December 2018 FLYPAST 67Spotlight on British
Schneider racers55
competitions were won by the British, more than any other nation
Gladiator, destined to be the RAF’s
last biplane fighter.
The Type 224 was hamstrung by
Air Ministry edicts, particularly its
belief in the impotent Goshawk. The
freedom that Mitchell had enjoyed
with the ‘S-series’ convinced the
industry and, eventually, the Air
Ministry that unfettered Schneider-
like radical thinking was needed for
the next generation of warplanes.
Private ventures were the real
legacy of the Schneider competition.
Sydney Camm’s Hurricane paved the
way, followed by Mitchell’s Spitfire
and later de Havilland adopted the
same mind-set with the Mosquito.
All these machines relied on
the crowning glory of Britain’s
involvement in Jacques Schneider’s
tournament: the Rolls-Royce Merlin.
This vitally important engine was
originally referred to as the PV.12 –
private venture, 12-cylinder.
The experience in developing the
‘R’ was a springboard in many areas
of powerplant technology. It led
to several other advancements and
prompted many designers to 'up
their game'.
Mitchell was not the only British
designer to benefit from the
Schneider effect. Henry Folland led
the team that created the Gloster VIs
for the 1929 contest.George Carter was design consultant
on the unsuccessful Short-Bristow
Crusader; he went on to create
Britain’s first jet, the Gloster E28/39,
and the incredible Meteor.
Alongside Mitchell, Joseph Smith
was working as chief draughtsman
on each hectic revision as the days
ticked away to the start of each race.
It was Smith who seamlessly took
over as chief designer after Mitchell
succumbed to cancer in June- Mitchell had bequeathed the
prototype Spitfire to the nation, but
it was Smith that turned the fighter
into a dynasty.
Time capsule
Drive south along the west bank of
Southampton Water through Fawley
and follow signs to Calshot Castle.
At the end is a narrow spit of land
where the Royal Naval Air Service
established a flying-boat haven
in 1914. It became a major RAF
base and the last 235 Operational
Conversion Unit Short Sunderlands
flew away in October 1953.
Much of the site is accessible to
the public, allowing a glimpse of
a unique time capsule. There are
plenty of displays on Calshot’s
aviation days within the castle.
Take a walk to the slipways in
front of the castle and imagine those
thoroughbred Supermarine racers
being launched and
recovered.
Nearly nine
decades ago,
this was a
place where
the state-of-
the-art was
stretched to
the limit.Gilkicker Point at Gosport on
his right.
A naval vessel moored off East
Cowes acted as the next turn;
another gruelling jack-knife to sizzle
past Ryde again at the end of the first
31-mile lap. Another six to go...
When all the observers and judges
had finished their deliberations,
it was announced he’d averaged
340.05mph and had won the
Schneider Trophy in perpetuity
for Great Britain. To underline
British domination, 17 days later
Flt Lt George Stainforth put S1595
through its paces and became the
first man to travel at more than
400mph – setting a new world air
speed record of 407.5mph.
Racing legacy
Part of Schneider mythology is that
the S.6 led directly to Mitchell’s
masterpiece, the Spitfire. The
floatplane paved the way for the
disciplines and innovations needed to
create a world-beating fighter, but it
was not the next step.
Between the S.6 and the Spitfire
was a rare failure for Mitchell.
His response to the Air Ministry’s
Specification F7/30 for a single-seat
day fighter, powered by a 600hp
Rolls-Royce Goshawk II with
evaporative cooling was the gull-
winged, faired, fixed undercarriage,
open cockpit Type 224. This first
flew on February 19, 1934 and
proved disappointing from the
very start.
In Mitchell’s defence, none of
the bidders for F7/30 were
successful. In the end the
requirement was re-written as
F14/35 and won
by the Gloster
Above left
S.6A S1595 is displayed
among many other
national treasures at the
Science Museum in London.
KEY-STEVE FLETCHERAbove
The machine that won
the Schneider Trophy
in perpetuity for Great
Britain: S.6B S1595 afl oat
off Calshot, 1931. This photo
has been signed by Flt Lt
George Stainforth (left)
and Flt Lt John Boothman.
ROLLS-ROYCEBelow
Calshot Castle is now
open to the public and
is the centrepiece of a
fascinating heritage area.
KEN ELLIS