When was donald campbells body found

When Donald Campbell climbed into the cockpit of his iconic jet boat Bluebird K7 on 4 January , his mind was focused on one thing: a need to prove himself worthy of his heroic father, Sir Malcolm, who held nine land and four water speed records.

Sir Malcolm always doubted whether his son was of the right calibre. Seconds from reaching record speed, the boat somersaulted before smashing into the concrete-hard surface. It would be 34 years before his body, and Bluebird, were recovered. But how did it happen? Donald Campbell doing what he knew best, attempting to rack up another notch and collect yet more prize money.

He almost became a rocket man in his quest to keep sponsors interested. Money is simply the power to get things done in a modern world. Speaking publicly for the first time, his former brother-in-law Brian Hulme, 88, says Donald believed he was in the throes of a breakdown. Not the man I spoke to. There was more pressure on Donald than there ever was on his father.

In that golden age of record breaking, he had to keep breaking them to attract sponsorship deals. His home movies show him enjoying the jet-set lifestyle. In , he married third wife, cabaret singer Tonia Bern. Three hours later we were in bed. A few weeks later we were married. Sheppard has analyzed both runs. For about 0. What nobody could have known was that in excess of mph, Bluebird was on a knife-edge. Donald turned quickly to make the second run; he had only moments before the agitated wake rippled back from the shore.

He held eight speed records but he almost had to prove himself like a beginner. One of the most famous crash sequences in water speed record history. It is unfortunate that the media had become relatively complacent, hence the footage is nowhere near as good as it might have been. On the other hand, it was a very long course to have to cover with a limited number of cameras. The mystery of how world water speed record holder Donald Campbell died was brought to a conclusion yesterday after more than 35 years, when a coroner decided his death was an accident.

Various theories - including suicide - had been put forward for his death on Coniston Water in January while trying to take his craft Bluebird above mph. They were quickly discounted by the inquest at John Ruskin School, just a few hundred metres from the Cumbrian lake where he perished. The hearing took a dramatic turn when one witness, Julian Happian Smith, an expert in crash dynamics, said that Campbell himself had caused the accident, by easing off on the throttle.

He based his claim on the contentious words "I am drawing back", contained in The Bluebird Years, written by Campbell's friend, Arthur Knowles. Campbell's daughter , Gina , was adamant that her father had never said those words in the moments before the crash. The Furness coroner, Ian Smith, agreed with her, saying there was no evidence before the inquest that Campbell had uttered the words.

Mr Smith said: "Donald Campbell was a courageous man and he knew what he was undertaking was inherently dangerous. I was 17 years old when this happened and saw the crash on TV. He was in high spirits as he set off in his E-type Jaguar , cheerily pipping the horn, for the lake. His team had patiently spent the winter of holed up at a hotel in Coniston waiting for the right weather and lake conditions.

He wanted to better his record so he could attract publicity and fund his attempt to build a Rocket car. Bluebird's engine, taken from a jet fighter plane, cut out as he began his attempt, but he managed to restart it and accelerate up to mph.

He then turned to make the re-run necessary for a world record but did not stop to refuel, despite it being a protocol established on six previous occasions. The wake created by his first attempt had yet to clear as he reached more than mph. Dr Happian Smith also suggested - this time, less controversially - that this rough water was also partially to blame.

The craft appeared in some difficulty well before the accident, he told the inquest. At the crash moment Bluebird rose, somersaulted in mid-air, and fell back, striking the water and breaking in two. Mr Campbell was killed instantly, his body receiving multiple fractures. The craft hit with an impact velocity of mph, 45 degrees off horizontal and 10 degrees off course, and with its engine cut out.

The wreckage and Campbell's body had lain in the lake ft below the surface until spring last year, when it was recovered by divers led by William Smith. He described how his salvage team recovered loose change, a cigarette lighter engraved with facts and figures of Campbell's previous world records, and a gold St Christopher engraved: To Donald, from Daddy, November The oft-quoted myth that conditions on Coniston Water were like a mirror was finally dispelled yesterday, as was the theory of suicide.

Now it has been completely knocked on the head. Gina Campbell, who is the spitting image of her grandfather, visited the Cumbrian lake on the morning of the 4th of January to remember her father, 45, who died on January 4 when his jet-powered boat, Bluebird K7, flipped into the air and disintegrated.

She was among a small party who traveled by boat to the site of the crash and laid flowers on the lake at the exact time of the tragedy. During the journey she clutched her father's teddy bear mascot, Mr Whoppit, which was found among the wreckage 34 years later.

Campbell broke eight world speed records on water and on land in the s and s and remains the only person to set both world land and water speed records in the same year.

He was posthumously awarded the Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct. In his fatal record attempt on the Cumbrian lake, Campbell - the son of Sir Malcolm Campbell, who himself held land and water speed records - had set himself a target of reaching mph kph. In Campbell's body - with his race suit intact - and the wreckage of Bluebird were recovered from the depths of the lake.

He was buried later that year in the village of Coniston. Speaking at Coniston Water, Ms Campbell is quoted as saying: 'This is the site of 50 years ago where he met his Waterloo. For me the biggest one is humility. Mr Smith said: "The purpose today is to say if we can establish for sure the identity of the remains discovered in the lake and the answer is clearly yes.

Mr Smith released the remains so that a funeral can take place and adjourned the hearing so a full inquest can take place at a later date. Campbell's boat Bluebird was dragged from its watery grave two months ago. The year-old had been trying to break his own water speed record of mph on January 4 , when the nose of the boat lifted and the craft somersaulted repeatedly, killing him instantly.

Campbell had said beforehand that in death the skipper should stay with the craft. Following their discovery the remains were transported to hospital in Barrow in a blue box draped in a union flag, and DNA samples were taken to test for a positive match.

Donald Campbell's body was not recovered until - 34 years after his death. On hearing the news that her father's body had been found, his daughter Gina said she was "totally relieved". The boat and Mr Campbell's remains were recovered from the water and Mr Campbell was buried near Coniston water following a funeral service. Two months later his daughter, herself a water speed champion, vowed to restore Bluebird in her father's memory.

Donald Campbell is still the only person to hold both land and water speed records at the same time.