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Luis Fontés
Luis Goncelvis Fontés (26 December 1912 – 12 October 1940) was a British racing driver of Brazilian parentage who, along with John Stuart Hindmarsh, won the 1935 24 Hours of Le Mans for the Lagonda automobile company and won the inaugural Limerick Grand Prix in 1935 in an Alfa Romeo. He also held a pilot's licence after learning to fly at Reading Aerodrome, Berkshire, UK, and entered his own Miles Hawk Speed Six racing aeroplane (registered G-ADGP) in the prestigious King's Cup Air Race in 1935. On 6 October 1935, Fontés was taking part in an illegal road race on public roads while drunk, when he was involved in a head-on collision with a motorcyclist, Reg Mordike. Mordike died the next day and as a result Fontés was charged with manslaughter, and after being convicted, was sentenced to three years in prison. He was released from prison in February 1938 and soon resumed air racing, taking part in the 1938 King's Cup, finishing 13th, while also taking up powerboat racing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1935 24 Hours Of Le Mans
The 1935 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 13th Grand Prix of Endurance. It took place at the Circuit de la Sarthe on 15 and 16 June 1935. The race was won by John Stuart Hindmarsh, Johnny Hindmarsh and Luis Fontés in a British Lagonda, breaking the run of four consecutive Alfa Romeo victories. A record number of 58 starters included a record number of British cars, at 37, dominating the smaller classes. Another notable point of the entry was four all-female cars, and a Le Mans record of ten women competing. A strong quartet of privateer Alfa Romeos, including previous winners Raymond Sommer, Francis Curzon, 5th Earl Howe, ''Earl'' Howe and Luigi Chinetti, were the favourites. Up against them for outright victory were five Bugattis, two Lagondas and a debut for French manufacturer Delahaye. Most of the race was run in poor weather with intermittent showers, though fortunately there were no serious accidents. Sommer initially had the lead for most of the first quarter of the race, until ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vickers Wellington
The Vickers Wellington (nicknamed the Wimpy) is a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson, a key feature of the aircraft is its geodetic airframe fuselage structure, which was principally designed by Barnes Wallis. Development had been started in response to Air Ministry List Of Air Ministry Specifications, Specification B.9/32, issued in the middle of 1932, for a bomber for the Royal Air Force. This specification called for a twin-engined day bomber capable of delivering higher performance than any previous design. Other aircraft developed to the same specification include the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley and the Handley Page Hampden. During the development process, performance requirements such as for the tare weight changed substantially, and the engine used was not the one originally intended. Despite the original specification, the Wellingto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
24 Hours Of Le Mans Drivers
4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is a square number, the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. Evolution of the Hindu-Arabic digit Brahmic numerals represented 1, 2, and 3 with as many lines. 4 was simplified by joining its four lines into a cross that looks like the modern plus sign. The Shunga would add a horizontal line on top of the digit, and the Kshatrapa and Pallava evolved the digit to a point where the speed of writing was a secondary concern. The Arabs' 4 still had the early concept of the cross, but for the sake of efficiency, was made in one stroke by connecting the "western" end to the "northern" end; the "eastern" end was finished off with a curve. The Europeans dropped the finishing curve and gradually made the digit less cursive, ending up with a digit very close to the original Brahmin cross. While the shape of the charact ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1940 Deaths
A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, events related to World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January 4 – WWII: Luftwaffe Chief and Generalfeldmarschall Hermann Göring assumes control of most war industries in Nazi Germany, Germany, in his capacity as Plenipotentiary for the Four Year Plan. *January 6 – WWII: Winter War – General Semyon Timoshenko takes command of all Soviet forces. *January 7 – WWII: Winter War: Battle of Raate Road – Outnumbered Finnish troops decisively defeat Soviet forces. *January 8 – WWII: **Winter War: Battle of Suomussalmi – Finnish forces destroy the 44th Rifle Division (Soviet Union), Soviet 44th Rifle Division. **Food rationing in the United Kingdom begins; it will remain in force until 1954. *January 9 – WWII: British submarine is sunk in the Heligoland Bight. *January 10 – WWII: Mechele ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1912 Births
This year is notable for Sinking of the Titanic, the sinking of the ''Titanic'', which occurred on April 15. In Albania, this leap year runs with only 353 days as the country achieved switching from the Julian to Gregorian Calendar by skipping 13 days. Friday, 30 November ''(Julian Calendar)'' immediately turned Saturday, 14 December 1912 ''(in the Gregorian Calendar)''. Events January * January 1 – The Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China is established. * January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens. * January 6 ** German Geophysics, geophysicist Alfred Wegener first presents his theory of continental drift. ** New Mexico becomes the 47th U.S. state. * January 8 – The African National Congress is founded as the South African Native National Congress, at the Waaihoek Wesleyan Church in Bloemfontein, to promote improved rights for Black people, black South Africans, with Joh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Benoist
Robert Marcel Charles Benoist (; 20 March 1895 – 11 September 1944) was a French Grand Prix motor racing driver. He won several Grand Prix racing events and the 24 Hours of Le Mans between 1924 and 1937. During World War II, Benoist resisted the German occupation of France and worked as an agent in France for the clandestine British Special Operations Executive (SOE) organization. SOE's objectives were to conduct espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance in countries occupied by the Axis powers, especially those occupied by Nazi Germany. SOE agents allied themselves with French resistance groups and supplied them with weapons and equipment. In 1943, Benoist was captured by the Germans in Paris, but escaped and fled to Britain. Returning to France, he led a sabotage campaign around Nantes, but he was captured again in June 1944 and executed. Early life Benoist was born in Auffargis, near Rambouillet, Île-de-France, France on 20 March 1895. He was the son of Jeanne and Gaston ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jean-Pierre Wimille
Jean-Pierre Wimille (; 26 February 1908 – 28 January 1949) was a French racing driver and a member of the French Resistance during World War II. He was a two-time victor of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, winning in 1937 and 1939. He is generally regarded as one of the best French drivers of his era. Biography Wimille was born in Paris, France to a father who was employed as the motoring correspondent for the Petit Parisien newspaper. Jean-Pierre Wimille developed a fascination with racing cars at a young age. He was 22 years old when he made his Grand Prix debut, driving a Bugatti 37A at the 1930 French Grand Prix in Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Pau. Driving career In 1931, Wimille finished second at the Monte Carlo Rally, driving a Lorraine-Dietrich. Driving a Bugatti T51, in 1932 he won the La Turbie hill climb, the Grand Prix de Lorraine and the Grand Prix d'Oran. In 1934 he was the victor at the Algerian Grand Prix in Algiers driving a Bugatti T59 and in January 1936 he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philippe Étancelin
Philippe Jean Armand Étancelin (; 28 December 1896 – 13 October 1981) was a French racing driver, and a winner of the 1934 24 Hours of Le Mans. He competed primarily on the Grand Prix circuit, and was an early Formula One driver. Biography Born in Rouen, Seine-Inférieure, in Normandy, Étancelin worked as a merchant in the winter and raced cars during the summer."World's Best Drivers Vie For $60,000 In Cup Race", ''Washington Post'', October 12, 1936, p.X15. Étancelin's wife, Suzanne, served as his crew chief. Their three children were placed in a school in Rouen while the couple traveled to races around the world. Suzanne communicated with Étancelin through French sign language as he raced around the speedway. Suzanne told a reporter Étancelin bought a racing car to celebrate the birth of their second child, Jeanne Alice. He did not intend to race the car but merely use it for pleasure driving around the countryside. The couple once drove it up to a speed of . Aft ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Luigi Chinetti
Luigi Chinetti (July 17, 1901 – August 17, 1994) was an Italian-born racecar driver, who emigrated to the United States during World War II. He drove in 12 consecutive 24 Hours of Le Mans races, taking three outright wins there and taking two more at the Spa 24 Hours race. Chinetti owned the North American Racing Team, which successfully ran privateer Ferraris in sports car and Formula One races. For many years he was the exclusive American importer of Ferrari automobiles to the United States. Biography Chinetti was born in Jerago con Orago, a little north of Milan. The son of a gunsmith, he apprenticed in his father's workshop where he earned a lathe operator's certificate at age 12 and qualified as a mechanic at age 14. In 1917, at age 16, he went to work for Alfa Romeo as a mechanic, where he met another young hire named Enzo Ferrari. The rise to power of Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party in his native country prompted a move to Paris where he worked for Alfa Romeo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of 24 Hours Of Le Mans Winners
The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an annual 24-hour Endurance racing (motorsport), automobile endurance race organised by the automotive group Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and held on the Circuit de la Sarthe race track close to the city of Le Mans, the capital of the French department of Sarthe. It was first held as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency in , after the automotive journalist Charles Faroux to Georges Durand, the ACO general secretary, and the industrialist Emile Coquile, agreed to hold the race for car manufacturers to test vehicle durability, equipment and reliability. Each overall victor is presented with a trophy bearing the event's emblem and the logo of the ACO commissioned by the sporting director Jean-Pierre Moreau in 1993. All three-time consecutive winning manufacturers permanently keep the trophy. Since 1991, at the initiative of a man named Bernard Warain, a cast of the winning driver's feet, hands and signature are taken before the following year' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aeroplane Monthly
''Aeroplane'' (formerly ''Aeroplane Monthly'') is a British magazine devoted to aviation, with a focus on aviation history and preservation. __TOC__ ''Aeroplane Monthly'' Issue 1 of ''Aeroplane Monthly'' was published in May 1973 at a cover price of 30p, in association with ''Flight International'', by IPC Media TI Media Ltd. (formerly International Publishing Company, IPC Magazines Ltd, IPC Media and Time Inc. UK) was a consumer magazine and digital publisher in the United Kingdom, with a portfolio selling over 350 million copies each year. Most of it .... The founder was Richard T. Riding (1942–2019), whose father, E.J. Riding, had been photographer for ''The Aeroplane'' magazine of the 1940s. The magazine is now owned by Key Publishing Ltd and headquartered in Stamford, Lincolnshire. The magazine is the successor to an earlier, weekly publication called ''The Aeroplane'', founded in 1911. See also *'' Air Enthusiast'' - defunct magazine, similar in nature to ''T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
