Thompson Trophy

File:CHC Cleveland - Thompson Trophy 01.jpg

One of the Thompson Trophies, at the Cleveland History Center

The Thompson Trophy race was one of the National Air Races of the heyday of early airplane racing in the 1930s. Established in 1929, the last race was held in 1961. The race was Template:Convert long with Template:Convert pylons marking the turns, and emphasized low altitude flying and maneuverability at high speeds. As the race was flown around a closed course, crowds in the grandstands could easily see much of the spectacle.

There were two series of Thompson races. The first series followed the award of a "Thompson Cup" in the 1929 National Air Races to the winner of the "International Land Plane Free-For-All" (that is, the unlimited class race). Thompson Products (a predecessor to TRW) decided to sponsor a trophy to be awarded for the next ten years for unlimited class racing (though a stipulation was eventually added excluding women pilots). The trophy was designed by Walter Sinz and is now at Air and Space Museum. Sinz also made a pair of Template:Convert models of the trophy for promotional purposes. Races were held for the next ten years, ending in September 1939. Further races in this series were precluded by the onset of war.

After World War II the original trophy was (according to stipulation) retired. Also, advances in airplane technology, especially the advent of the turbojet, complicated matters. It was decided to establish a new series, with "R" (piston engine) and "J" (jet-powered) divisions. The "R" class was for civilian competition; the "J" division was for military pilots and was administered by the United States Air Force. Roscoe Turner, the last winner of the pre-war trophy, refused to relinquish it, but the original molds were located, and two additional casts were made, differing only in the legend engraved at the base and by placards identifying the division. Division "R" races were held from 1946 to 1949; Division "J" races (also known as "Military Speed Dashes") were held from 1951 to 1961, except 1952 and 1960.

Winners

Year	Location	Pilot	Plane	Speed mph	Speed km/h	Prize
1929	Cleveland	Doug Davis	Travel Air Type R Mystery Ship File:Texaco No.13.jpg	Template:Convert
1930	Chicago	Charles W. Holman	Laird LC-DW300 Solution File:Laird Solution.jpg	Template:Convert
1931	Cleveland	Lowell Bayles	Granville Gee Bee Model Z Super Sportster File:Geebee.jpg (replica)	Template:Convert	$7,500.00
1932	Cleveland	Jimmy Doolittle	Granville Gee Bee Model R-1 Super Sportster File:Gee Bee R-1.jpg (replica)	Template:Convert	$4,500.00
1933	Los Angeles	James R. Wedell	Wedell-Williams Model 44 File:WWModel44MissPatterson.JPG (replica)	Template:Convert	$3,375.00
1934	Cleveland	Roscoe Turner	Wedell-Williams Model 44 File:WWModel44RoscoeTurner.JPG (replica)	Template:Convert	$4,500.00
1935	Cleveland	Harold Neumann	Howard DGA-6 "Mr. Mulligan" " File:Howard DGA-6 Replica.jpg (replica)	Template:Convert	$ 6,750.00
1936	Los Angeles	Michel Detroyat	Caudron C.460 File:Caudron 460 Le Bourget 2009.jpg (replica)	Template:Convert	$ 9,500.00
1937	Cleveland	R. A. "Rudy" Kling	Folkerts SK-3 File:Folkerts SK-3.jpg	Template:Convert	$9,000.00
1938	Cleveland	Roscoe Turner	Laird-Turner Meteor LTR-14 File:Turner RT-14 Meteor.jpg	Template:Convert	$22,000.00
1939	Cleveland	Roscoe Turner	Laird-Turner Meteor LTR-14 File:Turner RT-14 Meteor.jpg	Template:Convert	$16,000.00
1940	No races during this period due to World War II
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
1946	Cleveland	Alvin "Tex" Johnston	Bell P-39Q Airacobra File:P-39N Airacobra of the 357th Fighter Group at Hamilton Field in July 1943.jpg (type example)	Template:Convert	?
1947	Cleveland	Cook Cleland	Goodyear F2G Corsair File:F2G-1 Bu88458.jpg	Template:Convert	?
1948	Cleveland	Anson Johnson	North American P-51D File:Anson Williams' P-51 N13Y.jpg	Template:Convert	?
1949	Cleveland	Cook Cleland	Goodyear F2G Corsair File:F2G-1 Bu88458.jpg	Template:Convert	?
1951	Detroit	Colonel Ascani	North American F-86E Sabre File:F-86 in korea.jpg (type example)	Template:Convert	?
1953	Dayton	Brig. General Holtoner	North American F-86D Sabre File:North American F-86D Sabre USAF.jpg (type example)	Template:Convert	?
1954	Dayton	Captain Sonnenberg	North American F-86H Sabre File:North American F-86H SabreCAM.jpg (type example)	Template:Convert	?
1955	Edwards Air Force Base	Colonel Hanes	North American F-100C Super Sabre File:North American F-100C (SN 54-2099) in flight 060905-F-1234S-063.jpg (type example)	Template:Convert	?
1956	NAS China Lake	Commander Windsor	Vought F8U-1 Crusader File:F8U-1 Thompson Trophy NAN10-56.jpg	Template:Convert	?
1957	Edwards Air Force Base	Major Drew	McDonnell F-101A Voodoo File:F-101A Voodoo.jpg (type example)	Template:Convert	?
1958	Edwards Air Force Base	Captain Irwin	Lockheed F-104A Starfighter File:Lockheed XF-104 (SN 53-7786) in flight 060928-F-1234S-003.jpg (type example)	Template:Convert	?
1959	Edwards Air Force Base	Major Rogers	Convair F-106A Delta Dart File:F-106A Chase Dart.JPEG (type example)	Template:Convert	?
1961	Edwards Air Force Base	Major Harold E. Confer	Convair B-58A Hustler File:Convair XB-58 Hustler in flight 061101-F-1234P-007.jpg (type example)	Template:Convert	?

See also

• List of aviation awards

External links

• THE THOMPSON TROPHY STORY
• The Major Trophy Races of the Golden Age of Air Racing
• Thompson Trophy on Air Racing History site
• “Doolittle Tames the Gee Bee”. Online reprint of Nov. 1994 article from Aviation History magazine. Includes photos & video.

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