Miss England II was the name of the second of a series of speedboats used by Henry Segrave and Kaye Don to contest world water speed records in the 1920s and 1930s.
Design and construction
Miss England II was built for Lord Wakefield in 1930, who had obtained a pair of the powerful new Rolls-Royce type R V-12 engines.
Racing career
In 1931, Kaye Don began her career by setting a new record on Lake Garda.
Death of Segrave
On Friday 13 June 1930, Segrave drove Miss England II to a new record of Vorlage:Convert average over two runs on Windermere. On a third run the boat is presumed to have hit a floating branch and capsized, killing his chief engineer Victor Halliwell. His mechanic, Michael "Jack" Willcocks, had been injured but survived. Segrave's unconscious body was recovered. He regained consciousness for a moment and, always true to his spirit of leadership, asked about the fate of "his men". He was informed that he had indeed broken the record, but died from lung injuries a short time later. Again, concerns were raised that the Miss England's hulls were too light in design and construction, particularly around the hydroplane's step.
Final record
Following Segrave’s death, Miss England II was salvaged and repaired. Kaye Don, was again chosen as the new driver for 1931. However, during this time Gar Wood took the record to over Vorlage:Convert. A month later on Lake Garda, Don fought back with Vorlage:Convert. In February 1932, Wood responded, nudging the mark up by just Vorlage:Convert.
Controversy over the 1931 race
In 1931, a race on the Detroit River was billed as a match between the Wood brothers, Gar (in the new Miss America IX) and George (in the previous year's Miss America VIII), and the Englishman Kaye Don, driving Miss England II. In front of an estimated crowd of over a million spectators, Don won the first heat of the race. Miss America IX had suffered hull damage from pounding through Miss England's wake. Despite working overnight, she was barely ready the next day and Wood requested a delay to allow repairs to be completed, something he'd previously been known to concede to. Don stuck to the rules though, a matter which still rankles with some today.[1] Miss America IX made it to the second heat, but only by Wood racing flat-out to the start line, a mistake that cost him dearly later on. During another close race, Wood was leading Don when Miss England II suddenly flipped over rounding one of the turns, fortunately without injury to Don and his co-driver. Gar Wood finished the race first, but both he and Don were disqualified because they had jumped the starter's gun by seven seconds. George Wood completed the final race to win the trophy.[2]
See also
References
External Links
- ↑ James P. Barry: American Powerboats: The Great Lakes Golden Years. MBI Publishing, 2003, ISBN 0-7603-1466-7, S. 38 (google.co.uk).
- ↑ Kevin Desmond: Race Against The Odds: The Tragic Success Story of Miss England II. 2004, ISBN 1 85058 806 6(?!) – (sigmapress.co.uk).