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Infamous Bluebird jet-engine speedboat is back after spending 34 years as an underwater wreck

by Jason Torchinsky 1 Sep 2018 08:39 BST
Bluebird K7 © Jason Torchinsky

One of the fastest and most remarkable watercraft ever built, the Bluebird K7, returned to the water for the first time this past weekend after an absence of 51 years, 34 of which were spent at the bottom of a British lake. The Bluebird K7 is best known as the vessel that Donald Campbell used to set water speed records in the 1950s and 1960s, before he was killed in a crash in an attempt to set a 300 mph record in 1967.

The Bluebird K7 was, fundamentally, a jet engine on hydrofoils and wrapped in an aerodynamic shell, with a seat inside. The hydroplane set a number of remarkable speed records back in the day, seven water speed records, ranging from 202 mph to 276 mph from 1955 to 1964.

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