Campbell water speed recordIn 1964, Donald Campbell broke the world water speed record with an average speed of 276.33 mph (441.71 km/h) with his speedboat, Bluebird, on Lake Dumbleyung, Perth, Australia. Earlier the same year, in Jul 1964, he had broken the land speed record at 403.1 mph (648.72 km/h) on Lake Eyre salt flat, Australia. Together, they made him the only person to break both land and water speed records in the same year. That land speed record only stood for three months before Art Arfon, on 27 Oct 1964, achieved a land average speed of 536.71 mph (863.75 km/h) in a jet car on Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah. Campbell continued attempting yet higher speeds, but died 4 Jan 1967 when his jet-powered boat crashed on Coniston Water.« |