Soon afterward, World War I broke out. For the first — but hardly the last — time, a Schneider-winning racer would evolve into something more bellicose. With its floats replaced by a wheeled undercarriage, the Tabloid’s simple wood, wire and canvas structure and compact configuration served as the basis for a succession of fighters, including the famous Sopwith 1 1/2-Strutter, Pup, Triplane, Camel, Dolphin and Snipe.

Subscribe Today

• Did you enjoy our article?
• Read more in Aviation History magazine
• Subscribe online and save nearly 40%!!!
 

The next Schneider Trophy race was not held until after World War I ended on November 11, 1918. The world was still war-weary, and only three British, three French and one Italian airplane competed at Bournemouth, England, on September 10, 1919. The race was by no means well organized. Speeds could not be measured efficiently because of dense fog that endangered the contestants and made the aircraft difficult for spectators to see. The only plane to actually complete the race was an Italian Savoia S.13bis flying boat, powered by a 250-hp, 6-cylinder Isotta-Fraschini engine and flown by Guido Gianello — and he was disqualified because he had rounded a reserve boat anchored in a cove southwest of the starting point, mistaking it for one of the three official marking boats. The outraged Italian delegation was only partially mollified when the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, which controlled the race, invited the Royal Aero Club of Italy to manage the next year’s race.

When Venice hosted the 1920 Schneider Trophy between September 19 and 21, the Italians found themselves unopposed, and Luigi Bologna completed the 230.68-mile course in a Savoia S.12bis powered by a 500-hp Ansaldo V-12 engine, flying at an average speed of 105.97 mph. Venice was also the setting for the next race, on August 6 and 7, 1921 — and again it was dominated by the Italians. France entered only one plane, whose takeoff was canceled when its floats were damaged. The winner, Giovanni de Briganti, flew a Macchi M.7bis flying boat with a 280-hp Isotta-Fraschini V-6A engine through the 244.9-mile course at an average speed of 117.85 mph.

At that juncture, if Italy could win one more Schneider race, it would keep the silver trophy. The next event was held in Naples between August 10 and 12, 1922. France sent two flying boats. The Italians entered the Macchi M.17bis and a new biplane flying boat, the Savoia S.51. Britain fielded only one entry, the Supermarine Sea Lion II, also a biplane flying boat, powered by a 450-hp Napier Lion II engine. In the course of the race the S.51 crashed, killing its pilot. Adding to the Italians’ setbacks was the narrow victory won by the Sea Lion, flown at an average speed of 145.72 mph by Henry C. Biard.

Britain had only a year in which to savor its victory, however, because when the next race was held at Cowes, on the Isle of Wight, on September 27 and 28, 1923, it saw another upset victory — this time by the U.S. Navy. The American entries were part of a public relations campaign being waged by both the U.S. Army and Navy at a time when funding for the military was being rapidly reduced. To counter that trend, both branches of service had financed the development of racing aircraft. Turning its attention to the prestigious Schneider Trophy, the Navy commissioned the Wright Aeronautical Corporation to produce a biplane for the race, the NW-2, but during preliminary testing its 650-hp Wright T-2 engine exploded and the plane crashed into the sea. Its pilot miraculously survived the catastrophe.

Hedging its bets, the Navy also converted its well-established Curtiss CR-2 landplane into a floatplane, raised the tailplane a few inches and enlarged the radiators to cover nearly the entire surface of the upper wing. The result, designated the CR-3, was powered by a 450-hp Curtiss CD-12 5PL engine, and Lieutenant David Rittenhouse flew the aircraft at an average speed of 177.279 mph to win the race. Second place was won by another CR-3, flown by Lieutenant Rutledge Irvine at 173.347 mph, while Biard, flying a Sea Lion III — essentially the same plane he had flown the previous year with a more powerful engine — came in third with a speed of nearly 160 mph. Although the English public warmly applauded the Americans’ feat, the London Times commented critically on the unsporting manner in which the U.S. Navy had prepared for the event, remarking that British habits do not support the idea of entering a team organized by the State for a sporting event. Perhaps, but those habits were about to change.

Help HistoryNet by bookmarking to