''Miss England I'' was the first of a series of speedboats used by

Henry Segrave Sir Henry O'Neal de Hane Segrave (22 September 1896 – 13 June 1930) was an early British pioneer in land speed and water speed records. Segrave, who set three land and one water record, was the first person to hold both titles simultaneou ...

and

Kaye Don Kaye Ernest Donsky (10 April 1891 – 29 August 1981), better known by his ''nom de course'' Kaye Don, was an Irish world record breaking car and speedboat racer. He became a motorcycle dealer on his retirement from road racing and set up Amb ...

to contest world

water speed record The world unlimited water speed record is the officially recognised fastest speed achieved by a water-borne vehicle, irrespective of propulsion method. The current unlimited record is , achieved by Australian Ken Warby in the ''Spirit of Austra ...

s in the 1920s and 1930s.

Design and construction

''Miss England'' was built for Henry Segrave in 1928, in an attempt to retrieve the Harmsworth Trophy from the American

Gar Wood Garfield Arthur "Gar" Wood (December 4, 1880 – June 19, 1971) was an American inventor, entrepreneur, and championship motorboat builder and racer who held the world water speed record on several occasions. He was the first man to travel ...

. Gar Wood's series of "Miss America" boats were using multiple high-powered aero-engines to establish an apparently unbeatable record. Segrave had already used multiple aero-engines in his land-speed record setting

Sunbeam A sunbeam, in meteorological optics, is a lightbeam, beam of sunlight that appears to radiate from the position of the Sun. Shining through openings in clouds or between other objects such as mountains and buildings, these beams of light scatter ...

, but ''Miss England'' used a single

Napier Lion The Napier Lion is a 12-cylinder, petrol-fueled 'broad arrow' W12 engine, W12 configuration aircraft engine built by D. Napier & Son from 1917 until the 1930s. A number of advanced features made it the most powerful engine of its day and kept ...

engine and relied on an advanced planing hull design. The hull was of an advanced lightweight construction, which some designers, including Gar Wood, regarded as too light and flexible. Wood made many sportsmanlike contributions to his competitor, particularly sharing his experience of propeller and rudder design – he wanted a close race with a worthy opponent.

Racing career

''Miss England'' raced successfully against Gar Wood's ''Miss America VII'' in Miami in 1929. It had been a successful trip for Segrave, having also taken the land speed record in '' Golden Arrow'', and he was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

on his return. A record for single-engined boats of was established. The racing success though was due to Segrave's brave driving and some mechanical problems for ''Miss America''. However ''Miss England'' was always outclassed by the far more powerful and faster American boats.

Survival today

''Miss England I'' survives to this day and is on display in the

Science Museum A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, Industry (manufacturing), industry and Outline of industrial ...

, London File:Miss England I.jpg, Side view File:Miss England at Science Museum London.JPG, Cockpit File:Miss England I Napier Lion engine.jpg, Napier Lion engine File:Bow-on view of Miss England I.jpg, Bow-on view File:Propellor and rudder of Miss England I.jpg, Propeller and rudder File:Miss England I, showing the planing step under the hull.jpg, Under hull view showing the planing step

References

{{cite web , title=Speedboat: 'Miss England I', used by Segrave to contest World Water Speed Records, with various components , url=https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co39704/speedboat-miss-england-i-used-by-segrave-to-contest-world-water-speed-records-with-various-components-boat , website=Science Museum Group Racing motorboats Vehicles powered by Napier Lion engines

Design and construction

Racing career

Survival today

See also

References