John Cobb
John Cobb
JOHN COBB d1952. British speed record pioneer, the first man to exceed 400mph on land and 200mph on water. Born in Surrey, his success in business as a fur-broker allowed him to fund his high profile motorsport activities. He broke the land speed record at Bonneville in The Railton Special in 1939 (at 367mph), then raised this to 394 mph in 1947 (a record that stood until the era of the jet car in 1963). He died whilst attempting the water speed record at Lochness on September 29th 1952 in his jet boat Crusader. He was awarded The Queens Commendation for Gallantry in 1953 for services to speed records.