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Bluebird History

Donald Campbell, who was born in 1921 in Horley, Surrey, was the son of Sir Malcolm Campbell who was the holder of thirteen world speed records in the 1920's and 1930's using the famous "Bluebird" cars and boats.

Using his father's old boat, Bluebird K4, he began his speed record attempts. However, after structural failure on Coniston Water at 170 mph in 1951, he started to develop a new boat. The Bluebird K7, which was designed by Ken and Lew Norris, was a jet propelled all metal three point hydroplane with a Metropolitan Vickers Beryl jet engine. Between 1955 and 1964 he set seven world water speed records using the K7.

Records

The first water speed record of 202.15mph was at Ullswater on 23 July 1955. He continued to increase this speed and peaked when he reached 276.33 mph on 31 December 1964 at Dumbleyung Lake in Western Australia. Campbell began in 1956 to plan a car which he hoped could break the land speed record of 394 mph.

Bluebird Proteus CN7, which was designed by the Norris brothers, would hopefully achieve 500 mph. Bluebird Proteus CN7 was completed by the spring of 1960. After a unsuccessful attempt and a high speed crash at Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah the car was rebuilt in 1962 and shipped to Australia for a new attempt at Lake Eyre in 1963. However, after several failed attempts he eventually set a record of 403.10 mph in 1964 on Lake Eyre. Campbell became the first, and only person so far, to set both land and water speed records in the same year.

The fatal attempt

However, on 4 January 1967 Campbell achieved a run of 297 mph on his first leg at Coniston Water with Bluebird K7 and on his return trip he was travelling over 300 mph when Bluebird K7 flipped over backwards and he crashed to his death. Unfortunately, Royal Navy divers were unable to find his body. It wasn't until 2001 that a diving team from Northumberland finally retrieved Bluebird and the remains of Donald Campbell.

Donald was finally laid to rest in Coniston cemetery on 12 September 2001 after a funeral in Coniston village. Between him and his father they set eleven speed records on water and ten on land in a "Bluebird". The Ruskin Museum in Coniston has a display of Donald's memorabilia as well as the actual tail fin of K7 together with the air intake of the Bristol Orpheus engine which was recovered in 2001. Eventually the restored Bluebird K7 will be housed at The Ruskin Museum permanently.

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