1938 Bluebird K3
Sir Malcolm Campbell’s single keel hydroplane at Filching Manor
Designer: Fred Cooper
Mechanical Consultant: Reid Railton
Builder: Saunders-Roe Ltd.
See specifications below illustration • Prints only available from K3 website: http://www.k3bluebird.com
Vee 12 Rolls Royce R37(1st), R39(2nd)
Displacement: 36.7 litres
Carburation: fuel injection, aviation petrol, Benzol, methonol and tetra ethyl lead mix
Power output: 2,150hp
Propeller speed: 9,000rpm
Gearbox ratio: 3 to 1 on engine rev
HULL
Displacement: 4,945 lb (2,243K)
Construction: mahogany frame, sides: double diagonal Mahogany sandwiching a calico membrane, deck: doped canvas covering plywood planking
DIMENSIONS
Length waterline: 22' 3" (6.782m)
Draught: 1' 9" (0.533m)
Beam: 9' 6" (2.895m)
Rise of floor amidships: 3º
Rise of aft amidships: 2º
Beam/length ratio: 2.4 to 1
Propeller pitch: 20" or 27" (508/638mm)
Propeller diameter: 12" or 14" (305/355mm)
126.32 mph (203.29km/h) on 1st September 1937 on Lake Maggiore (Swiss/Italian border), breaking Garfield Wood’s previous 5-year-old record of 93.12 mph (149.86km/h)
129.5 mph (208.41km/h) on the following day on Lake Maggiore
130.91 mph (210.63km/h), 17th August 1938 at Lake Hallwyl, Switzerland