Curtiss R3C-1 with Lt. Jimmy Doolittle
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Throughout the 1920s the Schneider Trophy race for seaplanes attracted international attention. Three times Curtiss planes sought the Schneider Trophy, in 1923, 1925, and 1926; twice they won and once finished second. The 1925 race at Baltimore was especially outstanding. An Army Curtiss R3C-1, flown beautifully by Lt. Jimmy Doolittle (posing with his plane in this photograph), won with a blistering average speed of 232 miles per hour for seven laps around the triangular course. In winning, Doolittle set four world speed records for seaplanes. The R3C-1 was a sleek plywood-and-fabric biplane with a big new Curtiss V-12 engine of 619 horsepower. A few weeks before, the same plane, fitted with wheels instead of floats, had won the Pulitzer Trophy race at the world-record speed of 249 miles per hour. From the Darlene Thorne Collection |
