Donald Malcolm Campbell was born in 1921, the son of a famous racing driver, Sir Malcolm Campbell, who became known for his attempts to set Land Speed Records for automobiles. Being the son of a celebrity is never easy, especially as his father told him that he would never emulate his success. Determined to prove him wrong, Donald Campbell dedicated his life to the pursuit of establishing speed records on land and water.
Once he had secured sufficient sponsorship, in 1956 he and his team began construction of a gas-turbine powered car, the Bluebird CN7 which was first demonstrated at Goodwood prior to being shipped to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah where his father had set a world speed record in 1935. In a practice run a speed of almost 400 mph was achieved but a few days later, while attempting a timed run at full speed, Bluebird crashed and the photograph shows the aftermath. Campbell survived but suffered skull fractures, a damaged ear drum and bruising. He recuperated for a few months in California but his confidence was shaken; he took flying lessons as a means to recover his confidence and in 1964 he drove Bluebird to a new world record of 403.10 mph at Lake Eyre in Australia. Despite setting a new record he was disappointed since Bluebird was designed to reach over 500 mph but due to an unusual amount of rain the condition of the salt lake surface was insufficiently hard. In the quest for more speed, future land speed record cars were being built using jet engines. In order to remain competitive, Campbell planned to build a jet-powered version of Bluebird but the project was cancelled following his death in 1967 while piloting his jet hydroplane, Bluebird K7, on Coniston Water in Cumbria.
