On 8 October 2009 the British Post Office issued a set of 10 stamps showing
eminent Britons. All the values are 1st class. One of the stamps Shows Donald
Campbell and BLUEBIRD K7.
Bluebird K7 was a hydroplane with which Donald Campbell set seven water speed
records. Campbell lost his life in K7 on January 4 1967 whilst undertaking a
record attempt on Coniston Water.
Donald had hitherto been using his father Sir Malcolm Campbell's
propellor-driven hydroplane Bluebird K4 for his record breaking attempts, until
it was destroyed by a structural failure. Following John Cobb's death in
Crusader, and inspired by both events, Donald began development of his own
jet-powered Bluebird K7 to take the record from the American prop-rider
hydroplane Slo-Mo-Shun.
Designed by the Ken and Lew Norris, she was powered by a Metropolitan Vickers
'Beryl' Turbo-Jet engine developing over 4,000-lb of thrust. She was a three
pointer with an offset rudder and assembled on aircraft principles, with a light
frame and a stressed skin made of Birmabright, produced by Birmetals Ltd.,
Birmabright Works, Clapgate Lane, Quinton, Birmingham. The main frame was
constructed by Accles and Pollock, then transported to Samlesbury Engineering
Ltd, near Preston where the hull was assembled. Samlesbury's main work was the
construction of buses, a high speed jet powered craft presented challenges but
quality in construction and workmanship was what Samlesbury excelled at. This
type of construction was designed to counter the high-speed vibrations and loads
which could ultimately disintegrate a timber hull at speeds in excess of 200
mph.
The name "K7" was derived from its Lloyd's unlimited rating, and was carried in
a prominent circular badge.
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 202.15 mph. The
series of speed increases - 216 mph; later in 1955, 225 mph; in 1956, 239 mph;
in 1957, 248 mph; in 1958, 260 mph; in 1959 - peaked on 31 December 1964 at
Dumbleyung Lake, Western Australia when he reached 276.33 mph ; making Campbell
and K7 the world's most prolific breaker of water speed records.
In 1966, Campbell decided to once more try for a water speed record; a target of
300 mph.
K7 was fitted with a lighter and more powerful Bristol Siddeley Orpheus engine,
taken from a Folland Gnat jet aircraft, which developed 4,500 pound-force of
thrust. The new K7 had modified sponsons, a vertical stabiliser (also from a
Gnat) and a new, streamlined canopy for the pilot. The boat returned to Coniston
for trials in November 1966. These did not go well; the weather was appalling
and K7 destroyed her engine when the air intakes collapsed under the demands of
the more powerful engine and debris was drawn into the engine compressor blades.
The engine was replaced, although Campbell reportedly had to buy an entire
crash-damaged Gnat aircraft for scrap to obtain another engine. The original
engine remained on the slipway for the rest of the project, shrouded in a
tarpaulin.
Eventually, by the end of November, some high-speed runs were made, but well
below the existing record. Problems with the fuel system meant that the engine
could not develop maximum power. Eventually, by the end of December, this
problem was fixed and better weather was waited for to mount an attempt.
On 4 January 1967, Campbell was killed when K7 flipped over and disintegrated at
a speed in excess of 300 mph. Bluebird had completed a perfect north-south run
at an average of 297.6 mph, and Campbell used a new water brake to slow K7 from
her peak speed of 315 mph. Instead of refuelling 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 mile, she was travelling at over 320 mph. 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, K7 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 K7 forward
of the air intakes (where Donald was sitting) and the main hull sank shortly
afterwards. Campbell had been killed instantly. Mr Whoppit, Campbell's teddy
bear mascot, was found among the floating debris and the pilot's helmet was
recovered. Royal Navy divers made efforts to find and recover the body but,
although the wreck of K7 was found, they called off the search without locating
his body.
The cause of the crash has been variously attributed to Campbell not waiting to
refuel after doing a first run of 297.6 mph 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 potentially 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.
The wreckage of Campbell's craft was recovered by the Bluebird Project between
October 2000 when the first sections were raised and June 2001 when Campbell's
body was recovered. The largest section representing approximately two thirds of
the main hull was raised on 8th March 2001. The wreck had been located by diver
Bill Smith.
Campbell's body was recovered from the lake on 28 May 2001 and he was interred
in Coniston cemetery on 12 September 2001.
Because the water brake was found to be extended when the wreck was recovered it
was generally assumed that Campbell had activated it to try and slow down on his
final run but on dismantling the boat a hydraulic accumulator from the donor,
Gnat aircraft was discovered connected to the system so the possibility remains
that the brake may have been deployed subsequent to the accident by stored
hydraulic pressure.
The boat still contained fuel in the engine fuel lines and a quantity was
collected and analysed using gas-chromatography as part of the official
investigation of the accident commissioned by Barrow Coroner. However,
insufficient was present to completely discount the fuel starvation theory. The
engine could have cut-out as a result of intermittent fuel starvation caused by
the untried fuel system or failure of the electrical supply to the low-pressure
fuel boost pumps. Full details of K7's stripdown, assumptions and findings are
in the public domain in the diary pages of the Bluebird Project website.
Originally constructed in 1954, the main frame of Donald Campbell's Bluebird
hydroplane returned to Lancashire, the place of its birth, over half a century
later to be rebuilt by Nelson-based PDS Engineering, an aerospace supplier with
links to other successful speed-record vehicles.
In October 2006 works to return her to full running condition commenced.
Following two declined applications to the Heritage Lottery Fund the rebuild
team, including experts from BOC (British Oxygen) and TWI (The Welding
Institute), worked thousands of man-hours free of charge to painstakingly
reconstruct the frame whilst retaining over ninety-eight percent of the original
material recovered from the depths of Coniston Water.
So committed is the Bluebird-Project to using only original components that a
four-month salvage operation took place earlier this year to recover the last,
missing piece of cockpit frame, which is now incorporated into the completed
structure. This was only possible with the use of a prototype sonar designed by
Westhill, Aberdeen based Tritech International.
Bluebird's frame now stands almost entirely original and fully serviceable, a
unique landmark in the history of conservation and with refurbishment completed
is about to return to Tyneside where reassembly of the boat will commence. The
Bluebird-Project team is rebuilding Donald Campbell's boat, not as a static
museum piece, but to full working order as a living exhibit for future
generations to marvel at.
Great Britain 2009 sg?, scott?
Sources Wikipedia and various internet sites.
Written by Mr. Peter Crichton