air or on rails. The World Unlimited water speed record is the officially recognised fastest speed achieved by a water-borne vehicle He married three times: to Daphne Harvey in 1945, producing daughter Georgina (Gina) Campbell in 1946; to Dorothy McKegg in 1952; and to Tonia Bern in 1958, which lasted until his death in 1967. [2]
Water speed records
Campbell began his speed record attempts using his father's old boat Bluebird K4, but after a structural failure at 170 mph (270 km/h) on Coniston Water, Cumberland in 1951 he developed a new boat. Bluebird K4 was a Powerboat commissioned in 1939 by Malcolm Campbell, to rival the Americans' efforts in the fight for the world Water speed record Coniston Water (usually simply called Coniston locally in Cumbria, England is the third largest lake in the English Lake District. Cumberland is one of the 39 Historic counties of England. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 (excluding Carlisle from 1915 and now forms part of Designed by Ken and Lew Norris, the Bluebird K7 was an all-metal jet-propelled 3-point hydroplane with a Metropolitan-Vickers Beryl jet engine producing 3500 lbf (16 kN) of thrust. Bluebird K7 was a Hydroplane with which Donald Campbell set 7 Water speed records Campbell lost his life in K7 on January 4 1967 WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout specific --->A jet engine is a Reaction engine that discharges a fast moving jet of Fluid to
Campbell set seven world water speed records in K7 between 1955 and 1964. The first was at Ullswater on 23 July 1955, where he set a record of 202. Ullswater is the second largest Lake in the English Lake District, being approximately 9 miles (14 Events 1632 - Three hundred colonists bound for New France depart from Dieppe France. Year 1955 ( MCMLV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar) 15 mph (324 km/h). The series of speed increases - 216 mph (348 km/h) later in 1955, 225 mph (362 km/h) in 1956, 239 mph (385 km/h) in 1957, 248 mph (399 km/h) in 1958, 260 mph (420 km/h) in 1959 - peaked on 31 December 1964 at Dumbleyung Lake, Western Australia when he reached 276. Events 406 – Vandals, Alans and Suebians cross the Rhine, beginning an invasion of Gallia. Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. Dumbleyung Lake, also widely known as Lake Dumbleyung, is a salt lake in Western Australia. Western Australia is a state occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. 33 mph (444. 71 km/h); he remains the world's most prolific breaker of water speed records. The World Unlimited water speed record is the officially recognised fastest speed achieved by a water-borne vehicle
Land speed record attempt
In 1956, Campbell began planning a car to break the land speed record, which then stood at 394 mph (630 km/h). Lake Eyre (pronounced "air" is the lowest point in Australia, at approximately ( AHD) below sea level and on the rare occasions that it fills the The Norris brothers designed Bluebird-Proteus CN7 with 500 mph (800 km/h) in mind. The Bluebird-Proteus CN7 was a Land Speed Record -breaking car driven by Donald Campbell. The CN7 was completed by the spring of 1960, and was powered by a Bristol-Siddeley Proteus free-turbine engine of 4,450 shp (3,320 kW). WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Following low-speed tests conducted at the Goodwood circuit in Sussex, England, the CN7 was taken to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, USA, scene of his father's last LSR triumph in 1935. The Bonneville Salt Flats are a 159 square mile (412 km² Salt flat in northwestern Utah. The attempt was unsuccessful and CN7 was written off following a high-speed crash in September at Bonneville. Campbell was not seriously hurt, suffering a fracture to his lower skull, and was by 1961 on the road to recovery and planning the rebuild of CN7.
The rebuilt car was completed, with minor modifications, in 1962 and, by the end of the year, was shipped to Australia for a new attempt at Lake Eyre in 1963. Lake Eyre (pronounced "air" is the lowest point in Australia, at approximately ( AHD) below sea level and on the rare occasions that it fills the The Lake Eyre location was chosen as it offered 450 square miles (1,170 km²) of dried salt lake, where rain had not fallen in the previous 20 years, and the surface of the 20-mile (32 km) track was as hard as concrete. As Campbell arrived in late March, with a view to a May attempt, the first light rain fell. Campbell and Bluebird were running by early May but once again more rain fell, and low-speed test runs could not progress into the higher speed ranges. By late May, the rain became torrential, and the lake was flooded. Campbell had to move the CN7 off the lake in the middle of the night to save the car from being submerged by the rising flood waters. The 1963 attempt was over.
Campbell and his team returned to Lake Eyre in 1964, but the surface never returned to the promise it had held in 1962 and Campbell had to battle with CN7 to reach record speeds (over 400 mph (640 km/h)). After more light rain in June, the lake finally began to dry enough for an attempt to be made. On 17 July 1964, Campbell set a record of 403. Events 180 - Twelve inhabitants of Scillium in North Africa are executed for being Christians Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. 10 mph (648. 73 km/h) for a four-wheeled vehicle (Class A). Campbell was disappointed with the record as the vehicle had been designed for much higher speeds. CN7 covered the final third of the measured mile at an average of 429 mph (690 km/h), peaking as it left the measured distance at over 440 mph (710 km/h).
Dual record holder
Campbell now reverted to Bluebird K7 for a further attempt on the water speed record. After more delays, he finally achieved his seventh WSR at Lake Dumbleyung near Perth, Western Australia, on the final day of 1964, at a speed of 276. 33 mph (444. 71 km/h).
He had become the first, and so far only, person to set both land and water speed records in the same year. Campbell's land record was short-lived, because rule changes meant that Craig Breedlove's Spirit of America , a pure jet car, would begin setting records later in 1964 and 1965. Spirit of America is the trademarked name used by Craig Breedlove for his Land speed record -setting vehicles Campbell's 429 mph (690 km/h) speed on his final Lake Eyre run, however remained the highest speed achieved by a wheel-driven car until 2001; Bluebird CN7 is now on display at the National Motor Museum in Hampshire, England, her potential only part realised. The National Motor Museum (originally the Montagu Motor Museum) is a museum in the village of Beaulieu, set in the heart of the New Forest, in the
Final record attempt
In 1966, Campbell decided to once more try for a water speed record. This time the target was 300 mph (480 km/h). Bluebird K7 was fitted with a lighter and more powerful Bristol Orpheus engine, taken from a Folland Gnat jet aircraft, which developed 4,500 pounds-force (20,000 N) of thrust. Design and development The engine had its genesis in a 1952 request by Folland for an engine in the 5000 lbf class to power a new trainer and lightweight fighter-bomber WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The modified boat was taken back to Coniston in the first week of November 1966. The trials did not go well. The weather was appalling, and K7 suffered an engine failure when her air intakes collapsed and debris was drawn into the engine. Eventually, by the end of November, some high-speed runs were made, but well below Campbell's existing record. Problems with Bluebird's fuel system meant that the engine could not reach full rpm, and so would not develop maximum power. Eventually, by the end of December, the fuel starvation problem was fixed, and Campbell awaited better weather to mount an attempt.
Death
On 4 January 1967, Campbell was killed when Bluebird K7 flipped and disintegrated at a speed in excess of 300 mph (480 km/h). Events 46 BC - Titus Labienus defeats Julius Caesar in the Battle of Ruspina. Year 1967 ( MCMLXVII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. [3] Bluebird had completed a perfect north-south run at an average of 297. 6 mph (478. 9 km/h), and Campbell used a new water brake to slow K7 from her peak speed of 315 mph (507 km/h). Instead of refueling and waiting for the wash of this run to subside, as had been pre-arranged, Campbell decided to make the return run immediately. The second run was even faster; as K7 passed the start of the measured kilometre, she was travelling at over 320 mph (510 km/h). However her stability had begun to break down as she travelled over the rough water, and the boat started tramping from sponson to sponson. 150 yards from the end of the measured mile, Bluebird lifted from the surface and took off at a 45-degree angle. She somersaulted and plunged back into the lake, nose first. The boat then cartwheeled across the water before coming to rest. The impact broke Bluebird forward of the air intakes (where Donald was sitting) and the main hull sank shortly afterwards. Campbell had been killed instantly.
Campbell's last words on his final run were, via radio intercom:
| “ | Pitching a bit down here. . . Probably from my own wash. . . Straightening up now on track. . . Rather close to Peel Island. Peel Island is one of the three islands of Coniston Water in the English Lake District, Cumbria. . . Tramping like mad. . . er. . . Full power. . . Tramping like hell here. . . I can't see much. . . and the water's very bad indeed. . . I can't get over the top. . . I'm getting a lot of bloody row in here. . . I can't see anything. . . I've got the bows up. . . I'm going. . . oh. . . . "[4] | ” |
The cause of the crash has been variously attributed to Campbell not waiting to refuel after doing a first run of 297. 6 mph (478. 9 km/h), and hence the boat being lighter; the wash caused by his first run and made much worse by the use of the water brake; and, possibly, a cut-out of the jet engine caused by fuel starvation. Some evidence for this last possibility may be seen in film recordings of the crash - as the nose of the boat climbs and the jet exhaust points at the water surface no disturbance or spray can be seen at all. Mr. Whoppit, Campbell's teddy bear mascot, was found among the floating debris. Royal Navy divers made strenuous efforts to find and recover Campbell's body but, although the wreck of K7 was soon found, they called off the search without locating his body.
Recovery of Bluebird
The wreckage of Campbell's craft was recovered on 8 March 2001 when diver Bill Smith was inspired to look for the wreck after hearing the Marillion song "Out of This World" (from the album Afraid of Sunlight), which was written about Campbell and Bluebird. Events 1618 - Johannes Kepler discovers the third law of planetary motion. Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. Marillion are a British rock group Formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England in 1979 their recorded studio output comprises Afraid of Sunlight is Marillion 's eighth studio album released in 1995 The recovered wreck revealed that Campbell had activated the water brake to try and slow Bluebird down on her final run. The boat still contained fuel in the engine fuel lines, discounting the fuel starvation theory, though the engine could have cut-out as a result of injector blockage. Campbell's body was recovered from the lake on 28 May 2001. Events 585 BC - A Solar eclipse occurs as predicted by Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes is battling Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. Marillion members Steve Rothery and Steve Hogarth were present in the recovery. Steve Rothery (born November 25, 1959) is the guitarist of the Neo-progressive rock band Marillion. Steve Hogarth (born Ronald Steven Hoggarth on May 14, 1959 in Kendal) also known as " h " is vocalist with the British Campbell was interred in Coniston cemetery on 12 September 2001 after a funeral service in Coniston village attended by his wife Tonia, daughter Gina, other members of his family, members of his former team, and admirers. Coniston is a Village in the region of Furness, England. It is located in the southern part of the Lake District National Park, between Events 1213 - Albigensian Crusade: Simon de Montfort 5th Earl of Leicester, defeats Peter II of Aragon at the Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar.
Legacy
Between them, Donald Campbell and his father had set eleven speed records on water and ten on land.
The story of Campbell's last attempt at the water speed record on Coniston Water was told in the BBC television drama Across the Lake in 1988, with Anthony Hopkins as Donald Campbell and Robert Hardy as Malcolm Campbell. Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, CBE (born 31 December 1937 is a Welsh Film, stage and Television Actor. Timothy Sydney Robert Hardy, CBE (born 29 October, 1925) is an English Actor with a long career in the theatre film and television In 2003, the BBC showed a documentary reconstruction of Campbell's fateful water-speed record attempt in an episode of Days That Shook the World. It featured a mixture of modern reconstruction and original film footage. All of the original colour clips were taken from a film capturing the event, Campbell at Coniston by John Lomax, a local amateur filmmaker from Wallasey, England. Lomax's film won awards world-wide in the late 1960s for recording the final weeks of Campbell's life.
In the village of Coniston, the Ruskin Museum has a display of Donald Campbell memorabilia, and is home to the actual tail fin of K7, as well as the air intake of the Bristol Orpheus engine recovered in 2001. A project is under way to restore K7, aimed at returning Bluebird to Coniston before permanently housing her at the Ruskin museum. The project is due for completion in mid-2008.
The Bluebird Garage in which Campbell built some of his vehicles has been made a listed building. Bluebird Garage at 330-340 King's Road Chelsea London was at one time a garage for the Bluebird Motor Company It now houses a shop, cafe and restaurant.
See also
References
- ^ GRO Register of Births: JUN 1921 2a 815 KINGSTON - Donald M. James Milner Phillips (1 July 1905 ( Chelmsford) - December 1974 ( Stow on the Wold) was an English automotive Engineer and businessman who supervised Campbell, mmn = Whittall
- ^ The Racing Campbells - Donald & Malcolm Campbell - Donald
- ^ GRO Register of Deaths: MAR 1967 10F 692 ULVERSTON - Donald M. Campbell, aged 45
- ^ BBC News: Last words from Bluebird.
External links
- Donald Campbell at Find A Grave
- Across the Lake tribute site
- Yahoo-hosted Campbell and other record breakers site
- Bluebird Project website with information on the recovery of K7 and her restoration
- The Racing Campbells tribute site
- Steve Hogarth's account of the raising of Bluebird
- Campbell at Coniston original colour footage
- Lakeland Motor Museum in Cumbria Malcolm and Donald Campbell Exhibit
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Campbell, Donald |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Campbell, Donald Malcolm |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Speed record holder |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1921-03-21 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1961-01-04 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Coniston Water, Cumberland |
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