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Fg Off Leonard Snaith
First Reserve Pilot of the 1931 Great Britain Schneider Trophy Race. G roup Captain Leonard Snaith in his younger days was a notable athlete, having represented the R.A.F. in athletics, created a new R.A.F. half-mile record (in 1927) and played for the Service rugby football team in 1922-23-24. He joined the High Speed Flight team in 1931 and was reserve pilot for the race. This team won the trophy for the third consecutive time for Great Britain, winning it outright. Test flying had occupied part of his Service career in that, from 1931 till 1934, he was a test pilot at the Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment, Felixstowe, and from 1941 until 1942 he was test-flying American aircraft for the British air Commission in the U.S.A. He died on 6th Seotember 1985.
| Fg Off Leonard Snaith - Signed Aviation Art |
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| Text for the above items : |
A Moment of Triumph by Gerald Coulson. On the afternoon of Sunday, 13th September 1931, Flt. Lt J N Bootham, RAF, in a Southampton-built S6B seaplane, tore through the skies over the Solent to average 340.08mph round a 217-mile course. This fly-over was sufficient for Great Britain to gain the Schneider Trophy outright since it meant that the event had been won on three consecutive occasions. That it nearly didn't happen is part of the history of British Aviation, only timely sponsorship saving the whole Supermarine programme. So ended an era in aviation history which, with hindsight, proved so important for the free world as it was from this remarkably-advanced design of airframe and engine that R J Mitchells most famous aircraft of all time, the Spitfire, was developed. Without the advances brought on by the development of the Supermarine racing seaplanes, it is doubtful that the technology required for the Spitfire would have been so readily available. The Merlin and Griffon engines from Rolls Royce were also part of this programme. These were to be the mainstay of the British Aircraft Industry during World War II and become a legend in their own right. A replica of the aircraft which went on to set world air speed records can be seen in the Southampton Hall of Aviation, together with the legendary Spitfire. The Schneider Trophy was won outright by Great Britain on September 13th 1931. Flight Lieutenant J N Boothman flying S6B S1595, completed the seven laps at an average speed of 340.08mph. Fg Off Leonard Snaith and Flt Lt Freddy Long were the first and second reserve pilots of the 1931 GB Schneider Trophy team, behind J N Boothman. |
Leonard Snaith signing prints of Moment of Triumph in 1981.
| Fg Off Leonard Snaith Aircraft details |
 S6B Manufacturer : Supermarine | S6B No profile available |
| Fg Off Leonard Snaith Squadron details |
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