I'm Italian. I read my in grandpa's old magazines Donald Campbell story. He was a great man of sport and a great gentleman too. We share the love for speed on water. Italian Air force pilot Francesco Agello still got the sea plane piston engine speed record and his colleague Mario De Bernardi, a recordman too, was able to land his plane far from the crowd after he had a heartache. He died soon after the landing. I hope all people who love bravery and wallantry are Donald Campbell fans.
His final words seem soo calm, no apparent screaming or panic, just the realisation that it was the end. A very brave man who pushed a little too hard.
He had admitted on another attempt to break records where he was close to death he felt most at peace in those moments so we can have hope those were the most peaceful moments of his life before he went out
there's no braveness or glory to risk your precious life in such a stupid Thing as " being the fastest man on water". What a stupid attempt, and what a Invalid salary.....for nothing....
I have argued the point for years. Donald Campbell was the victim of his own misjudgement. With its fuel tanks full the boat was running front heavy on its first run. At the other end of the lake was a floating jetty with fuel drums and personnel waiting to re-fuel as arranged. But Campbell disregarded them,turned and began his second run. With the boat dangerously front light and with nothing to hold it down the tragedy was almost inevitable.
@@dontusethisaccount4039 There was nothing disrespectful about what he said at all. Everything he stated was simple straight facts and nothing derogatory.
Did he refuse the weight/fuel in order to be lighter for the 2nd try? Did he wait for his own ripples to flatten? Was there even a bit of headwind? I honestly don't know and am not being facetious,I just got the recommendation out of nowhere and clicked it.
The craft was not recovered until Oct. 2000. On May 2001 Donald's body was recovered still in his blue coveralls. Although they found his helmet floating after the crash, his head has still not been found.
For those who have not seen that particular thread, the video juxtaposed with Marillion's Out of This World are, together, enough to give anyone serious goosebumps. The story is very interesting, the music is superb and the two taken together are extremely taking on the emotions. And that is why two Marillion members were present when the remains of the craft were raised 15 years ago.
That was very futuristic for 1964, that jet with such a turbine. Just before his horrible crash he reached a speed of 320mph! For being 1964, that's amazing! I think he can be called a pioneer. Respect!
Even more amazing, I believe, was that the gas turbine engine drove a propeller. Not like the Aussie cheater boat that's just a jet fighter-plane engine mounted on the hydroplane hull.
If I remember well the crash in Coniston happened in 1967. Donald Campbell was the typical true English gentleman. I'm Italian. I was just one when he passed away but I've always liked him as a brave man who love sport and competition.
Donald Campbell was a hero. A brave man who sadly gave his life defending his record and carrying on his fathers legacy, with he himself making his own in the process.. He always had a positive outlook no matter the failure, and used it as an opportunity to try again. RIP (1921-1967)
As a race boat designer, I've always believed hydroplanes have a risk factor at certain speeds around 250 mph. After that speed there is a chance it will lift off the water and hits the air to land heavily on the water. The front planes should have stabilizers similar to aircraft wing ailerons that tilt the leading edge downwards according to wind speed and water roughness. These adjustable planes on each side of the boat can keep a hydroplane pressed on the water at the critical moment where they chance of nose lift would occur. Today's hydroplanes have the side planes leading edges somewhat tilted upward but are in line with the water once the boat is gliding flat. But once the speed reached 180 to 250 tops, depending on the size of the hull, the weight of the engine and the overall balance of the hull, the boat is likely to pick a pocket of 'hard air' and glides on that pocket. Once the lift has started, deceleration is the only option to avoid flying into the air. I said 'hard air' because I used to feel the difference when I raced my speed boats and went into what looked a small patch of water ripples (small hand sized waves). Going through it, I felt like going into a strong wind and a feeling of the boat being pushed back a fraction until I passed the strange air phenomenon. In the course of the whole race, there are usually a few of these 'hard air' pockets that appear on calm lake water surface and light wind. I can see them on the surface by the movement of water surface being shifted by the wind. On land, this is known as a mini tornadoes but they aren't actual tornadoes, just wind coming in different direction and 'knocking each other on the water surface that it then becomes a little compressed for a few seconds. A boat going through it at high speed will be subjected to the presence of extra air and the boat's front planes (the planes that hold two little hulls on each end) then glide higher on that air and somehow the hull is forced to lift higher, resulting in the whole boat lifting towards the air. Todays drag boats have a wing at the back with is wrong because the wing tents to lift the nose due to the air speed pushing the hull down on the water at the rear and this makes the nose lift off also at high speeds. They should be removed. I don't believe they have any function other than showing off the boat's looks. Many Hydroplanes have parachutes and these are also a serious problem because if the chutes are released early while the boat is still in the speed range of 150-200 mph, the water spray thrown behind by these boats can fill the chute faster and a chute with water in it means instant pull to stop the boat. If the chutes are attached to a higher rear end of the boat, when it pulls back it will lift the nose into the air and even at 150 mph the boat can still be pulled back quick enough to raise the nose into flight towards the sky. This is what I witnessed in a lake during my days and on drag racing days we had Hydroplane competitions championships and one Hydroplane form another city was among many others, but this one had a parachute attached to it, however the parachute wasn't attached at the lower rear part of the boat but on a pole nearly 3 feet higher, almost parallel with the engine blower. On racing it that day against another powerful Hydroplane from our State, the boat with the parachute managed to hit 250 mph but somehow and no expected, the driver decided to open the parachute, perhaps to show the large number of spectators and boat owners alike what this parachute can do. Unfortunately, the parachute filled with water and gave a sudden stopping (slowing down) jolt that the nose took to the air and the boat shot into the air and landed/crashed upside down with a horrible impact sound. The driver died before he could be driven to the shore on a rescue boat. Through this experience of building and racing boats and my involvement with the Boat Racing Club, I can't say I am talking shit. You can do whatever you like with race boats but bear in mind the limits of the designs and how far can you achieve that dream without accidents.
@@robertcook2572Ken Warby was my brothers grandpa. I got to see and sit in his jet boat. Not spirit of Australia, but his newer model. It’s literally a plane for the water, in every way. The man had it down to a science no one will beat in a long time. Hopefully his son/grandson, will take over 1 day.
A remarkable man , and a British hero to many . From an era where many paid the ultimate price. It's said he had a premonition after being dealt the same hand at cards as as a former beheaded queen the night before. Ironic on recovery of his body years later it was found he had been decapitated in the crash. A very brave man indeed.
I was a young boy of 10 back in 67, But this man's name alone, has stuck in my memory all this time, That takes some doing with me, I'm very hard to please, Along with this iconic attempt at a new world water speed record, The only other historic events that compare to this is the Sinking of the Titanic in 1912 , and the Assassination of JFK in 63. Foe what ever reason they have been stamped on my brain. All I can say is, they shocked me, and the fascination of all 3 events has stayed with me all this time, The only strange aspect of this, is the Titanic had been sunk 50 + years before I was told the story, although so long ago, I could not get it out of my mind, even today, the shear horror of the disaster with all those victims.has few equals when it comes to tragedies.
Thank you for sharing - we are celebrating this month as we come up to what would have been Donald's 100th Year on the 23rd March! I'm releasing a brand new record for his birthday and an album containing 8 records for his 8 records achieved! Xx
Since Donald's Campbell boat was renovated and tried again, I have been studying the spray pattern this boat produces ( video th-cam.com/video/incqrlhjL4k/w-d-xo.html at 2:12) and also that of John Cobb before both boats had their fatal end.They show the same spray pattern before they failed. Now, in this video showing " Water Speed Record Crash: Donald Campbell Killed (1967)", if one looks at the spray pattern at 0:55 it is clear that the boat has started to oscillate heavily, noted by the periodic time of the spray pattern in space behind the boat. The wavelength of the periodic pattern is about the same length as the boat . The spray pattern at 0:52 was well damped but at 0:55 the spray pattern indicates clearly that it was marginally stable indicating that the oscillations were going into instability. The spray pattern at 1:13 shows that the boat was at its natural resonating frequency and looking at 1:29 the same spray pattern exists. At 1:36 the oscillations went unstable and he should have pushed his throttle back at this point. At 1:39 the slamming of the boat was so heavy that Donald said, " I cannot see anything" where probably the heavy impulses were vibrating, resonating his eyeballs in their sockets losing his optical nerve. (This happened to my brother but he slowed down very fast and he got his eyesight back) At 1:41 the air lift took over . It is to be noted that the same spray pattern is being produced by the reconditioned boat at around 250 mph. I beg all those concerned to consider reducing the pitching impulses on that boat to change that spray pattern and to add more vertical and horizontal directional by adding stabilizers at the back.
It's interesting that they point out that soon man will be landing on the moon. This was January 3, 1967. Barely 3 weeks later, January 27 1967, the Apollo fire took place killing 3 astronauts.
I take back what i said. After bothering to read up i found out that he was did over 300 mph average on first run and again on his return. That man knew he was 'going' as the boat went at 45° into the water and dealt with it there and then. An amazing way to leave this world. As for that machine that went beyond its limit. It set over 300 mph on water on its first run. Projects now. 5 decades later are only just trying to compete at speeds vagely above the target it set on that first run. What a machine!
Actually on the first run in this short video clip the boat achieved 297mph through the measure kilometre. On the return run the speed peaked at considerably over 300mph but by the time both sponsons were off the water it was below 300mph again and slowing. The boat didn't reach the end of the measured kilometre on the return run but the average of the two runs would still have over 300mph if it had done so. The water speed record was raised to 317mph in 1978 on Blowring Dam in Australia.
tanklodr99 da boss, Sir, I would conclude that the heavy bumping before he took off must have oscillated his eyeballs in their sockets which severed his optical nerve at the back of his eyes, My own brother once told me that when circling Malta in a high speed boat in bumpy conditions, "I could not see at all with the vibration oscillating my eyeballs in their sockets and I throttled back quickly and after some regained my sight." He returned home, standing up and using the flexing at the knees to damp out the heavy bumps but he never again went at a high speed.
I was in England the day they found the boat. My mom's boyfriend at the time convinced whomever had the boat to let us into the barn saying we traveled all the way from america to see the wreck. I have pictures with the boat somewhere in storage, at the time I was about the age of 8. Highlight of my trip.
I remember when Australian Ken Warby broke the record in 1978(511 km/hr). He lived not far from me in the suburbs of Sydney and basically built 'Spirit of Australia' by himself on a shoestring budget. ( The vessel can be seen in the national maritime museum in Sydney).
To all the people who are banging on about wake on the second run, his flip was caused by craft instability which they knew was present at those speeds. Water has a "barrier" much like the sound barrier and, as everyone knows, if you hang around at the speed of sound, it will shake your plane to bits. Water is denser than air, so it's barrier speed is much slower. They were trying to "break the barrier" as much as the world record. Anyone interested in a better explanation can get one from the man himself, by reading his autobiography "Into the water barrier".
There’s that feeling of butterflies in your stomach when you lift off. Usually in a plane. With how most crashes in this record turn out, you know that Campbell felt that sense of takeoff in him and realized immediately that it was his and Bluebird’s time. It’s rather fitting that Bluebird would learn to fly
Would somebody please be able to translate what it is exactly that Sir Donald Campbell says during the approach to him eventually getting the bows out?
Wikipedia says: ". . . Full nose up . . . Pitching a bit down here . . . coming through our own wash . . . er getting straightened up now on track . . . rather closer to Peel Island . . . and we're tramping like mad . . . and er . . . FULL POWER . . . er tramping like hell OVER. I can't see much and the water's very bad indeed . . . I'm galloping over the top . . . and she's giving a hell of a bloody row in here...I can't see anything...I've got the bows out ...I'm going.."
I read about this. I think the water was extremely murky with poor visibility, and the crews at the time missed the wreckage by just a short distance. Later located with modern technology. Recovered and laid to rest with dignity. I think the remains were encased before being brought to the surface. I'm just going by memory ( which doesn't get me very far sometimes).
The wreck was found only a few weeks after the crash, but his daughter requested it be left untouched. However, with diving technology becoming more advanced and accessible she worried that the wreck would become a tourist destination for divers who may take parts of the wreck as souvenirs, leading to her decision to organise the recovery
I've often wondered that myself and surely, Coniston Water is in the Lake District, which is in Cumbria, not Lancashire as stated above by SportingHistory.
I'm pretty sure that he says, "And now the bow's out... I'm going!..." "I've got the bows out" makes little sense. First off, why would he *get* the bow out? That was the start of the disaster. Second, "bows"? Maybe somewhere people use the plural, but really... there's just *the bow*. Seems like slack transcription to me. The groan before the crash is horrible to hear...
the current record is over 300mph, and was set in 1978. No one has broken it. takes a special kind of crazy to do 300 on the water. i think there have been two attempts to break it. both times resulted in deaths. no one has tried since the last one.
The boat was lighter and travelled through the wash caused by the first run (made worse by the use of the water break) but these factors have since been found not to be particularly important. The area in the centre of the course where ‘Bluebird’ was travelling at peak speed on her return run was flat calm, and not disturbed from the first run. Because of the quick turnaround the wash from the first run had not had time to be reflected back on the course. Campbell knew this and it was a well practised strategy of his.
the irony of this is that he was trying to slow then which is the reason why the craft lifter even higher in the air the thrust from the turbine normally would counter the nose pitch but since he slowed the turbine down it cause the pitch to lift even higher, so sad that they didn't count his unofficial speed of 320mph, mainly because he didn't make it back across the start line, the angle in which the craft could lift was 6 degrees it lifted, 5.20 degrees but since he slowed down it caused the craft to lift another 0.80 degrees
My dads friend has the trophy that Donald set for the fastest land speed in the blue bird! Worth over 1 million pounds! He keeps good care of it I know I would! Rip Donald! x
Don't listen to the "wise guys". Some people think it makes them sound smart and dark and cynical and cool to make wise comments on videos like this. I'm an American and never had much interest in these records until I saw a film recently and I've gotten into it and read up on this history of the water speed record attempts of Campbell & John Cobb. Very interesting stuff, though I'm still very ignorant on the subject. Ignore the ass holes
I believe K7 was getting quite old ( 12 or 13) and was originally designed to top 200 mph so cracking 300 was amazing but there is only so much you can do with reportedly, biscuit tins full of old wheel weights to adjust the trim.I don't think the throttle response was quite as quick as some people would make it sound either so once she lifted to the point where he couldn't see over the nose it was probably too late anyway.
Slow response in acceleration is typical of early jet engines, once you cut throttle (fuel) that's another matter. I think it was just too late when it lifted, physics took over and nothing he ever did with speedbrake or throttle was ever going to work.
" I can't see anything, I have got the bows up, ................" could be interpreted in other ways. On looking at the fast boats which Cobb and Campbell used in those days, they were rather flat and at speed they would slam at very high frequency. We have driven fast boats with flat bottoms and they tend to slam you down so hard that even the retina in the eyes can be detached with the high accelerations involved in slamming boats even higher Gs than a fighter plane. High speed boats always need to invest in the best seats to help the driver reduce the slamming accelerations involved and when Campbell stated that he could not see, I do not think that it was because his bows were lifting, he could have gone blind with the slapping of the boat with those pontoons at the front, Personally I do not like that design for very high speed boats and with the addition of a vertical and horizontal stabiliser at the back, I would have thought that what happened to Cobb and Campbell could have been avoided.
Hi Carmej, I agree. That design is only good for just over 300 and on very calm water. Slightest waves allow air under and then it gets out of control.
Since Donald's Campbell boat was renovated and tried again, I have been studying the spray pattern this boat produces ( video th-cam.com/video/incqrlhjL4k/w-d-xo.html at 2:12) and also that of John Cobb before both boats had their fatal end.They show the same spray pattern before they failed. Now, in this video showing " Water Speed Record Crash: Donald Campbell Killed (1967)", if one looks at the spray pattern at 0:55 it is clear that the boat has started to oscillate heavily, noted by the periodic time of the spray pattern in space behind the boat. The wavelength of the periodic pattern is about the same length as the boat . The spray pattern at 0:52 was well damped but at 0:55 the spray pattern indicates clearly that it was marginally stable indicating that the oscillations were going into instability. The spray pattern at 1:13 shows that the boat was at its natural resonating frequency and looking at 1:29 the same spray pattern exists. At 1:36 the oscillations went unstable and he should have pushed his throttle back at this point. At 1:39 the slamming of the boat was so heavy that Donald said, " I cannot see anything" where probably the heavy impulses were vibrating, resonating his eyeballs in their sockets losing his optical nerve. (This happened to my brother but he slowed down very fast and he got his eyesight back) At 1:41 the air lift took over . It is to be noted that the same spray pattern is being produced by the reconditioned boat at around 250 mph. I beg all those concerned to consider reducing the pitching impulses on that boat to change that spray pattern and to add more vertical and horizontal directional by adding stabilizers at the back.
K7 was designed and built in the 1950's and had a design saftey speed of no more than 250 mph.The commentry says 'the first run showed no signs of tragedy' which is untrue,Bluebird (on the first run) was only marginally stable and avoided a crash by sheet luck and superb handling by Campbell.It is true he didn't wait for clearance but this was common practice for Campbell.He undoubtably was a brave and determined man but to try and exceed 300 mph in a 11 y.o old boat was (with hindsight) risky.
Geo second.... You need to understand that this was a time of pioneering, they didn't have the luxuries and the technology we have today, if a yanky or a Brit or an aussie set some type of record in a yank Brit or aussie machine he was a hero, the country was a hero and a winner as it proved that they were the best in there given field, yes it's still a pissing match but back then that pissing match was relevant to the nation
you can see from the left sponson rooster tail that i fact the boat is wiggling about and at each wiggle the engine torque wil be adding to the instability and each wiggle will allow air to get under and lift it and each lift got higher until it flipped over.
doesn't matter. it was at that moment he knew that his life was going to come to an end. luckily it happened quickly and he didn't even really have the time to process or experience negative emotions about the thought of facing his death. an incredible way to go. he is a hero.
What had happened was as he was on the way back he released some fuel so he would be lighter and would go faster, he was nearly finished as he was near peel island and he was so light and so fast that as he proceeded over 350MPH he took off like a jet and landed like the water was concrete, he hit his head and fell unconscious so he drowned without being able to get out
These older videos always have the best dramatic music.
8 years ago??? Damn
@@itssobig9288 POV your watching this after a tik tok video
@@ryanalexander1013 yeah from "let me cut to the chase" guy
@@itssobig9288 yep
@@lollardismontop1026 lol
I'm Italian. I read my in grandpa's old magazines Donald Campbell story.
He was a great man of sport and a great gentleman too.
We share the love for speed on water. Italian Air force pilot Francesco Agello still got the sea plane piston engine speed record and his colleague Mario De Bernardi, a recordman too, was able to land his plane far from the crowd after he had a heartache. He died soon after the landing. I hope all people who love bravery and wallantry are Donald Campbell fans.
His final words seem soo calm, no apparent screaming or panic, just the realisation that it was the end. A very brave man who pushed a little too hard.
I don't think he had time to fully process what was about to happen
Absolutely a brave man
He had admitted on another attempt to break records where he was close to death he felt most at peace in those moments so we can have hope those were the most peaceful moments of his life before he went out
He faced adversity with extreme bravery ! A very rare man !!
there's no braveness or glory to risk your precious life in such a stupid Thing as " being the fastest man on water". What a stupid attempt, and what a Invalid salary.....for nothing....
I have argued the point for years. Donald Campbell was the victim of his own misjudgement. With its fuel tanks full the boat was running front heavy on its first run. At the other end of the lake was a floating jetty with fuel drums and personnel waiting to re-fuel as arranged. But Campbell disregarded them,turned and began his second run. With the boat dangerously front light and with nothing to hold it down the tragedy was almost inevitable.
@@dontusethisaccount4039 There was nothing disrespectful about what he said at all. Everything he stated was simple straight facts and nothing derogatory.
@@dontusethisaccount4039 If anything, you are the one acting disrespectful. There were no slurs and nothing derogatory. It was just facts.
@@wesleyge1 yeah ok I'll delete it
Did he refuse the weight/fuel in order to be lighter for the 2nd try? Did he wait for his own ripples to flatten? Was there even a bit of headwind? I honestly don't know and am not being facetious,I just got the recommendation out of nowhere and clicked it.
Don’t disrespect the dead
He went over his own wash and did not stop to put more fuel in it and made the boat lighter.
The craft was not recovered until Oct. 2000. On May 2001 Donald's body was recovered still in his blue coveralls. Although they found his helmet floating after the crash, his head has still not been found.
Buzz Gold is it found yet?
DEADHOUND PLAYZ I'm pretty sure they aren't pursuing to find it out of respect, could be wrong though.
his head was found because they said it was clear when his body was found his head had taken the brunt of the impact
Should’ve left his body and the boat
@@leefearn9007 TBF of his head was missing it's pretty obvious his head took the brunt of it
"I'm going"... towards immortality!
Well, towards death.
@@jondunmore4268 we all gonna die. Depends on what you call death. His spirit is still there, I'm sure.
@@davidpfol it’s not
@@xXmlgnscpXx it snot?
For those who have not seen that particular thread, the video juxtaposed with Marillion's Out of This World are, together, enough to give anyone serious goosebumps. The story is very interesting, the music is superb and the two taken together are extremely taking on the emotions. And that is why two Marillion members were present when the remains of the craft were raised 15 years ago.
They eventually recovered his body, still in his blue jumpsuit. But his head has not been found.
Wow!
He was that angry he lost the head.
50 odd years later at the bottom of a lake im suprised anything was left
That’s so sad 😞
Why did it take so long for recovery ?? Was the lake to deep
That was very futuristic for 1964, that jet with such a turbine. Just before his horrible crash he reached a speed of 320mph! For being 1964, that's amazing! I think he can be called a pioneer. Respect!
Even more amazing, I believe, was that the gas turbine engine drove a propeller. Not like the Aussie cheater boat that's just a jet fighter-plane engine mounted on the hydroplane hull.
If I remember well the crash in Coniston happened in 1967. Donald Campbell was the typical true English gentleman.
I'm Italian. I was just one when he passed away but I've always liked him as a brave man who love sport and competition.
Thomas Nixon
It did NOT drive a propeller!
The craft was purely jet-powered - in a similar fashion to John Cobb's ill-fated "Crusader" (1952).
Thanks for the info, John Cobb's craft was way ahead of it's time.
It was built in 1955.
Anyone came from The Grand Tour ?
me lol
Donald Campbell was a hero. A brave man who sadly gave his life defending his record and carrying on his fathers legacy, with he himself making his own in the process.. He always had a positive outlook no matter the failure, and used it as an opportunity to try again. RIP (1921-1967)
it's really sad and upsetting. Such a brave man
As a race boat designer, I've always believed hydroplanes have a risk factor at certain speeds around 250 mph. After that speed there is a chance it will lift off the water and hits the air to land heavily on the water. The front planes should have stabilizers similar to aircraft wing ailerons that tilt the leading edge downwards according to wind speed and water roughness. These adjustable planes on each side of the boat can keep a hydroplane pressed on the water at the critical moment where they chance of nose lift would occur. Today's hydroplanes have the side planes leading edges somewhat tilted upward but are in line with the water once the boat is gliding flat. But once the speed reached 180 to 250 tops, depending on the size of the hull, the weight of the engine and the overall balance of the hull, the boat is likely to pick a pocket of 'hard air' and glides on that pocket. Once the lift has started, deceleration is the only option to avoid flying into the air. I said 'hard air' because I used to feel the difference when I raced my speed boats and went into what looked a small patch of water ripples (small hand sized waves). Going through it, I felt like going into a strong wind and a feeling of the boat being pushed back a fraction until I passed the strange air phenomenon. In the course of the whole race, there are usually a few of these 'hard air' pockets that appear on calm lake water surface and light wind. I can see them on the surface by the movement of water surface being shifted by the wind. On land, this is known as a mini tornadoes but they aren't actual tornadoes, just wind coming in different direction and 'knocking each other on the water surface that it then becomes a little compressed for a few seconds. A boat going through it at high speed will be subjected to the presence of extra air and the boat's front planes (the planes that hold two little hulls on each end) then glide higher on that air and somehow the hull is forced to lift higher, resulting in the whole boat lifting towards the air. Todays drag boats have a wing at the back with is wrong because the wing tents to lift the nose due to the air speed pushing the hull down on the water at the rear and this makes the nose lift off also at high speeds. They should be removed. I don't believe they have any function other than showing off the boat's looks. Many Hydroplanes have parachutes and these are also a serious problem because if the chutes are released early while the boat is still in the speed range of 150-200 mph, the water spray thrown behind by these boats can fill the chute faster and a chute with water in it means instant pull to stop the boat. If the chutes are attached to a higher rear end of the boat, when it pulls back it will lift the nose into the air and even at 150 mph the boat can still be pulled back quick enough to raise the nose into flight towards the sky. This is what I witnessed in a lake during my days and on drag racing days we had Hydroplane competitions championships and one Hydroplane form another city was among many others, but this one had a parachute attached to it, however the parachute wasn't attached at the lower rear part of the boat but on a pole nearly 3 feet higher, almost parallel with the engine blower. On racing it that day against another powerful Hydroplane from our State, the boat with the parachute managed to hit 250 mph but somehow and no expected, the driver decided to open the parachute, perhaps to show the large number of spectators and boat owners alike what this parachute can do. Unfortunately, the parachute filled with water and gave a sudden stopping (slowing down) jolt that the nose took to the air and the boat shot into the air and landed/crashed upside down with a horrible impact sound. The driver died before he could be driven to the shore on a rescue boat. Through this experience of building and racing boats and my involvement with the Boat Racing Club, I can't say I am talking shit. You can do whatever you like with race boats but bear in mind the limits of the designs and how far can you achieve that dream without accidents.
Yeah, makes you wonder why the Wright brothers didn't just build an SR71 Blackbird. I mean, it's just so obvious.
@@robertcook2572Ken Warby was my brothers grandpa. I got to see and sit in his jet boat. Not spirit of Australia, but his newer model. It’s literally a plane for the water, in every way. The man had it down to a science no one will beat in a long time. Hopefully his son/grandson, will take over 1 day.
Real life lore brought me here.
Same
A remarkable man , and a British hero to many . From an era where many paid the ultimate price. It's said he had a premonition after being dealt the same hand at cards as as a former beheaded queen the night before. Ironic on recovery of his body years later it was found he had been decapitated in the crash.
A very brave man indeed.
👍🇦🇺
I was a young boy of 10 back in 67, But this man's name alone, has stuck in my memory all this time, That takes some doing with me, I'm very hard to please, Along with this iconic attempt at a new world water speed record, The only other historic events that compare to this is the Sinking of the Titanic in 1912 , and the Assassination of JFK in 63. Foe what ever reason they have been stamped on my brain. All I can say is, they shocked me, and the fascination of all 3 events has stayed with me all this time, The only strange aspect of this, is the Titanic had been sunk 50 + years before I was told the story, although so long ago, I could not get it out of my mind, even today, the shear horror of the disaster with all those victims.has few equals when it comes to tragedies.
?mmmmkk yay !!
Jfk , lol
Add another to your list, look up Babs, land speed car at Pendine sands, again driver died & was buried with the car until the last 30yrs or so ago
I know how you feel. I watched this as an 8 year old and also not forgetting Aberfan. These memories don’t fade.
AFTER ALL THESE YEARS ,, HE IS STILL A BRAVE MAN THATS ALL WE NEED TO KNOW
After all these years, he's still a dead man.
After all these years: Did you finally find your Caps Lock button? (Sry, couldn't resist :-p )
Very much so
Thank you for sharing - we are celebrating this month as we come up to what would have been Donald's 100th Year on the 23rd March! I'm releasing a brand new record for his birthday and an album containing 8 records for his 8 records achieved! Xx
He was doing what he loved to do, he certainly knew the risks and probably knew he would die doing this..i admire his passion for speed.
Since Donald's Campbell boat was renovated and tried again, I have been studying the spray pattern this boat produces ( video th-cam.com/video/incqrlhjL4k/w-d-xo.html at 2:12) and also that of John Cobb before both boats had their fatal end.They show the same spray pattern before they failed. Now, in this video showing " Water Speed Record Crash: Donald Campbell Killed (1967)", if one looks at the spray pattern at 0:55 it is clear that the boat has started to oscillate heavily, noted by the periodic time of the spray pattern in space behind the boat. The wavelength of the periodic pattern is about the same length as the boat . The spray pattern at 0:52 was well damped but at 0:55 the spray pattern indicates clearly that it was marginally stable indicating that the oscillations were going into instability. The spray pattern at 1:13 shows that the boat was at its natural resonating frequency and looking at 1:29 the same spray pattern exists. At 1:36 the oscillations went unstable and he should have pushed his throttle back at this point. At 1:39 the slamming of the boat was so heavy that Donald said, " I cannot see anything" where probably the heavy impulses were vibrating, resonating his eyeballs in their sockets losing his optical nerve. (This happened to my brother but he slowed down very fast and he got his eyesight back) At 1:41 the air lift took over . It is to be noted that the same spray pattern is being produced by the reconditioned boat at around 250 mph. I beg all those concerned to consider reducing the pitching impulses on that boat to change that spray pattern and to add more vertical and horizontal directional by adding stabilizers at the back.
Donald Campbell was on the June 9, 1960 episode of To Tell the Truth, before he crashed his "car", from which he recovered.
It's interesting that they point out that soon man will be landing on the moon. This was January 3, 1967. Barely 3 weeks later, January 27 1967, the Apollo fire took place killing 3 astronauts.
I take back what i said. After bothering to read up i found out that he was did over 300 mph average on first run and again on his return. That man knew he was 'going' as the boat went at 45° into the water and dealt with it there and then. An amazing way to leave this world. As for that machine that went beyond its limit. It set over 300 mph on water on its first run. Projects now. 5 decades later are only just trying to compete at speeds vagely above the target it set on that first run. What a machine!
Actually on the first run in this short video clip the boat achieved 297mph through the measure kilometre. On the return run the speed peaked at considerably over 300mph but by the time both sponsons were off the water it was below 300mph again and slowing. The boat didn't reach the end of the measured kilometre on the return run but the average of the two runs would still have over 300mph if it had done so. The water speed record was raised to 317mph in 1978 on Blowring Dam in Australia.
He knew he was going before he left the water, listen closely and he says he can't see
tanklodr99 da boss, Sir, I would conclude that the heavy bumping before he took off must have oscillated his eyeballs in their sockets which severed his optical nerve at the back of his eyes, My own brother once told me that when circling Malta in a high speed boat in bumpy conditions, "I could not see at all with the vibration oscillating my eyeballs in their sockets and I throttled back quickly and after some regained my sight." He returned home, standing up and using the flexing at the knees to damp out the heavy bumps but he never again went at a high speed.
I was in England the day they found the boat. My mom's boyfriend at the time convinced whomever had the boat to let us into the barn saying we traveled all the way from america to see the wreck. I have pictures with the boat somewhere in storage, at the time I was about the age of 8. Highlight of my trip.
A proud Englishman.
A disrespectful and uncalled for reply
Are You a foreigner?
soaringtractor Every village has an idiot: seems like you’re it!
@@TheWhitehall Sir this is youtube
I remember when Australian Ken Warby broke the record in 1978(511 km/hr).
He lived not far from me in the suburbs of Sydney and basically built 'Spirit of Australia' by himself on a shoestring budget.
( The vessel can be seen in the national maritime museum in Sydney).
To all the people who are banging on about wake on the second run, his flip was caused by craft instability which they knew was present at those speeds. Water has a "barrier" much like the sound barrier and, as everyone knows, if you hang around at the speed of sound, it will shake your plane to bits. Water is denser than air, so it's barrier speed is much slower. They were trying to "break the barrier" as much as the world record. Anyone interested in a better explanation can get one from the man himself, by reading his autobiography "Into the water barrier".
He didn't wait for the water to calm down before his second run, too.
There’s that feeling of butterflies in your stomach when you lift off. Usually in a plane. With how most crashes in this record turn out, you know that Campbell felt that sense of takeoff in him and realized immediately that it was his and Bluebird’s time. It’s rather fitting that Bluebird would learn to fly
Would somebody please be able to translate what it is exactly that Sir Donald Campbell says during the approach to him eventually getting the bows out?
Wikipedia says: ". . . Full nose up . . . Pitching a bit down here . . . coming through our own wash . . . er getting straightened up now on track . . . rather closer to Peel Island . . . and we're tramping like mad . . . and er . . . FULL POWER . . . er tramping like hell OVER. I can't see much and the water's very bad indeed . . . I'm galloping over the top . . . and she's giving a hell of a bloody row in here...I can't see anything...I've got the bows out ...I'm going.."
Great footage! but I wonder why the clip where he crashes is noticeably worse in quality than the other clips...
I read about this. I think the water was extremely murky with poor visibility, and the crews at the time missed the wreckage by just a short distance. Later located with modern technology. Recovered and laid to rest with dignity. I think the remains were encased before being brought to the surface. I'm just going by memory ( which doesn't get me very far sometimes).
The Brits still hold the land speed record. Another fascinating story.
I was asking why it happened and it seems to me that you gave a right explanation.
Which lake?
Coniston waters
RIP very brave man and pioneer ❤️
First time I've seen this. What a man
His body was found 2001. That's so incredible
The wreck was found only a few weeks after the crash, but his daughter requested it be left untouched. However, with diving technology becoming more advanced and accessible she worried that the wreck would become a tourist destination for divers who may take parts of the wreck as souvenirs, leading to her decision to organise the recovery
I've often wondered that myself and surely, Coniston Water is in the Lake District, which is in Cumbria, not Lancashire as stated above by SportingHistory.
In 1967, Coniston was in Lancashire.
That thing barely even crashed. It just instantly vaporized. Damn.
That video gave me chills
I remember learning about this when I was like 4 years old
like 4 yrs old = 3 1/2
I'm pretty sure that he says, "And now the bow's out... I'm going!..."
"I've got the bows out" makes little sense. First off, why would he *get* the bow out? That was the start of the disaster. Second, "bows"? Maybe somewhere people use the plural, but really... there's just *the bow*.
Seems like slack transcription to me.
The groan before the crash is horrible to hear...
maybe it was "I've got to bow out"?
@@Drobium77 Yes, that sounds more plausible as he had just said that he can't see
Had more guts than all those currently infesting Westminster and Whitehall put together.
That backflip tho
the current record is over 300mph, and was set in 1978. No one has broken it. takes a special kind of crazy to do 300 on the water. i think there have been two attempts to break it. both times resulted in deaths. no one has tried since the last one.
Sodiumreactor there was john cobb, donald campbell, and the fellow in Miss England II
That was Ken Warby at Blowering Dam in 1978 at 317.5 mph. Never been bettered.
The boat was lighter and travelled through the wash caused by the first run (made worse by the use of the water break) but these factors have since been found not to be particularly important.
The area in the centre of the course where ‘Bluebird’ was travelling at peak speed on her return run was flat calm, and not disturbed from the first run. Because of the quick turnaround the wash from the first run had not had time to be reflected back on the course. Campbell knew this and it was a well practised strategy of his.
Divers found Campbell's remains still in his racing suit in 2001, 34 years after his death on the lake in '67.
We visited this lake yesterday 9th of September I remember this tragedy happening he was a fantastic man
😮
He died a brave hero with a cool sports car 🇬🇧
Donald Campbell was one of my heroes. I was 12 when he was killed. I cried for days.
And wasn't found for forty years
the irony of this is that he was trying to slow then which is the reason why the craft lifter even higher in the air
the thrust from the turbine normally would counter the nose pitch but since he slowed the turbine down it cause the pitch to lift even higher,
so sad that they didn't count his unofficial speed of 320mph, mainly because he didn't make it back across the start line,
the angle in which the craft could lift was 6 degrees it lifted, 5.20 degrees but since he slowed down it caused the craft to lift another 0.80 degrees
What happened? What went wrong? How could this happen? I had no idea this could happen.
from 1:00 on first run the intermittent roostertails show the basic instability of the boat.
My dads friend has the trophy that Donald set for the fastest land speed in the blue bird!
Worth over 1 million pounds!
He keeps good care of it I know I would! Rip Donald! x
He held more records than his father and yet never felt as though he moved out of his shadow. He really should have been knighted.
Don't listen to the "wise guys". Some people think it makes them sound smart and dark and cynical and cool to make wise comments on videos like this. I'm an American and never had much interest in these records until I saw a film recently and I've gotten into it and read up on this history of the water speed record attempts of Campbell & John Cobb. Very interesting stuff, though I'm still very ignorant on the subject. Ignore the ass holes
You are a brave hero Donald Campbell! You helped make Great Britain great!
I'm on my back . . . I'm gone."
I believe K7 was getting quite old ( 12 or 13) and was originally designed to top 200 mph so cracking 300 was amazing but there is only so much you can do with reportedly, biscuit tins full of old wheel weights to adjust the trim.I don't think the throttle response was quite as quick as some people would make it sound either so once she lifted to the point where he couldn't see over the nose it was probably too late anyway.
Slow response in acceleration is typical of early jet engines, once you cut throttle (fuel) that's another matter.
I think it was just too late when it lifted, physics took over and nothing he ever did with speedbrake or throttle was ever going to work.
Life or world record, which is more important?
But that's what made life worth living for Campbell - being close to the edge. Adrenaline is addictive but can be fatal.
Who is the narrator?
+Ben Winters I think his name was Bob Danvers-Walker.
RIP Donald Campbell, a great man.
The crash was bone chilling tho, like what was going through his mind
It happened so fast he didn’t have time to suffer.
@@CJODell12 but when he was in the air out of control
@@randomstuff6088 Only for literally two or three seconds at most.
@@CJODell12 I’d say like 5, but still you can think a lot in that short amount of time, the brain is super fast my guy
Sounded like his sister felt he should stay with his ship.
“You get the arm! I’ll get the leg!”
It’s a damn shame how the press treated him before he died.
I can't imagine that boat hitting the water at a worse angle
" I can't see anything, I have got the bows up, ................" could be interpreted in other ways. On looking at the fast boats which Cobb and Campbell used in those days, they were rather flat and at speed they would slam at very high frequency. We have driven fast boats with flat bottoms and they tend to slam you down so hard that even the retina in the eyes can be detached with the high accelerations involved in slamming boats even higher Gs than a fighter plane. High speed boats always need to invest in the best seats to help the driver reduce the slamming accelerations involved and when Campbell stated that he could not see, I do not think that it was because his bows were lifting, he could have gone blind with the slapping of the boat with those pontoons at the front, Personally I do not like that design for very high speed boats and with the addition of a vertical and horizontal stabiliser at the back, I would have thought that what happened to Cobb and Campbell could have been avoided.
Carmel Pule' and maybe on 2nd run going back the other way their was an ever so slight head on breeze? which got magnified by his speed
Hi Carmej, I agree.
That design is only good for just over 300 and on very calm water.
Slightest waves allow air under and then it gets out of control.
Since Donald's Campbell boat was renovated and tried again, I have been studying the spray pattern this boat produces ( video th-cam.com/video/incqrlhjL4k/w-d-xo.html at 2:12) and also that of John Cobb before both boats had their fatal end.They show the same spray pattern before they failed. Now, in this video showing " Water Speed Record Crash: Donald Campbell Killed (1967)", if one looks at the spray pattern at 0:55 it is clear that the boat has started to oscillate heavily, noted by the periodic time of the spray pattern in space behind the boat. The wavelength of the periodic pattern is about the same length as the boat . The spray pattern at 0:52 was well damped but at 0:55 the spray pattern indicates clearly that it was marginally stable indicating that the oscillations were going into instability. The spray pattern at 1:13 shows that the boat was at its natural resonating frequency and looking at 1:29 the same spray pattern exists. At 1:36 the oscillations went unstable and he should have pushed his throttle back at this point. At 1:39 the slamming of the boat was so heavy that Donald said, " I cannot see anything" where probably the heavy impulses were vibrating, resonating his eyeballs in their sockets losing his optical nerve. (This happened to my brother but he slowed down very fast and he got his eyesight back) At 1:41 the air lift took over . It is to be noted that the same spray pattern is being produced by the reconditioned boat at around 250 mph. I beg all those concerned to consider reducing the pitching impulses on that boat to change that spray pattern and to add more vertical and horizontal directional by adding stabilizers at the back.
Search: "Marillion: Out of This World". Song written about Donald Campbell's boat, along with this same video footage
Back then, they should have taken the time to invent a Michelinman-like survivor suit.
1:48 that will ruin your whole day
From Bluebird to Bluecoffin in an instant.
omg what a sad day for the bluebird and donald campbell
When my year went to Thurston for a school trip, we all believed the legend that his headless body stalks the lake
K7 was designed and built in the 1950's and had a design saftey speed of no more than 250 mph.The commentry says 'the first run showed no signs of tragedy' which is untrue,Bluebird (on the first run) was only marginally stable and avoided a crash by sheet luck and superb handling by Campbell.It is true he didn't wait for clearance but this was common practice for Campbell.He undoubtably was a brave and determined man but to try and exceed 300 mph in a 11 y.o old boat was (with hindsight) risky.
I think people get confused with Cobb's attempt in Loch Ness!
Geo second.... You need to understand that this was a time of pioneering, they didn't have the luxuries and the technology we have today, if a yanky or a Brit or an aussie set some type of record in a yank Brit or aussie machine he was a hero, the country was a hero and a winner as it proved that they were the best in there given field, yes it's still a pissing match but back then that pissing match was relevant to the nation
Yep a different era with different values and objectives.
Km ????
also crankbv1 because of what you say he came into contact with the wake he had produced going up which unsteadied the boat
Wow them last few seconds before he crashed
you can see from the left sponson rooster tail that i fact the boat is wiggling about and at each wiggle the engine torque wil be adding to the instability and each wiggle will allow air to get under and lift it and each lift got higher until it flipped over.
"im going" in other words hes going to die. Thats what he meant
jimbob jim
"I'm going" refers to the craft going out of control.
Pretty much, 300mph + out of control = death.
doesn't matter. it was at that moment he knew that his life was going to come to an end. luckily it happened quickly and he didn't even really have the time to process or experience negative emotions about the thought of facing his death. an incredible way to go. he is a hero.
Campbell's vehicles all look like batmobiles.
Rather killed by a nuke.
Died from water Boi
Was this boat called The Green Monster back in the 60's
you would kinda think he was gonna make the backflip but he crashed it
You can tell the speed just from the explosive impact, it would have had to have been a perfect landing, probably not possible.
Cameron Stanley the gs from the flip probably would've crushed him anyway
ouch. speed can kill easier over water than on land or in the air. water just tears you apart once you hit and break the surface doing 300mph
According to experts, if he'd waited another few minutes, till the wash from his first run, had settled, he would never have taken off like that?
This voice is your typical 20th century narrating voice in a black and white film.
So badass lol
What a tastelessly placed subscribe button...
What had happened was as he was on the way back he released some fuel so he would be lighter and would go faster, he was nearly finished as he was near peel island and he was so light and so fast that as he proceeded over 350MPH he took off like a jet and landed like the water was concrete, he hit his head and fell unconscious so he drowned without being able to get out
His head was removed by the plexiglass cockpit canopy acting as a guillotine on impact.
Legend R.I.P. Donald 🌹
I've been to his grave countless times
Nice form but the landing was a little rough. He may have to settle for the bronze.
r.i.p
Grand tour sent me here
Right in front of the camera, like it was made for tv
just looking at the design .. there is too much space between the nose and the water .. going to lift at some point
Anybody here after Bugatti’s new video?