Two air racers of the early 1930’s this time: Macchi MC.72 (red, copper and white) and Supermarine S6B (blue and silver)

I’ll try to make this very interesting but very long story as short as I possibly can:

In 1912, Jacques Schneider, a French financier, balloonist and aircraft enthusiast, created a contest/race (the Schneider Trophy) with the intention of advancing the science of aviation. The race was held twelve times between 1913 and 1931. It was intended to encourage technical advances in civil aviation but became a contest for pure speed with laps over a (usually) triangular course, initially 280 km (170 mi) and later extended to 350 km (220 mi). The contests were staged as time trials, with aircraft setting off individually at set intervals, usually 15 minutes apart. The contests were very popular and some attracted crowds of over 200,000 spectators.

The race was significant in advancing aeroplane design, particularly in the fields of aerodynamics and engine design, and would show its results in some of the best fighters of World War II. Among those, the British Supermarine Spitfire (direct “son” of the S6B) and the Italian Macchi C202 Folgore.

However, in those years when aviation was something new, the designers thought the future of it would be in seaplanes (they could land in lakes, rivers or the sea, not in costly built runways), not in land planes as we’ve been seeing for the last 90 years. Because of that, all of the contestants of the Schneider Trophy were seaplanes with their very drag inducing floats.

Every country was allowed to participate in this competition, but by the mid 1920’s, when things got interesting, in was pretty much down to the United States, Great Britain and Italy.

One of the rules was that the first country winning 3 contest in a 5 year span would retain the trophy.

So in 1929 Great Britain had two wins in a row (after the 1927 one), and one more to go to win the whole thing. In 1930 there was no contest, but in 1931 when the French and Italian teams dropped out, leaving no other competitors, the British team flew the course alone on 13 September and won the coveted Schneider Trophy outright, having beaten the time record from the 1929 competition. The Italian, French, and German entrants had failed to ready their aircraft in time for the competition. The British team set both a new world speed record of 610 km/h (380 mph) and won the trophy outright with a third straight win.

The following days saw the winning Supermarine S6B further break the world speed record twice, making it the first craft to break the 400 mph barrier on 29 September at an average speed of 655.8 km/h (407.5 mph).

The Italians’ thought was something for the effect of “the British may have won this trophy but the last word hasn’t been said yet”. So in April 1933 they came up with an upgraded version of the Macchi Castoldi MC72. This airplane had an amazing engine. So amazing that it was two engines in one: A V12 engine in the rear moving one propeller turning one way, and the engine in the front (another V12) turning its propeller the other way (The copper color on the wings and the floats are the radiators for the cooling system). Total power of this 2 in 1 engine, was 2,851 hp. Maximum speed reached 709 km/h (440 mph). This record for piston propelled sea planes still stands almost 90 years later.

That’s why I’m showing the Italian ahead of the British: The British won the official contest, but the Italians beat the speed record.

The MC72 in flight https://youtu.be/ywffFQvfowQ