Foiled by heavy fog conditions, the 1919 Schneider Cup race held at Bournemouth was a bust. Four aircraft made it to the starting line, three gave up after a lap including the Supermarine Sea Lion 1 above. The remaining plane, the Italian entry, was determined to have missed one marker buoy and so was disqualified.
The pilot of the Sea Lion, Basil D. Hobbs, was a Canadian who had flown seaplanes during the war during which time he sank two German submarines and also shot down a Zeppelin. In the latter event, after downing the Zeppelin, he had been attacked by German fighters which damaged the aircraft enough that he had to land in the sea. He then taxied across the channel to get back to England.
After the war he returned to Canada and took part in various flight-related ventures in the newly formed Canadian Air Force including being part of the first trans-Canadian flight and later being an integral part of the aerial photographic and surveying program.
Seems like quite a guy, how come I never heard of him before?
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