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Aviation History
1931
1931 - 0957.PDF
FLIGHT, SEPTEMBER 11, 1931 HISTORY OF THE SCHNEIDER TROPHY CONTESTS IN view of the fact that the twelfth contest for theSchneider Seaplane Trophy, to be held over Spit-head on Saturday next, September 12, will be thelast of the series, due to the winning by GreatBritain of three out of five consecutive contests, itis thought that a brief history of the Schneider Contests may be of interest to readers of FLIGHT, and anoutline of the events, as well as a table showing the winners and their speeds, in the various years will therefore befound in the following pages. On December 5, 1912, at the Gordon-Bennet Banquet ofthe Aero Club of France, it was announced that M. Jacques Schneider, a well-known French sportsman and amember of the famous French armament nrm, had offered through the Aero Club of France a trophy valued at25,000 francs for an international competition, to be called The " Coupe d'Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider," tobe competed for by international challenge according to regulations approved by the F.A.I. M. Schneider alsogave a further 25,000 francs to the promoting club for three successive annual contests, the first of which was tobe held under the auspices of the Aero Club of France. 1913 The first contest for the Schneider Trophy was organisedby the Aero Club of France, and was held at Monaco during the International Seaplane Competitions (or, asthey were then called, Hydro- Aeroplane Competitions) being held there from April 3 to 16. Only two countrieswere represented, France and America. America was represented by Mr. C. T. Weymann on a " Nieuport "twin-float monoplane fitted with 100-h.p. Gnome rotary engine. France sent several entries, including two" Breguets," two " Nieuports," two " Deperdussins," one " Borel " and one " Morane." The course consisted of 28 lapsof a 10-km. circuit, or a total dis- tance of 280 km. The 1913 contest was won byM. Prevost on a " Deperdussin " twin-float monoplane fitted with160-h.p. Gnome engine. Prevost completed the course in 2 hr.50 min. 47 sec, but in finishing he omitted to cross the line, andby the time he could get into the air again and cross the line, con-siderable time had been lost, and his official time then became3 hr. 48 min. 22 sec, which brought his average speed downto 45.75 m.p.h. (72.6 km./'hr.). As France was the winnerof the 1913 contest, the Aero Club of France was entrustedwith the organisa- tion of the secondSchneider Contest, which, like thefirst, was held at Monaco in 1914.The course was again one of 28laps of a 10-km. circuit, and fivecountries entered machines for thecontest, viz., Great Britain, France,Germany, Switzer- land and U.S.A. The 1914 contest resulted in a magnificent win for GreatBritain by Mr. Howard Pixton on a Sopwith twin-float biplane fitted with 100-h.p. Gnome engine. Pixton com-pleted the course in 2 hr. 0 min. 16 sec, his average speed being 139.7 km./hr. (86.8 m.p.h.). 1919 During the war period 1914-1918 the Schneider Contest was abandoned, and the first Schneider Contest after the war was held at Bournemouth and organised by the Royal Aero Club of the United Kingdom, Howard Pixton having won the trophy for England in 1914. Three countries were represented in the 1919 Schneider Contest at Bournemouth, viz., Great Britain, France and Italy. The eliminating trials were held off Cowes on Septem- ber 8, and the actual contest was to have taken place off Bournemouth on September 10. On that date, however, a thick mist hung over the sea, and conditions were extremely unfavourable for the holding of such a contest. Competitors lost their way, others damaged their machines and had to retire, and altogether the 1919 contest was a failure. One of the Italian competitors, Janello, on a Savoia S.13 flying boat, fitted with 250-h.p. Isotta- Fraschini engine, was believed at the time to have com- pleted the course correctly, and was for a time considered the winner, but later it was reported that he had not been seen by one of the mark boats which formed the turning points, and consequently the 1919 contest was ultimately declared void. As a token of appreciation of the way in which Janello had flown his machine under extremely bad weather conditions, it was, however, decided to entrust to Italy the organisation of the next contest. 1920 The fourth Schneider TrophyContest, held at Venice in 1920, was almost as unsatisfactory asthat held the previous year at Bournemouth. There were noBritish entries for the contest, and France, who had entered,withdrew her entry at the last minute. This left Italy alone inthe field, and Italy secured the trophy by Bologna flying over thecourse on September 21 in a Savoia S.I 9 flying boat fittedwith 500-h.p. Ansaldo engine. The course was a triangular oneoi 20 sea miles, and the regula- tions for the 1920 contest demandedthat this course should be flownten times, giving a total distance of200 sea miles. Bologna completedthe course at 172.5 km./hr. (10 7m.p.h.). 1921 The fi f t h Schneider Contest was nearly as much of a failure as had 895
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