Curtiss R3C-2

This airplane was the R3C-1/R3C-2 (the -1 is the landplane and the -2 the seaplane version). The R3C-1, piloted by Lt. Cyrus Bettis, won the Pulitzer Trophy Race on October 12, 1925, at a speed of 248.9 mph.The Curtiss R3C-2 was designed for the 1925 Schneider Trophy race. Flying the Curtiss in the race was an Army pilot rather than a Navy pilot. On October 25, fitted with streamlined single-step wooden floats and redesignated the R3C-2, Army test pilot Lieutenant James Doolittle who was at the begining of an astonishing aviation career piloted the Curtiss.

The 1925 Schneider race was held on the Chesapeake Bay.It was the first of only two Schneider Trophy Races hosted by the United States,The Supermarine Spitfire stalled and went into the bay.The Macchi came in third, and the Gloster was second.James Doolittle piloted the Curtiss R3C-2 to victory with a speed of 232.57 mph.He was the only pilot to break 200 mph.On the day after the Schneider Race, Doolittle flew the R3C-2 over a straight course at a world record speed of 245.7 mph. Ironically it was an Army pilot who flew the Curtiss racer to its final international racing victory.In the Schneider Cup Race of November 13, 1926, this same airplane, piloted by Lt. Christian F. Schilt, USMC, and powered by an improved engine, won second place with an average speed of 231.4 mph.