Rare 1950s speedboat returns to lake after 60 years

A rare 1950s jet-powered speedboat with links to British record-breaker Donald Campbell has returned to the lake where it was originally tested more than 60 years ago.

The Dowty Turbocraft, an experimental British-designed boat, has been restored and returned to South Cerney, in the Cotswolds, where it was first trialled in the late 1950s.

Campbell, one of Britain's most famous speed record-breakers of the era, was involved in testing and promoting the boat after partnering with Dowty founder Sir George Dowty.

Dowty Group, known for manufacturing components for military aircraft during World War Two and later Concorde, expanded into marine engineering during the 1950s. The Turbocraft was a key part of that venture.

At the time, its water jet propulsion system was highly unusual, allowing manoeuvres and stunts that conventional propeller-driven boats could not match, including driving flat out across a sandbank separating two of the lakes near Gloucester.

Jackie Heywood, who rode in the boat as a child, recalled its speed and agility.

She said her sister saw Campbell "jump the boat across a bit of land onto the next lake" in the 1960s.

"He was a very wild character," she added.

Heywood was invited, along with a group of former Dowty employees, for a trip around South Cerney lake in Gloucestershire.

"I just remember it being really fast and it turned very sharply and it was just very exciting," said Heywood, who is the daughter of former Dowty CEO Sir Robert Hunt.

The boat was able to hit speeds of up to 35mph (56.3kmph).

Her sister, Pamela, who was nine at the time had the excitement of going in this boat with Donald Campbell, "who was a celebrity of the time," she added.

"She always remembered it," Heywood said.

The Dowty Turbocraft was launched to the press at the 1959 London Boat show and attracted attention for its innovative design as well as Campbell's involvement.

"The name Donald Campbell even then was very famous, it gave Dowty enormous publicity," said Martin Robbins, chairman of the Sir George Dowty memorial committee.

"All manner of dignitaries came to see the boat, and this was something that was quite remarkable for Dowty because they were not normally selling to that sort of person.

"Suddenly the Dowty name was well known," he added.

The exact number of boats produced is unknown, but it is thought to be fewer than 3000. Each sold for around £790 – about £23,000 in today's money.

Despite the boat's beauty and elegance, the business closed in 1966, just a year before Donald Campbell died trying to beat his own speed record in a Bluebird boat on Coniston Lake in the Lake District.

Martin said Dowty had "had enough of the losses that came about from Donald Campbell running his business".

"He lived life on the edge, literally but business wasn't his calling."

The surviving boat, known as 'Rowdy Dowty', was purchased in 2021 by Martyn Smith from Derbyshire, who has spent several years restoring it.

"It's like a classic car, there is always something to do," he said.

He added the boat is surprisingly easy to use, saying "it's just like driving a car on water".

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