The Thompson Trophy race was one of the National Air Races of the heyday of early airplane racing in the 1930s. Established in 1929, the last race was held in 1961. The race was 10 miles (16 km) long with 50-foot-high (15 m) pylons marking the turns, and emphasized low altitude flying and maneuverability at high speeds. As the race was flown around a closed course, crowds in the grandstands could easily see much of the spectacle.
There were two series of Thompson races. The first series followed the award of a "Thompson Cup" in the 1929 National Air Races to the winner of the "International Land Plane Free-For-All" (that is, the unlimited class race). Thompson Products (a predecessor to TRW) decided to sponsor a trophy to be awarded for the next ten years for unlimited class racing (though a stipulation was eventually added excluding women pilots). The trophy was designed by Walter Sinz[1] and is now at Air and Space Museum. Sinz also made a pair of 10-foot-tall (3.0 m) models of the trophy for promotional purposes. Races were held for the next ten years, ending in September 1939. Further races in this series were precluded by the onset of war.
After World War II the original trophy was (according to stipulation) retired. Also, advances in airplane technology, especially the advent of the turbojet, complicated matters. It was decided to establish a new series, with "R" (piston engine) and "J" (jet-powered) divisions. The "R" class was for civilian competition; the "J" division was for military pilots and was administered by the United States Air Force. Roscoe Turner, the last winner of the pre-war trophy, refused to relinquish it, but the original molds were located, and two additional casts were made, differing only in the legend engraved at the base and by placards identifying the division. Division "R" races were held from 1946 to 1949; Division "J" races (also known as "Military Speed Dashes") were held from 1951 to 1961, except 1952 and 1960.
| Year | Location | Pilot | Plane | Speed mph |
Speed km/h |
Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | Cleveland | Doug Davis | Travel Air Type R Mystery Ship |
194.5 | 313 | |
| 1930 | Chicago | Charles W. Holman | Laird LC-DW300 Solution |
201.91 | 325 | |
| 1931 | Cleveland | Lowell Bayles | Granville Gee Bee Model Z Super Sportster (replica) |
236.239 | 380 | $7,500.00 |
| 1932 | Cleveland | Jimmy Doolittle | Granville Gee Bee Model R-1 Super Sportster (replica) |
252.686 | 407 | $4,500.00 |
| 1933 | Los Angeles | James R. Wedell | Wedell-Williams Model 44 (replica) |
237.952 | 383 | $3,375.00 |
| 1934 | Cleveland | Roscoe Turner | Wedell-Williams Model 44 (replica) |
248.129 | 399 | $4,500.00 |
| 1935 | Cleveland | Harold Neumann | Howard DGA-6 "Mr. Mulligan" " (replica) |
220.194 | 354 | $ 6,750.00 |
| 1936 | Los Angeles | Michel Detroyat | Caudron C.460  (replica) |
264.261 | 425 | $ 9,500.00 |
| 1937 | Cleveland | R. A. "Rudy" Kling | Folkerts SK-3 |
256.910 | 413 | $9,000.00 |
| 1938 | Cleveland | Roscoe Turner | Laird-Turner Meteor LTR-14 |
283.419 | 456 | $22,000.00 |
| 1939 | Cleveland | Roscoe Turner | Laird-Turner Meteor LTR-14 |
282.536 | 455 | $16,000.00 |
| 1940 | No races during this period due to World War II | |||||
| 1941 | ||||||
| 1942 | ||||||
| 1943 | ||||||
| 1944 | ||||||
| 1945 | ||||||
| 1946 | Cleveland | Alvin "Tex" Johnston | Bell P-39Q Airacobra (type example) |
373 | 600 | ? |
| 1947 | Cleveland | Cook Cleland | Goodyear F2G Corsair |
396 | 637 | ? |
| 1948 | Cleveland | Anson Johnson | North American P-51D |
396 | 637 | ? |
| 1949 | Cleveland | Cook Cleland | Goodyear F2G Corsair |
397 | 639 | ? |
| 1951 | Detroit | Colonel Ascani | North American F-86E Sabre (type example) |
635 | 1,022 | ? |
| 1953 | Dayton | Brig. General Holtoner | North American F-86D Sabre (type example) |
690 | 1,110 | ? |
| 1954 | Dayton | Captain Sonnenberg | North American F-86H Sabre (type example) |
692 | 1,114 | ? |
| 1955 | Edwards Air Force Base | Colonel Hanes | North American F-100C Super Sabre (type example) |
822 | 1,323 | ? |
| 1956 | NAS China Lake | Commander Windsor | Vought F8U-1 Crusader |
1,015 | 1,633 | ? |
| 1957 | Edwards Air Force Base | Major Drew | McDonnell F-101A Voodoo (type example) |
1,207 | 1,942 | ? |
| 1958 | Edwards Air Force Base | Captain Irwin | Lockheed F-104A Starfighter (type example) |
1,404 | 2,260 | ? |
| 1959 | Edwards Air Force Base | Major Rogers | Convair F-106A Delta Dart (type example) |
1,525 | 2,454 | ? |
| 1961 | Edwards Air Force Base | Major Harold E. Confer | Convair B-58A Hustler (type example) |
1,302 | 2,095 | ? |
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