The Navy-Wright NW series, also called the Mystery Racer were racing aircraft built by Wright Aeronautical Corporation at the request of the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. Although innovative, both prototype racers were lost before achieving their true potential.

Design and development

In the early 1920s, the US Navy asked the Wright Aeronautical Corporation to design an engine based on the

Lawrance J-1 The Lawrance J-1 was an engine developed by Charles Lanier Lawrance and used in American aircraft in the early 1920s. It was a nine-cylinder, air-cooled radial design. Development During World War I the Lawrance Aero Engine Company of New Yor ...

, the result being the Wright T-2 12-cylinder, water-cooled engine, with a proposed horsepower rating of 650 hp. At the time there was no aircraft that could properly use the engine, so the US Navy

Bureau of Aeronautics The Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer) was the U.S. Navy's material-support organization for naval aviation from 1921 to 1959. The bureau had "cognizance" (''i.e.'', responsibility) for the design, procurement, and support of naval aircraft and relate ...

designed an airframe to accommodate the new powerplant with construction of two prototypes (BU. Aer. Nos. A-6543 and A-6544) undertaken by the Wright Corporation. Designated the Navy-Wright NW-1, A-6543, the first prototype was designed and built in three months, and flew for the first time on 11 October 1922, just days before it was entered in the 14 October 1922 Pulitzer air race at Selfridge Field, Michigan. Entered at the last minute, the press dubbed the new entry, the ''Mystery Racer''.Kinnert 1969, p. 70. The Navy-Wright NW-1 was an unconventional streamlined design, based on a sesquiplane with main wheels faired into the lower wing, and bracing minimized to further reduce drag. Lamblin radiators were suspended beneath the fuselage and wire bracing was incorporated for the mid-fuselage mounted main wing and tailplane.

Operational history

With the rush to complete the NW-1, the aircraft was not fully tested and by the time of the Pulitzer Race, Lt. S. Sanderson had little opportunity to fly the racer. During the race, the NW-1 wearing race number "9", although reaching a top speed of 186 mph, its engine overheated and failed causing the NW-1 to ditch into Lake St. Clair, flipping over on its back. Navy-Wright NW-2 île de Wight

Extensive changes

With the major damage suffered in the ditching, the US Navy resorted to cannibalizing the wrecked aircraft to provide spares for the second prototype, A-6544, which had been retained as an engine testbed for the T-2 engine. Early in 1923, a decision was made to redesign the racer and in the months following, a completely new design emerged with the original landplane being converted into a floatplane. Radical surgery was performed to turn the sesquiplane into a biplane, with strutted wings, wing surface radiators, enlarged tail surfaces and a set of floats also part of the redesign. Fitted with a new, more powerful 700 hp Wright T-3, a development of the T-2 and a three-blade propeller, the second of the NW series was designated NW-2 and was entered into the 1923 Schneider Trophy held at

Cowes Cowes () is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked by the Cowes Fl ...

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Is ...

.Cowin 1962, p. 361. The Navy conducted flight testing at

Anacostia Anacostia is a historic neighborhood in Southeast Washington, D.C. Its downtown is located at the intersection of Good Hope Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. It is located east of the Anacostia River, after which the neighborhood is nam ...

achieving a top speed of 176 mph, before shipping the NW-2 to England in September 1923. At Cowes, wearing the race number "5", during pre-race testing, the NW-2 suffered a propeller failure in flight with the shattered propeller slicing into the floats. The pilot, Lt.

Frank Wead Frank Wilbur "Spig" Wead (24 October 1895 – 15 November 1947) was a U.S. Navy aviator who helped promote United States Naval aviation from its inception through World War II. Commander Wead was a recognized authority on early aviation. Followi ...

alighted but the severely damaged floats collapsed and the NW-2 sank, with Wead scrambling to safety, and being rescued uninjured.Kinnert 1969, p. 78. The Navy-Wright NW series was abandoned after the sinking of the NW-2.

Operators

; *

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Specifications (NW-1)

Specifications (NW-2)

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * Angelucci, Enzo. ''The American Fighter from 1917 to the present''. New York: Orion Books, 1987. . * Cowin, Hugh W. ''The Risk Takers, A Unique Pictorial Record 1908-1972: Racing & Record-setting Aircraft'' (Aviation Pioneer 2). London: Osprey Aviation, 1999. . * Cowin, Hugh W. "The Navy-Wright 'Mystery Ship'." ''Air Pictorial'', Volume 24, NO. 11, November 1962. * Kinert, Reed. ''Racing Planes and Air Races: A Complete History, Vol. 1 1909-1923''. Fallbrook, California: Aero Publishers, Inc., 1969.

External links

1923 Schneider Trophy Race Cowes

Navy-Wright NW-1 and NW-2 Racers
{{Wright aircraft 1920s United States sport aircraft NW Sesquiplanes Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1922