The setting of speed records on land, water and in the air at all times attracted the attention of enthusiasts and companies involved in the production of various high-speed equipment.
By virtue of the laws of physics, a person managed to achieve the highest speed of movement in the air, there is a fairly large number of aircraft that develop a speed of several thousand km / h. On the ground, the mark is 400 km / h. easily overcome serial supercars. On water, it is much more difficult to develop such a speed, due to too much resistance. Accelerate to 400 km / h. on the water surface, only a few have succeeded in history.
"Blue Bird" - the legend of water speed records
The first person who managed to accelerate over 400 km / h. on the water, was the Englishman Donald Campbell, who devoted his whole life to setting speed records on water and on land. On September 16, 1956, on a jet ship bearing the name "Blue Bird", he accelerated to a maximum speed of 461 km / h. At that time, the record was considered the average speed with which the ship sailed a certain segment, in both directions, so the speed was officially recorded at 363 km / h. After that, on the same boat, he surpassed his own records 3 more times, the last of which was 418 km / h. not beaten to this day. The brave record holder died trying to establish a new achievement on the same "Blue Bird", the wreckage of the ship sank along with Campbell.
In March 2001, Bill Smith, a professional diver, lifted the Bluebird from the bottom of Campbell Lake. And two months later he found Campbell. He was buried on the shore of the lake. At the bottom of the lake, the remains of the boat and its pilot were 34 years old.
The absolute record for speed on water was set by Australian Kenn Peter Warby on the Spirit of Australia boat, in the fall of 1977, he managed to accelerate to 555 km / h. It is noteworthy that the Spirit of Australia vessel, equipped with a Westinghouse J34 jet engine, with a capacity of 6 thousand hp. was collected, literally, from scrap materials. Now the world's fastest boat is on display as an exhibit at the National Maritime Museum of Australia.
"Phenomenon" - the fastest today
Today, the fastest vessel in its class is the Phenomenon boat, which was able to accelerate to 402 km / h. and is capable of maintaining an average speed of 350 km / h. The Phenomenon is a 17-meter boat powered by a 4-turbine engine with a capacity of 12,000 hp. Designers and engineers from NASA, and Boeing specialists took part in the creation of the boat.
In 2013, Mercedes-Benz and Cigarette Racing introduced the Cigarette AMG Electric Drive Concept, which can reach speeds of over 160 km / h, making it the fastest electric boat in the world, according to the developers.
The idea to create the fastest boat in the world belongs to the American restaurateur and millionaire Al Copeland, who owned the Formula 1 team Popeyes Offshores and was also its pilot. It was he who developed the design of the hull and prepared the drawings of the high-speed vessel. Unfortunately, Al did not live to see his dream come true, his son completed his plans.
