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"In our last issue we reported the death of Mr. John Cobb, on
the verge of triumph, when his jet-propelled speedboat Crusader
disintegrated and sank in Loch Ness after reaching a speed of about
206.8 m.p.h. This series of eleven frames from a ciné file
may cast some light on the cause of disaster. Most observers of the
event refer to a triple wave which met and struck Crusader,
causing it to bounce and, according to some, to dip its nose in the
third. These waves have been referred to as "pressure waves,
" but one authority says they could not have been pressure
waves in the technical sense and another authority suggests that
they may have had their origin in some quite normal disturbance of
the water. In frame (1) the air intakes (just ahead of the cockpit)
are well clear of the water, although the nose appears lower than
was usual at speed. In frame (2) a puff of steam appears at the
intake and the nose is dipped. The puff becomes a cloud and the
craft slows until at frame (7) an explosion appears to take
place."
(Reprinted from the Illustrated London News, October 11,
1952, p.597)
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on the thumbnail at the left to display a full-size image --LF] |
