The Wedell-Williams Model 45 was a
racing aircraft
Air racing is a type of motorsport that involves airplanes or other types of aircraft that compete over a fixed course, with the winner either returning the shortest time, the one to complete it with the most points, or to come closest to a previ ...
built in the United States in
1933
Events
January
* January 11 – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand.
* January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wis ...
.
Design and development
The Model 45 was a development of designer
James Wedell's earlier
Model 44 and was a low-wing cantilever monoplane with tailwheel undercarriage, the main units of which were retractable.
Operational history
The Model 45 flew for the first time on June 28, 1933
and showed promising performance achieving an average speed of 264.703 mph on a 100 km closed course.
Wedell-Williams pilot, John Worthen flew the 45 to a second place in the 1934 Bendix Trophy race and if not for a navigation error would have demolished the 44's first place time by at least 50 minutes.
On June 24, 1934, Jimmy Wedell died in an accident while piloting a
Gypsy Moth
''Lymantria dispar'', also known as the gypsy moth or the spongy moth, is a species of moth in the family Erebidae. ''Lymantria dispar'' is subdivided into several subspecies, with subspecies such as ''L. d. dispar'' and ''L. d. japonica'' bei ...
on a flying lesson.
Development of the 45 was delayed following the loss of its creator. Even so, the 45 was entered in the 1934 Thompson Trophy Race. In a preliminary event, the Shell Speed Dash Unlimited, Worthen placed first with an average speed of 302.13 mph.
[Schmid and Weaver 1983, p. 291.] He then qualified the 45 with a speed of 292.14 mph, third behind the 44 and Turner's racer in the main event.
However the 45 was still suffering from development problems and was withdrawn due to instability.
During the Thompson race Doug Davis crashed the 44 and was killed instantly.
Devastated, the Wedell-Williams team dismantled and trucked the 45 to Patterson. It never flew again.
In rapid succession, the remaining Wedell-Williams principals were killed in air crashes: Walter Wedell, Jimmy's brother, was killed in a crash on July 18, 1935.
Company co-founder
Harry Palmerston Williams
Harry Palmerston Williams (October 6, 1889 – May 19, 1936) was a Louisiana businessman and co-owner of the Wedell-Williams Air Service Corporation that dominated air racing in the United States during the so-called Golden Age of Aviation.
Ea ...
and chief test pilot, John Worthen were both killed on May 19, 1936 in a crash.
After the death of Williams, the Model 45 was donated to
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...
, where it eventually disappeared, its final fate unknown.
A full-scale replica Model 45, constructed by Jim B. Clevenger of Kissimmee, Florida, is on display at the Louisiana State Museum in Patterson, Louisiana.
Specifications (Model 45)
See also
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
* Foxworth, Thomas G. ''The Speed Seekers.'' New York: Doubleday, 1976. .
* Hirsch, Robert S. and Barbara H. Schultz. ''Wedell-Williams Air Service.'' Lancaster, California: Little Buttes Publishing, 2001. .
* Schmid, Sylvester H. and Truman C. Weaver. ''The Golden Age of Air Racing: 1927–1933.'' Oshkosh, Wisconsin: EAA Aviation Foundation, 1983. .
External links
{{commons category, Wedell-Williams Model 45
Photos of the Model 45, Louisiana State Museum
1930s United States sport aircraft
Low-wing aircraft
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1933
Model 45