The first contest for the Schneider Trophy was no more than a single and apparently minor item in a 14-day hydro-aeroplane meeting at Monaco in April 1913; yet within ten years it had become the most coveted of all air prizes, the greatest international speed race of all time.

Dominated at first by France, it was very nearly won outright by Italy-three wins in five years was what was required-in the years immediately after the first World War. A flying-boat modified by a young man named R. J. Mitchell saved the trophy at Naples in 1922, but in 1923 the Americans, fielding a well-trained military team and flying the incomparable Curtiss racer, outclassed all their rivals and carried off the trophy. Winning again at Baltimore in 1925, they seemed certain to capture the prize outright. But then came the Italians' greatest moment as the firms of Macchi and Fiat achieved the miracle of producing in seven months a new monoplane which defeated the seemingly unbeatable Curtiss biplanes at Hampton Roads, Virginia.

A British victory at Venice brought the contest to England in 1929 for the first time for six years, and a thrilling race in which a new Supermarine design was powered for the first time by a Rolls-Royce engine ended in another British victory. The political, technical and economic background to the challenges of the various countries had been a fascinating one throughout, and now the need for economy decided the British Government against further official participation-a decision already taken by the United States. How Lady Houston kept Britain's chances alive with a gift of £100,000, and how Britain finally secured the trophy, makes a dramatic climax to a unique story of human progress and endeavour.

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RAF, Aviation History, Military History, World War II, Hero Stories, Stories of Endurance, British History, Crime, Ralph Barker, Ralph Barker Author

Ralph Barker

RAF, Aviation History, Military History, World War II, Hero Stories, Stories of Endurance, British History, Crime, Ralph Barker, Ralph Barker Author

Born in 1917 and educated at Hounslow College, Ralph joined the editorial staff of Sporting Life in 1934, but later went into banking. Meanwhile, he had begun writing, and several of his sketches and scenes were produced in West End Revue.

Ralph joined the RAF in 1940 as a wireless operator/air-gunner and progressed his military career until 1961 when he retired voluntarily from the RAF to write full time. He was a frequent contributor of feature stories to the Sunday Express.

RAF, Aviation History, Military History, World War II, Hero Stories, Stories of Endurance, British History, Crime, Ralph Barker, Ralph Barker Author

Other Books by Ralph Barker

STORIES OF ENDURANCE

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The Last Blue Mountain - The great Karakoram climbing tragedy | New Edition 2020

NEW publication 2020. An acclaimed mountaineering classic in the same genre as Touching the Void, Ralph Barker’s The Last Blue Mountain is an epic tale of friendship and fortitude in the face of tragedy.

When the passenger liner City of Benares sailed from Liverpool on Friday, 13 September 1940, she was carrying 90 evacuee children from the bombed cities of Britain, bound under a government-sponsored scheme for a safe haven in Canada. Her sinking by U-boat four days later, without warning, in total disregard of the plight of survivors and in defiance of international law, shocked and horrified the civilised world.

This true story of a hijacking and hostages. A disturbing fact-filled book of extreme human experience.

In late 1942 the elderly Ellerman Line steamer City of Cairo was on a voyage from Capetown to Brazil when seven days into the Atlantic crossing the ship was sunk by a U-Boat. There were 300 persons, including women and children and crew aboard.

The Story of Bill Lancaster and Chubbie Miller.

Previously published as Verdict On A Lost Flyer

A penetrating biography of a truly exceptional man - F. Spencer Chapman DSO

Twelve superb sea stories and examples of man's eternal struggle with the sea.

Among those who fought in the ferocious battles for the skies during the Second World War, some - shot down, or forced to ditch - had to confront an exceptionally pitiless enemy: the sea.

Ten remarkable true accounts of unusual incidents and happenings to Bomber Command aircrew during World War Two.

All these stories are eloquent of devotion and endurance...all are moving. They are told graphically without sensationalism. (Times Literary Supplement)

Tales of Supreme Bravery (Daily Telegraph)

Military History

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An overview of British aerial operations in World War II.

The story of the daring RAF pilots who flew low-level torpedo attacks against German battleships in World War II.

The Royal Flying Corps in World War Volumes I and II

'Ralph Barker has written a masterly anecdotal history of the flying war over France, and the courageous 'bird-men', who gave such dedicated support to the regiments deadlocked in the trenches beneath them' - Daily Telegraph

A thoroughly-researched account of this little known aspect of Second World War Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm operations.

The story of how George Binney, a 39 year-old civilian working in neutral Sweden set about running vital cargoes of Swedish ball-bearings and special steels to Britain through the blockaded Skagerrak.

One of the greatest sea stories of World War II

A penetrating biography of a truly exceptional man - F. Spencer Chapman DSO

Twelve superb sea stories and examples of man's eternal struggle with the sea.

Among those who fought in the ferocious battles for the skies during the Second World War, some - shot down, or forced to ditch - had to confront an exceptionally pitiless enemy: the sea.

Ten remarkable true accounts of unusual incidents and happenings to Bomber Command aircrew during World War Two.

Fifteen "dramas of the air"

There can be nothing more poignant than a sequence of events which gives some occupants of an aircraft a chance of escape and others none.

The story of the first large scale bombing in history, the R.A.F.'s firebombing of Cologne, Germany in 1942.

All these stories are eloquent of devotion and endurance...all are moving. They are told graphically without sensationalism. (Times Literary Supplement)

Tales of Supreme Bravery (Daily Telegraph)

Ralph Barker has unearthed twelve untold or little-known but unforgettable stories of men whose names may be unfamiliar but without whose selfless tenacity Britain would not have survived.

Aviation History

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Sidney Cotton was an audacious man - aviator, spy, businessman, gun runner and more. He was at the forefront of photo-reconnaissance before and during WW2.

'In seeking to establish the facts and unravel the secrets of these and other famous air mysteries, Ralph Barker brings outstanding gifts of graphic description to a subject of compelling power' - The Aeroplane.

An overview of British aerial operations in World War II.

The story of the daring RAF pilots who flew low-level torpedo attacks against German battleships in World War II.

The Story of Bill Lancaster and Chubbie Miller.

Previously published as Verdict On A Lost Flyer

One of the greatest sea stories of World War II

Among those who fought in the ferocious battles for the skies during the Second World War, some - shot down, or forced to ditch - had to confront an exceptionally pitiless enemy: the sea.

Ten remarkable true accounts of unusual incidents and happenings to Bomber Command aircrew during World War Two.

Fifteen "dramas of the air"

There can be nothing more poignant than a sequence of events which gives some occupants of an aircraft a chance of escape and others none.

The story of the first large scale bombing in history, the R.A.F.'s firebombing of Cologne, Germany in 1942.

An excellent account by Barker of The Schneider Trophy Races

This iconic race for seaplanes and flying boats was significant in advancing aeroplane design, particularly in the fields of aerodynamics and engine design, and would show its results in the best fighters of World War II

All these stories are eloquent of devotion and endurance...all are moving. They are told graphically without sensationalism. (Times Literary Supplement)

Tales of Supreme Bravery (Daily Telegraph)

Cricket

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Biography of the distinguished cricketing family, including Bill, John, Geoffrey, Eric and Brian Edrich.

‘Stories of skill, patience, grit and swashbuckling verve retold in an urgent, compelling style. You are there on the terraces, in the game.’ - Times Educational Supplement

Kindle Edition | Endeavour Press (28 Dec. 2016)