James Robert Wedell (March 31, 1900 – June 24, 1934) was a famous 1930s racing pilot and aircraft designer. Wedell broke the world record for land-plane speed in 1933 when he clocked 305.33 m.p.h. in a Wedell-Williams aircraft of his own design. He won the Thompson Trophy air race in the same year. Wedell's company, the Wedell-Williams Air Service Corporation, won 14 "distinguished finishes" (top five) in the Thompson and Bendix Trophy races.

Early years

Wedell was born in Texas City on March 31, 1900 to Robert and Ida Wedell, who operated a tavern in the town. His brother Walter, born on November 14, 1901, was joined later by sisters, Elizabeth and Mary. With the sudden and premature death of both parents, the brothers were on their own from teen years on. The two brothers were both mechanically inclined, especially working with gasoline engines. Another major interest was aviation and flying."Jimmie Wedell."
''Texas City Library.'' Retrieved: January 9, 2012. Wedell left school in the ninth grade to open the Black Star Garage behind the family home. He repaired cars and motorcycles and when the first U.S. Army Air Field was established in Texas City in 1913, he learned to fly, and he later taught his brother.

Aviation career

After buying two junked aircraft, the Wedell brothers constructed a new aircraft from the parts and began to fly as exhibition pilots, barnstorming along the Gulf Coast. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, his brother enlisted in the Navy but Wedell was turned down because of poor eyesight, having lost sight in one eye in a motorcycle accident. After flying in Mexico and the Gulf Coast, the Army hired Jimmy as a civilian instructor of cadet fliers.Ponce, Jesse
"Jimmy Wedell: Texas City’s King of the Sky."
''Galveston Daily News,'' September 4, 2011. Retrieved: January 9, 2012. After the war, Wedell returned to the Black Star Garage, working as a mechanic, while designing and building racing planes and barnstorming the country. In 1922, the Wedell brothers left for New Orleans where they started an air service and a flying school. They met millionaire Harry P. Williams from Patterson, Louisiana. Williams was in the oil, sugar and lumber businesses and was married to

Marguerite Clark Helen Marguerite Clark (February 22, 1883 – September 25, 1940) was an American stage and silent film actress. As a movie actress, at one time, Clark was second only to Mary Pickford in popularity. All but five of her films are considered ...

, a former star of silent movies. Wedell taught Williams how to fly and they became the best of friends, bonded by their interest in aviation. Continuing his earlier work as a designer, Wedell had a factory built to design and build low-wing monoplanes, starting with the Wedell-Williams Model 22. The “44” (

Wedell-Williams Model 44 The Wedell-Williams Model 44 is a racing aircraft, four examples of which were built in the United States in the early 1930s by the Wedell-Williams Air Service Corporation. It began as a rebuilding of the partnership's successful ''We-Will'' 1929 ...

) became one of the fastest aircraft flying in the United States, Wedell called it, "hot as a .44 and twice as fast." During his lifetime, Wedell held more speed and long-distance records than any other racing pilot. Not only the first to fly at over 300 mph in a "land plane", he also set a “three flags speed” mark, flying from Ottawa, Canada to Washington, and on to Mexico City in 11 hours, 53 minutes. Wedell's best year in air racing was in 1933, when he won races at every competition he entered.

Wedell-Williams Air Service Corporation

Wedell and Williams created the Wedell-Williams Air Service Corporation in Patterson with the first enterprise being a passenger service from

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

via Baton Rouge, Shreveport and Dallas; it was Louisiana’s first commercial airline. In 1936, the carrier was acquired by

Eastern Air Lines Eastern Air Lines, also colloquially known as Eastern, was a major United States airline from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County, Florida. Ea ...

for $160,000. The company also started their own postal air service and opened a flying school.

Wedell-Williams Museum

Patterson Louisiana hosts the Wedell-Williams Aviation Museum.

Death

In 1934, Wedell was involved in not only air racing but also exhibition flying and even flight training. During flight training, he was killed in an accident on June 24, 1934. Wedell's death received national attention where he was remembered for his love of speed, his innovations in the design of racing planes, and his reputation for "donating his time and talents to those in need". His obituaries included a column by

Will Rogers William Penn Adair Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was an American vaudeville performer, actor, and humorous social commentator. He was born as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, in the Indian Territory (now part of Oklahoma ...

and an article in ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' magazine."Death of Jimmie Wedell."
''Louisiana State Museum.'' Retrieved: January 9, 2012. Wedell is buried in the Columbia Cemetery in West Columbia, Texas.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * Foxworth, Thomas G. ''The Speed Seekers.'' New York: New York: Doubleday, 1976. . * Hirsch, Robert S. and Barbara H. Schultz. ''Wedell-Williams Air Service.'' Lancaster, California: Little Buttes Publishing, 2001. . * Jablonksi, Edward. ''Man with Wings: A Pictorial History of Aviation.'' Garden City, New York : Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1980. . * Schmid, Sylvester H. and Truman C. Weaver. ''The Golden Age of Air Racing: 1927-1933.'' Oshkosh, Wisconsin: EAA Aviation Foundation, 1983. .

External links

Jimmy Wedell, Louisiana State Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wedell, Jimmy 1900 births 1934 deaths American air racers Aviators from Texas Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents People from Texas City, Texas Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1934