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Attempt at a Record] |
John Cobb
Excerpt from The Perilous Pursuit
J
ohn Cobb was the holder of the land speed record of 394 mph and he intended to be the first person to simultaneously own both the land and water marks.In late 1952, Cobb took the red and silver Crusader to Loch Ness in Scotland. Designed by Reid Railton and Peter Du Cane, it was an unorthodox reverse three-pointer, with a central planing surface forward and twin planing surfaces aft. Its powerplant was a de Havilland Ghost, known for its used in the famed Comet jetliner. Although Malcolm Campbell had been the first to experiment with new-fangled jet power, Cobb recognized that the "fastest human on water" would soon be decided by the sheer weight of accomplishment, by thrust instead of internal combustion.
Sayres had just upped his own record to 178.49 mph in Slo-mo-shun IV, and Cobb's early runs netted virtually equal speeds. But disaster struck several days later. Just after exiting the traps with a clocking of 206.89 mph, Cobb was killed outright as Crusader nosed in and crashed -- in the fashion of a man going over the handlebars of a bicycle. Although he didn't establish an official two-way record, Cobb was the first to exceed 200 mph on water.
(Reprinted from "The Perilous Pursuit" by David Speer, Powerboat Magazine, June 1998)
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