The Cleveland National Air Races, 1929-1949 Paul Rohrbaugh, ©2012 September’s Eagles: NASM The Cleveland National Air Races, 1929-1949 Paul Rohrbaugh, ©2012

Promotion and Show Fred Crawford (top, WRHS), founder of Cleveland Pneumatic, later Thompson Products Company. Cliff Henderson (bottom, WRHS), promoter of the Cleveland Nationals.

Air Racing Ralph Pulitzer was first to offer prizes for various accomplishments and speed records in air travel. Bendix (cross-country US, top (NASM) speed race from LA to NY city. Thompson was close-course “unlimited” race from 100 to 500 feet above ground, in front of grand stand. Course marked by pylons (bottom, NASM). The “Nationals” made Cleveland the “air laboratory of the world.”

Cleveland National Races (NAR) Parades, aerial stunt shows, and escalating “classes” of races led to Labor Day’s finale, the Thompson Unlimited! Race featured pistol shot race by pilots to their planes! First Thompson Trophy Race winner was Doug Davis in the Travelair “Mystery Ship.” 1929 race attracted record number of attendees, over 100,000, surpassing the Indy 500. Travelaire Mystery Ship (Author’s Collection) Doug Davis with 1st Thompson Trophy (WRHS)

Daring and Innovation Aircraft technology advanced to monoplanes, retractable landing gear, 500+ HP radial engines, among others. Many Aces from WWI and later WWII would figure prominently. Designers ranged from major aircraft firms (Wright, Boeing, Lockheed among others) to amateurs (Jimmy Wedell, Granville Brothers, Bill Laird most famous). Roscoe Turner posing with his Wedell-Williams 44 racer (Author’s Collection). Lowell Bayles with the GB-Z in a pre-flight check of the engine (Author’s Collection).

Rich and Famous Cleveland Nationals attracted pilots and aircraft designers from all over the world. Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, Wylie Post among famous aviators. Three Stooges, Marx Brothers, Clark Gable, Errol Flynn were just a few of the movie stars and other celebrities to put in appearances. Photo of part of the grandstand Audience at the 1931 Thompson Trophy Race (WRHS). Click on the photo to see a film clip of the 1932 Nationals.

Winners and History Makers Jimmy Doolittle (Bendix in the Laird Super Solution, 1931) and Thompson (R2 Gee-Bee, Crap Shoot, 1932). Roscoe Turner only one to win the Bendix (1933) and three Thompson Trophies (1934, 1938 and 1939). Louise Thaden, Blanche Noyes (1936), Jackie Cochrane (1938) women who won the Bendix. Click on the pilots’ names to learn more about them. Roscoe Turner accepting 1934 Thompson Trophy after being congratulated by movie star, Mary Pickford. Click on the picture for more information (NASM).

Click on the photo to view a film about the 1939 Nationals. Dangers and Risks High Speeds and “edge of the envelope” airframes led to risky combinations. Many designs led to famous US WWII aircraft (P-47, P-51 among them). Burning wreckage of Lowell Bayles GB-Z, City of Springfield. The plane crashed moments after setting a new speed record, killing the pilot (NASM). Click on the photo to view a film about the 1939 Nationals.

Above: Cook Cleland’s #94 F2G racer (WRHS) Postwar Nationals The Nationals resumed in 1946 at Cleveland following WWII. The Thompson Trophy Race continued to be the climax event. This was now subdivided into two races, one for jet and another for propeller driven aircraft. All racers were either military (jets) or ex-military/surplus models. Cook Cleland won the Thompson twice, the only other pilot besides Roscoe Turner to win this race more than once. Above: Cook Cleland’s #94 F2G racer (WRHS) Below: Roscoe Turner (left) presenting Thompson Trophy to Cleland (center), and Fred Thompson looking on (right). WRHS

Disaster 1949 Race would be the last in Cleveland. Favored racer was Jackie Cochrane’s P-51 Mustang, Beguine (named for popular song), piloted by Bill Odom (NASM). The plane crashed into new housing development, killing a new mother and her baby son, along with the pilot (Cleveland Plain Dealer).

Credits Roscoe with His pet lion, Gilmore 1939 Cleveland Nationals Program Anonymous. Air Racing History [internet site, 200?]. Accessed June 4, 2007: http://www.airracinghistory.freeola.com/index.htm Centennial of Flight Commission. “Jimmie Doolittle.” (2003). US Centennial of Flight Commission [internet site]. Accessed October 18, 2007: http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Explorers_Record_Setters_and_Daredevils/doolittle/EX18.htm Centennial of Flight Commission. “Louise Thaden.” (2003). US Centennial of Flight Commission [internet site]. Accessed October 18, 2007: http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Dictionary/Thaden/DI200.htm Hull, Robert (1984). A Season of Eagles. Bay Village, OH: Robert Hull Books. ----- (1979). September Champions: The Story of the America’s Air Racing Pioneers. Bay Village, OH: Robert Hull Books. Mendenhall, Charles A. (1994) A Legacy of Speed: the Gee Bee Racers. North Branch, MN: Specialty Press, 1979. National Air Race Project (2010). The Story of the 1939 National Air Races [Movie}. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_NlDKohGfU&feature=related Onkst, David H. “Roscoe Turner.” (2003). US Centennial of Flight [internet site]. Accessed October 18, 2007: http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Explorers_Record_Setters_and_Daredevils/turner/EX22.htm Simply the Best Sounds (1997). Plane_2.mp3 [internet site]. Accessed October 19, 2007: http://simplythebest.net/sounds/MP3/sound_effects_MP3/transportation_mp3.html Smithsonian Institute. “Photos” (various). National Air and Space Museum. Washington, DC: 2007. Warrington, Chester. 1932 National Air Races [Home movie]. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n76qGalRfXA Western Reserve Historical Society (WRHS, 2007). “Photos” (various), Cleveland National Air Races Archive Collection. Cleveland.